Pam Marshall Case Study

My name is Pam Marshall. I've been a biotech executive for my whole career. And so I've seen a lot of challenges in corporate, right? And people being challenged by corporate, and energy being drained and a sense that you are not in control. So, that's been my professional executive. I'm in sales, I'm in learning and leadership development, so I'm able to bring a lot of my coaching stuff into the company, which is beautiful. But in 2017, I took a year, I got certified through, the Institute for Professional Education and Coaching, and I got my official coaching certification and then I got certified through the International Coaching Federation, to get my second coaching certificate and have gotten a bunch of stuff since then.

But at that point I created Marshall Mindset Coaching, (www.marshallmindset.com), and really a lot of what I do is I do executive coaching. I love doing group coaching. It's a lot of fun because you can get everybody engaged. And then I also do speaking and I'm actually working on a book. So that's kind of what I do. So, mindset coaching, just to kind of open it up, is it’s really limiting beliefs about what's possible for us, and what is possible in the world, right? So we're like, well, we can't do that. So what mindset coaching is, it's really a deep dive into what else is there, you know, how else can you look at this to give yourself freedom, productivity, peace. Whatever it is you want, it's there. It’s a matter of really digging in deep to see what else is there that you can look at that will give you those things instead of just this feeling of being stuck.

I read BJ's book and I really liked it and I looked at his certification site a bunch of times. I mean, a lot of times. And I said, well, I read the book, you know, how much more could there be, right? I'm not sure what made me do it, but I'll be forever grateful that I did. So it's just so much more going through this process with him and with Linda and with his team. It's just so much broader and richer. Where else can we experiment? I mean, I could really go on and on. I'm so grateful that I did the certification. I joined his program where you have access to a lot of other resources. So it's a process of learning. And I mean, the other thing I have to say, which I've done a ton of certifications with a lot of good companies and programs, but I feel like with BJ and Linda, it feels more like a mission versus a money thing. And I think that's really important because it's so important to them to give us value, to make sure we have the resources to succeed. So, his ideas can be spread out in a much broader way. And so that piece of it I really appreciate. I appreciate them so much.

So, 2021 was when I did the certification. I don't remember when I read the book, but I'm pretty sure it was a long time before I actually did the certification. Like I said, I thought I don't know if I'm going to get anything out of this. But I got certified, so I've been certified for maybe a year and a half. And the journey of getting certified and having the resources has really transformed my coaching. Coaching, when you look at it is really a deeper dive into what does this person really want? What is the real challenge for them, right? So, it's a lot of digging to make sure that you understand what their goals are, and you actually have the real goal or the real issue, right?
I'm a science junkie and a data junkie. I've read so much that you get overwhelmed, and I feel like what the Tiny Habits Method and BJ's behavior model has given me is a framework that's so much simpler than trying to figure out, because I'm a perfectionist too, right? Like, I want it to be perfect. So I'm like, well what, what about this model? What about that model? I feel like his model is so simple and so good that I can just use that for my framework when I get to the action part. I've always known that small consistent actions were the way to get there. Because if you try to go too big, there's too much resistance. But his model really helps you. It gives you a framework to do that effectively.

One of the people I worked with that was kind of cool is a man who wanted to do yoga five days a week for 45 minutes a day. He just had a lot of reasons for wanting to do that. And so, what we did was we got it down to right after his coffee. I love it when people drink coffee. It's such a good anchor. He was going to do one sun salutation, which is just you know, going down and then doing a down dog and coming up. And so, he started doing that every day right after coffee. Not only did he have a mental shine saying, Hey, I'm doing this, but it's a physiological shine because your whole body feels better when you move. He ended up getting up to five minutes a day and that was what he wanted. And he was good!

There are so many calls that you can jump on. I love that he has open office hours where certified coaches can actually talk to him and ask questions directly. That feels invaluable. I've never had a certification where that's an option.

One thing about being a coach is it can be isolating, and I feel like this provides a social network that many coaches may not have. And so that's been a real benefit. You know, we have to pay for the ongoing program, and I remember thinking, well, I'm not going to do that. And I do, and to me, it's priceless. It's not even a question. And plus, I feel like they deserve it because like I said, I do feel like it's a mission for them. And I work with other bigger companies where I've gotten certifications and you can tell it's about the money. It's a little frustrating. They make it hard to access. They charge you for everything. And the resources I get from BJ and his team, they're free, they're really effective in helping me stay educated, and helping me build my understanding of behavioral psychology, and how to use that to help my clients. But you know really it is probably one of the most valuable certifications I've gotten because of the ongoing support. Usually when you get a certification, you get it and it's done. And if you want more from that program, you have to pay for it. This is very different.