Momentum’s Empowerment Coach Training program is designed to help leaders learn the skills required to support clients and staff in making profound changes in their personal and professional lives. Each intake cycle, coach-oriented professionals from Calgary and across Canada are invited to level-up their skills through this trauma-informed training. When HR staff at Discovery House shared the invitation among staff, Executive Director Leslie Hill decided to sign up herself.

“I’ve been in leadership roles for a really long time. I think as a leader you develop and hone your skills, and over time you can also develop some bad habits,” she said, “I really wanted to have a refresher, do some reflection and growth, and just be more mindful of being the best leader that I can be.”

When asked about her perspective as a leader taking the program, Leslie shared, “I think the facilitators are phenomenal and the content is phenomenal. It gives a framework for how to have conversations in a more mindful way.”

“As a leader I get pulled in a million directions every day, and I often come to a space with a frenzied “what’s the next thing on my list” energy. This program helped me remember that I need to slow down and recognize the impact that an executive director can have, often without even realizing it.”

“It reminded me to take a couple minutes to reset before I go into a challenging conversation with a staff member, or before I lead a meeting.”

She described the “coaching mindset” that she gained from the program, sharing “it’s about making sure you are in a space where you can listen well, where you can be nonjudgmental, ask open-ended questions… that’s been such a useful tool for me.”

“As an Executive Director, you are often put in the position of being the person “who knows”, the person who “has the answers”, the advice-giver, the expert in the room – this [program] flexed a whole different side of my brain. It’s about entering a conversation with a person and tapping into their knowledge, their expertise, and what that person has for themselves.”

“I think it’s made me a better leader and a better supervisor.”

When asked if anything about the program surprised her, she shared, “I think for myself the personal development was one of the most valuable things, and it was something I didn’t expect to get from the program. I realized I can be really hard on myself as a leader. [The program] helped me to embrace the authenticity of who I am and how I bring my personality into conversations. It was so valuable.”

She added, “about a year ago I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I’ve been exploring what that means in relation to how I show up as a leader - how I structure my time, how that impacts my team. I was really hard on myself about it at first, as I realized the ways it makes things more challenging for my team. It’s been quite an exploration and I think this program helped me embrace the strength of this aspect of me. There’s value in being a person who can pick up a million things in a day. And then there’s also value in finding ways to deep dive and really focus when I need to.”

She laughed, “I didn’t expect the program to get me there, I went in thinking it was just a coaching framework. Is there personal value at an executive level? There absolutely is.”

“This program gave me the space and time to really explore who I am and how I show up to situations. It’s deepened my relationships with my staff, and with my friends. Quite honestly, when you learn these skills you don’t just use them in a coaching session. You have the opportunity to use them in all kinds of settings.”

“It’s made me a better friend, a better sister, a better leader.”

Momentum’s next delivery of the Certified Empowerment Coach Training program begins May 9th, 2025. Learn more about the program.