Build (and climb) your own damn ladder
No more waiting for permission to climb all the broken ladders that were NEVER built to hold your brilliance, your gravitas, and your vision in the first place.
You’re successful on paper. But something’s missing.
You’re tired of second-guessing yourself in meetings. Tired of saying yes when you mean no. Tired of performing inherited versions of leadership that no longer fit who you are.
Most of us were taught to lead through over-performance, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and constant proving. But eventually, those patterns stop feeling sustainable — and start disconnecting us from ourselves.
You don’t need another promotion to feel successful. You don’t need to fit yourself into someone else’s mold. It’s time to build and climb your own damn ladder.
Deep down you already know the cost of continuing to abandon yourself.
You know what happens when fear makes your decisions for you.
When you keep shrinking your voice, over-functioning, and performing leadership instead of embodying it.
The world does not need more leaders shrinking themselves to fit systems that were never built for humanity in the first place.
This is for you if:
You’re smart, successful, and living the life you thought you wanted… but something still feels “off.”
You’ve checked all the boxes you once thought would make you happy — and you can’t understand why it still doesn’t feel like enough.
You’ve built your life around being competent, reliable, and impressive — but not necessarily fulfilled.
You’ve become so good at anticipating everyone else’s needs that you barely notice your own anymore.
You’re exhausted from trying to be the “perfect” leader instead of the leader you actually want to be.
You’ve learned how to lead in ways that earn approval, but not necessarily in ways that feel like you.
You’re grinding harder than everyone else but still overlooked for opportunities.
Part of you wants something different. Another part is terrified to let go of the version of success you worked so hard to build.
You feel stuck between staying where you are and blowing everything up — and neither option feels right.
You’ve spent years being who everyone needed you to be — and now you’re trying to figure out who you are underneath all of it.
You know there has to be another way to live and lead… you just haven’t figured out what it looks like yet.
Private Coaching
FOR EXECUTIVES, CREATIVES, & ENTREPRENEURS
Imagine leading from clarity, confidence and compassion instead of constantly managing how you’re perceived.
My work is rooted in what I call The Art of Compassionate Command — the belief that sustainable leadership requires both compassion and command, emotional intelligence and self-trust.
Because command without compassion leads to burnout. And compassion without command leaves us disconnected from our own power.
Sustainable leadership requires both.
What we'll work on:
Make decisions from alignment instead of approval
Stop shape-shifting to manage other people’s comfort
Build self-trust strong enough to withstand disappointment, failure, and visibility
Lead without abandoning yourself in the process
Stop seeking external validation and start trusting your instincts
Most high-achievers were never taught how to lead without over-performing, over-proving, or abandoning themselves in the process.
Not because they’re doing something wrong.
Because many of us inherited leadership models rooted in fear, productivity, perfectionism, and external validation — and no one showed us another way.
How It Works (in a nutshell):
We’ll start with a 90-minute deep dive to uncover what’s holding you back. From there, we’ll meet twice a month for focused coaching, with access to me between sessions and an emergency lifeline when you need it.
Most high-achievers were never taught how to lead without over-performing, over-proving, or abandoning themselves in the process.
This isn’t therapy. It’s not mentorship. It’s coaching.
There’s no one “right” way to lead, succeed, or build a meaningful life. My work is about helping you discover what’s true and sustainable for YOU — not turning you into a replica of someone else’s leadership model.
I’m here to ask the questions you haven’t thought to ask yourself. To call you out when you’re making excuses. To help you see the patterns you can’t see from inside your own head.
Because you can’t read the label from inside the jar.
You already have everything you need to lead effectively. Together, we’ll clear away everything that’s in your way.
Ready to Build Your Own Ladder?
You don’t need to have it all figured out before we start. You just need to be ready to do the work.
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![Headshot of Private Coaching Client, Rosa Lee, who was knee deep in burnout]()
"My tank was empty – I was close to burn out…”
I didn’t know if I was exhausted or in need of a transition. I felt like I was starting to resent my path (it’s been a challenging few years). After working with Michelle, I see there are doors I can open. There are new ways I can grow. I feel a new sense of clarity and energy around my professional goals.
All these new opportunities opened up for me. I was like, ‘WHAT ARE THESE?’ I also received a grant that’s given me an opportunity to build upon my scholarly career.
Michelle helped me reframe my career path in an exciting, positive way.
- Rosa Lee
Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons -
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“Things feel possible in a way they never have before…”
Before I began working with Michelle, I was overwhelmed and barely maintaining for months. I needed a change.
In the time we’ve worked together, I’ve experienced so much change. I finally have a plan to achieve my goals. I’m making the changes that I needed to make but was avoiding.
Michelle keeps me focused, and she’s given me amazing tools that are helping me make some very necessary changes. I feel more at ease, more
positive, and more excited about growing. It’s the best work I’ve done in years.- Amy Rosoff Davis
Celebrity Trainer & Influencer -
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“I have a new voice in my head, one that says, ‘Of course you can make this happen… Why not?'"
Before finding Michelle, I can safely say I was in a place of despair. I had been to graduate film school, and I had had some successes, but none of them had turned into the ‘big break’ I had been working towards.
I was deeply burnt out, feeling mediocre, and fearing that I was a failure. From our first conversation, I could feel that Michelle was going to help things shift for me – and she has. The change I am experiencing is both internal and external. I’m enjoying writing again! I have new ideas! Ideas that are even more in alignment with my deep self, who I am, and the kind of work I want to make.
Working with Michelle is this wonderful combination of the tangible and intangible coming together. The mind and body. The spiritual and professional.
Her thoughts, advice, and approach are so actionable and direct. Things are shifting in these internal ways that honestly sometimes just feel magical. Like, how is this happening? But it is and it’s amazing.
- Francesca Mirabella
Filmmaker & Writer
Partnership Coaching
Stop tiptoeing around each other. Start leading together.
Great partnerships aren’t built on avoiding conflict. They’re built on honesty, trust, and the ability to navigate hard conversations together.
This Is For You If:
You know your partnership has huge potential — but you’re not operating at that level yet.
You keep circling the same arguments without ever really solving them.
One (or both) of you feels like you’re carrying more of the weight.
You avoid bringing up problems because you don’t want to spark conflict — but the resentment is building anyway.
Decisions take way too long because you’re not aligned, or they get made separately and cause confusion.
You respect each other, but you’re not always sure you trust each other’s judgment.
You’ve both been “winging it,” and it’s gotten you this far — but now it’s holding you back.
You want to spend less time tiptoeing around each other and more time building the business (and the future) you actually want.
What we'll work on:
+ Have the conversations you've been avoiding
+ Set clear roles and boundaries so you stop stepping on each other
+ Make decisions efficiently without endless discussion
+ Handle conflict productively instead of sweeping it under the rug
+Align on vision and values so you're actually building the same thing
+Trust each other's judgment instead of micromanaging
The goal isn’t to eliminate conflict. It’s to use it as catalyst for growth.
I’m here to facilitate the conversations you can’t have on your own. To call out the patterns you can’t see. To help you build a partnership that’s both productive and sustainable.
How It Works (in a nutshell):
Two deep-dive sessions to map your dynamics, plus ongoing coaching to strengthen communication, alignment, and trust – with me on hand when the heat turns up.
Ready to stop walking on eggshells?
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![Executive Coaching Client and Broadway Producer, Sue Wagner of Wagner Johnson Productions]()
“We have a ridiculous amount of business right now...”
After working with Michelle, there’s a transparency in my office that never existed before. People are thriving because they actually have agency and don’t have fear.
We’ve also manifested a future plan for our business. We have a ridiculous amount of business right now, and we’re not asking anyone’s permission to grow.
We’re changing how an antiquated industry works and paving a new path. There’s this misnomer about executive coaches… We tend to think they’re all about the bottom line and getting more clients. But all the work is actually internal. The systems and structure are the easy shit.
Michelle helps us with that, too. But Michelle gets into the hard shit. She gets into the mud and the mess. She doesn’t have to do it, but she does. That’s Michelle.
- Sue Wagner
Co-Founder, Wagner Johsnon Productions -
![Anonymous Female Executive Coaching Client]()
“Our business was growing very quickly, and we were struggling…"
We had gone from a two-person partnership to a three-person partnership, and the systems weren’t working.
I struggled to identify and ask for the things I needed from my business partners – without feeling like I was being a martyr. It felt shitty to feel resentful. And we couldn’t move through conflict in an effective way.
After working with Michelle, I’m now comfortable to ask my partners for what I need – without feeling emotional about it. There’s less triangulation so that feels really good.
We can come to a consensus about things that involve money that we couldn’t before.
- Confidential Client
Partner, Theatrical Company, NYC -
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“I took for granted that running a business would sort of take care of itself…”
Not only does running a business mean managing out into the world, but also within yourself.
Michelle’s helped us make our criticisms more constructive and less combative with the tools she’s given us. She helps us challenge ourselves and push our boundaries even further.
It’s always valuable to have the inner Michelle in my head because it helps balance me as an individual, as well as a boss and leader.
Together, we’ve built an office environment that’s actually supportive amidst an industry that’s based in an old school hierarchy and fear. We haven’t broken down all those walls, but we’ve started to crack them, for sure.
- John Johnson
Co-Founder, Wagner Johnson Productions
