Part 1: Close Up Radio Spotlights Coach and Consultant Catherine Oleksiw of Measured Transitions

Close Up Radio

Plano, TX - Catherine Oleksiw is the founder of Measured Transitions, a coaching and consulting practice. Now when you really examine it, that name helps people understand just what she does, develops tools and systems that help organizations evaluate their goals and outcomes and then take steps to change the trajectory of success in this era of continuous improvement. Her business card says it all: Focus. Measure. Change. Her Ph.D. is in Educational Psychology: Measurement & Evaluation and is from Columbia University in New York City, but make no mistake, the analysis involved in what she does relates to organizational and program needs (not mental health)!

Catherine is a skilled educator, speaker, coach, and trainer with expertise in research, assessment and evaluation and in building the capacity of clients to monitor/track achievement related to their organizations and programs. Sometimes it is a matter of documenting the success of a program funded by a state grant or reaching a competency goal of a federally funded program. The client might be a nonprofit, a government entity, or a school or university, among other scenarios.

As Catherine began training clients in the implementation and ongoing use of their programs and systems, she realized that she was coaching her clients, too, in cultivating an accountability mindset. To further develop her coaching skills, she studied at a coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has now held the ICF Professional Coach Certification for over ten years.

“My work is always layered. With the same client, I might have one-on-one sessions with senior management, do group coaching with the work team, and engage top-level directors or the C-suite in leadership coaching. I support everyone in the organization in getting more comfortable with new systems and the related processes and procedures. I provide time and space for my client to acclimate to change and get comfortable with the inevitable speed bumps along the way to successful implementation.

Catherine stresses that while she does a lot of assessment and measurements, she does not just hand over a report and leave. She stays very alive in the space and keeps the process going. She applies a mix of methods when measuring success including surveys, statistical analyses and qualitative tools like focus groups and interviews.

“The statistics take you only so far in understanding what is really happening. Think of the words shared as being the mortar and the numbers as being the bricks. You need the mortar to hold the bricks together. So, it is the melding of the numbers and the words that reveal the true story of a program’s success.”

Catherine engages with clients in diverse ways depending on where they are located and how accessible that is. She has served as a leadership or executive coach for a number of federal employees – in agencies like Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Park Service.

“It’s often shared in coaching circles that all coaching is life coaching. Even when you are supporting the highest level of professional, you have to look at the root of their angst. Explore with them why they are stuck or help them to build their awareness on why they are uncomfortable with a relocation or challenged by a new project with which they are charged.”

Whatever the assignment is, Catherine is always disciplined, thorough, and professional. Her first major activity is typically a needs assessment to confirm the perspective of the client (or coached one) on the major issues to be addressed and, in addition, to expose underlying issues that may be critical factors to consider. Whether engaged with an organization or an individual coached, Catherine teams with them to co-create the approach and the overall design of the work to be done so the true story is revealed. They look ahead at the steps that will take them closer to a new system or a new career.

This is an excellent opportunity to listen to, and learn from, a subject matter expert in measurement and systems thinking that embraces the power of numbers within the context of the hopes and dreams of real people doing their best for the organization and themselves in the process. Catherine is such an authority she has been published and appeared in media such as Who’s Who with whom she received a Lifetime Achievement Award. In her radio interviews, she will discuss the ways that she is an invaluable resource—in her coaching and consulting business and in her work in the unique spaces of government, education and nonprofits.

For more Information about Catherine please visit www.measuredtransitions.com