About
My Story
In March of 2020, I left a lucrative consulting role to return to my business. It was the start of the global pandemic, and clear that huge uncertainty and change would be part of our lives for some time.
I knew coming back into my business at this time was a risky move. But I’d discovered something critically important from years of working with highly successful leaders:
No matter how much we achieve, we struggle with self-doubt, confidence and knowing our value.
I’d found a key that was helping leaders work through their self-doubt and see how tying their value to external achievements was making them feel vulnerable and unfulfilled. I knew my work was to share this key with more and more leaders and to do that, I needed to return to my own business.
This key is not taught or offered by universities or traditional consulting and coaching firms. It can’t be given to us and it can’t be measured. Yet in all my years as a senior leader and later an executive coach, it’s the need and longing that people share with me most often:
I want to be confident and believe in myself; to feel comfortable in my own skin and know that I belong.
It’s my longing, too, and an on-going personal quest for the past 15+ years to discover new principles, tools and practices to help shift my thinking and perspective to inform and inspire the person I want to be. How I see myself and the world around me has shifted significantly and I now understand things that never made sense before.
The changes in me flowed into my work as a leader, and later with clients. People in a coaching engagement or one of my development programs often say in the early stages, “This isn’t what I expected!” When I ask them how it’s different, I hear variations of:
It’s more inward than outward; more about how I think and feel than what I’m doing. And yet it’s results-based because in our work together, I see how my thoughts lead to what I’m feeling, which then directly affects the actions I take, whether harmful or productive.
Instead of coaching me on how to change another person or a situation, you invite me to explore my stories about them. I’m able to see that it’s my version of the story that’s creating some part of the unwanted outcome. The powerful part is realizing that I have total control over my stories; that if I change how I see another person or a situation, they change.
I see how I’ve been looking for validation outside of me, from an external source. You gave me tools and practices for accessing a place deep within me, and it’s here that I’m discovering the things I’ve most wanted. . . self-confidence with roots, comfort in who I am, and believing in my potential.
There’s a quote I go back to frequently. It’s keeps me clear on my purpose and the work I’m here to do:
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. - Frederick Buechner
My calling and purpose is to confront and work with the suffering we all feel because we’re living disconnected from our true, authentic self. We’ve become so conditioned by external influences (people and situations) that we don’t know who and what we are anymore. My inner light shines brighter when I witness another human being re-discovering their inner being, or true self. To see a client shift from feeling anxious and overwhelmed to peaceful and grounded. And then to work with them on how to access their inner being and landscape, and realize the personal power that resides there. Through inner work, they’re able to see where they’re wounded and to start the healing process. And eventually to let go of what others expect of them and live the life their soul desires. Clients tell me that they feel more alive because they’re clear on what they want and trust themselves to manifest it in their lives.
When you connect with this deeper place within you, you access a powerful toolkit that holds your unique combination of creativity and wisdom. You make smarter decisions, and receive clear and relevant guidance for every area of their life.
People who work with me are usually successful and credentialed but feel an inner restlessness - a sense that there’s “something more”.
This is what I was feeling in 2006. After what I have learned to be the workings of the Universe, I found myself in Charlotte, NC, for day 1 of an 8-month executive coaching training program. We were about to break for lunch when the instructor shared something that landed directly in my soul. I felt immediately connected to something deep within me. I know this sounds woo-woo, especially from someone like me with two business degrees, but this experience opened up my heart and exposed an inner light I had forgotten was there. This was the beginning of my quest to discover my core, true self, and to live from that place.
Once you’ve been woken up, how you see yourself and your life changes. I became a different kind of leader, too. Instead of feeling and acting like an imposter and doubting myself, I started seeing possibilities everywhere - for our organization, the people on my team, and the people we served. We became even more successful and an example to the rest of the company of how to be stronger, more impactful and find joy in our work. We made a difference!
We all want to feel confident and know we belong. We know that feeling uncomfortable is part of growing and expanding. Although we sometimes forget that, what’s never lost is our deep, deep desire to live in a way that feels genuine and authentic. To have a source within us that helps us feel comfortable living in our own skin.
I reconnected with my soul, my true essence, in 2006 and have spent every day since learning to let my inner wisdom inform my beliefs, thoughts, choices, behaviors and actions. While I still struggle at times with confidence and needing external validation, I now know where to turn to release the self-doubt and anxiety that can make me feel disempowered.
I’m here to show you how to reconnect with your true essence and the confidence and courage that’s there for you. To help you let go of your conditioned self and connect with a power that comes from the core of who you are and reflects all that you were meant to be.
Let’s talk about you. Sign up below for a free discovery call. In love and light, Cheryl
Experience
Founder, Stevens Consulting
Executive and career strategy coaching with mid- to senior-level leaders and their teams across industries and professions
Executive VP, Career & Talent Management, Education Management Corporation (EDMC)
Fostered a culture of collaboration, engagement and innovation that positioned my organization as a leader in employee retention, professional development and attracting top talent
Director of Career Management, UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School
Assistant Director of Career Management, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business
Certified Assessment Tools
The Leadership Circle Profile
Enneagram
DiSC
Meyers-Briggs
Narrative Coaching
Crucial Conversations
The Center for Creative Leadership's Benchmarks 360
Energy Leadership
Education & Credentials
Master’s in Business Administration, UNC Kenan-Flagler
ICF (International Coaching Federation) Professional Certified Coach
Enneagram Certification Program in Conscious Living
Enneagram Teacher Training Certification (to be completed in late ‘23)