In my 20 years as a management consultant, I have had a wide range of training; some valuable, some not. The professional coaching that I have received from Ilona Birenbaum over the last eight months, however, has been the most helpful external support I have ever received. Ilona allowed me to set the agenda, ensuring that the issues we address are the ones most important to me and directly related to my ability to succeed. Ilona is very direct — she tells me things I need to hear; challenges me to consider ideas that might be uncomfortable. Yet she is understanding and compassionate; Ilona quickly earned my trust and respect, and has come to feel like a friend and confidante. Not only does Ilona provide pragmatic solutions, but also emotional support. After we talk, I feel less stressed and more energized, better prepared to tackle the challenges in front of me.
If you are looking for someone who will dig in deep, listen well, be honest, watch your back, and offer actionable advice, I highly recommend Ilona as an executive coach.
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Eric Marks Management Consulting Practice Leader
Featured Resource
Excerpt from Human Capital Management:
What Really Works in Government – Chapter 1
This chapter describes how new leadership at the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Transportation (DOT-OIG) achieved transformational change.
Ilona is simply amazing at what she does. As my executive coach, she has been my lifeline through the last two years of my leadership experience. She has taken my most complex leadership hurdles and helped me turn them into incremental, attainable goals to reach success. Ilona uses her true gifts of listening, questioning, analyzing, and guiding to help me tackle all of my leadership challenges. She is passionate, caring, and understanding. With Ilona as my coach, I have grown tremendously as a leader and I believe my recent promotion to an executive level position is a direct reflection of her work! I give Ilona the highest recommendation I could give to anyone for every area of her work — coaching, training, organizational development, etc. She truly puts her heart into everything she does.
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Terry L. Settle Senior Audit Executive
Ilona has been my coach for over four years and in that time she has helped me grow two levels up in organizational leadership positions. She is a great listener, and countless times we have debriefed on decisions I have made to identify any lessons learned. When I need an outside, objective perspective, I count on her to walk with me through the prospective decision-making process. Ilona took time to understand my industry, my organization, and me. With that knowledge and her experiences working with other leaders and organizations, she offers penetrating insights into the issues I face. Over the years I have also called upon Ilona to develop and facilitate various management and leadership training programs for my staff. Five-star recommendation!
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Senior Executive Federal Agency
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ilona on a number of projects. She has an excellent combination of honesty, business acumen, and the ability to give very actionable feedback. Her input and advice has made me a more effective manager and has helped my team communicate and work together more efficiently.
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Andrew Goldsmith, Vice President, Global Marketing Rapiscan Systems, Inc.
My initial coaching with Ilona began when she helped me successfully navigate the difficult transition from managing tasks to leading people. Her coaching focused on effective ways to communicate my values and contribution to leadership. Through the coaching process I realized I could no longer be apolitical. I learned to embrace the dynamics of the company, my partners, and my team. Today, I am far more aware of creating and nurturing relationships with others in the organization to solve long- and short-range challenges, and I am a lot more successful and respected as a result of this change.
Ilona is a true professional gifted with the art of understanding human behavior and the ability to solicit the hidden characteristics within to become a better leader, coworker, friend, and human being. I often refer to this experience as the best gift my supervisor could have given me. I hope that all leaders get an opportunity to experience a similar journey at least once in their career.
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Ghazal Parsa, Director, Legal Support and Technology, Law Department Amtrak
Ilona always knows the right questions to ask, shifting the discussion between coaching and consulting to help me serve ASN and its leaders, staff, and 15,000 members much more effectively. As a result of Ilona’s insights, guidance, and mentorship since 2008, I’ve grown personally and professionally, while the society has exceeded every metric and expanded into new, exciting ventures.
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Tod Ibrahim, Executive Director American Society of Nephrology
Having worked with Ilona over a number of years I can state with great confidence that Ilona simply makes organizations better. Whether it’s one-on-one with leadership or facilitating teams, Ilona creates an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect that opens the door to growth and development at all levels. She has the unique ability to help organizations uncover the unspoken and build practical, lasting solutions.
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Patrick Malone, Director Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University