We recently connected with Barbara Bengtson and have shared our conversation below.
Barbara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
Teaching led me to specialize in professional development as an entrepreneur. In high school I was not a good student. When I had children, I wanted to help them benefit from their education and I became a teacher. Supporting families and the learning of students with diverse abilities and experiences was a portion of the complexity and responsibility faced as a teacher. There were also curricular, social-emotional, and other areas of expertise I had to develop.
I thrive when learning, yet implementing the great insights and practices I learned was difficult with day-to-day work responsibilities. Even though a new practice would have solved a chronic problem, I did not have capacity to refine it and 95% of the time I went back to acceptable practices that were not optimal.
My last years as an educator were spent as a coach in a new professional development program intending to support best and next teaching practices. My experience as a teacher on special assignment showed me a better way to support professional development. Creating team practices to share planning and solution finding was paired with providing individual teachers accessible support, regardless of their experience and preferences. This two pronged strategy was an exceptionally effective approach, especially when utilized to support trained skills and strategies.
Helping teachers find their best way to do their work was both empowering and rewarding. I founded Perception Coaching LLC to bring this approach to a broader audience. Leveraging my psychology background and professional development and coaching experience I then wrote the book “Coaching for Well-Being, Productivity, and Innovation: Using Perception Coaching with Individuals, Teams, and Organizations” 2024.
My mission is to bring internal coaching programs to more organizations to support all employees’ well-being and productivity, creating healthier, happier communities.
Barbara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Perception Coaching is an approach as well as a family business which supports individuals to sense more. Our client-centered support focuses on developing sense of self as the best means to improve planning, decision-making, stress management, and well-being.
Preferences and successes are explored to understand related strengths and limitations and begin to appreciate the value of diverse perspectives, experiences, and talents.
We are proud to embody the attitudes we cultivate: Everyone has extraordinary talents. Everyone is doing their best.
These attitudes prompt authentic curiosity as we strive to understand others and contribute to our communities.
Services we offer include executive coaching and 360 feedback, internal coach and leadership program development and support, as well as a variety of workshops customized to meet the needs of organizations with goals in areas of well-being, productivity, and innovation.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
When I started Perception Coaching LLC, I was a solopreneur working to develop my approach, business, brand, and clientele. I thrive while developing my approach, for the rest I worked hard, not well. I have a very clear vision and struggled to meet the demands of all aspects of running a business. After a few years of this I found help in family, who were willing to support my vision. My children, Haley and William, joined the team during the pandemic when I had to pivot to online work and started writing the Perception Coaching textbook (Coaching for Well-Being, Productivity, and Innovation: Using Perception Coaching with Individuals, Teams, and Organizations, published by Routledge 2024).
My approaches are strategic and mission oriented; William and Haley contribute skills which complement my efforts. William’s attention to detail leads our back office work and Haley’s awareness of social-emotional needs lead marketing and client facing work.
The talents they bring complement my expertise and we have seen growth I could not have accomplished on my own.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
If you want something done right you have to do it yourself…and you can do anything! NOPE! I have always found my own best way forward, learning from mistakes, growing, and creating my journey. I can see a better future and have been working toward it for myself, family, community, and the greater good. My confidence and ability to learn have benefitted me, up to a point…as my expertise has bolstered my vision, I found myself being less tolerant of alternative approaches, solutions, and ironically, learning regarding Perception Coaching.
When Haley Bengtson joined me at Perception Coaching LLC, there was a time of uncomfortable growth. We are talent-focused and she has ways of connecting with others that I have not; her expertise facilitating conversations differs from my approach and is effective.
I enjoy being presented with new ideas, except when they are about my work. Letting go of control so that someone else can surprise and surpass me was, and remains difficult. I get regular practice backtracking my ‘no’ rationales to include others, share the business, and let others use their talents.
Finally, striving for continuous improvement is now including ‘us’; together we can do anything, and including others means we can do better!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://perceptioncoaching.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/perceptivate
- Facebook: facebook.com/perceptivate
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/perception-coaching-llc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/perception-coaching-duluth