We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Goldman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki, appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Like most companies, I/O Coaching’s journey in scaling hasn’t been overnight. Let me pull back the curtain on our evolution…

I/O Coaching began as a solo venture. It started with just me, Nikki Goldman. Having helped build other businesses, I soon recognized a pervasive truth when it came to business issues. Every challenge was really a people challenge and at the root of that was communication. With every layer I peeled back, I found that people – their needs, their capabilities, and their aspirations – were central.

It dawned on me that we could dramatically enhance how businesses flourished by focusing on the very people they hired. And where better to begin than with their managers? The adage rings true: people quit their bosses, not their companies.

In the early years, I/O Coaching was a one-woman show. Every facet of the business – from the executive coaching sessions to administrative tasks like billing and scheduling – was on my plate. To many of our clients and partners, we projected a much larger and corporate image. But in reality, it was just me, navigating the world of entrepreneurship from shared spaces, like WeWork, or any hotel lobby that graciously offered a day pass.

Then, the world changed in an unprecedented manner: the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. Amid the gloom, a silver lining emerged for the coaching industry. Suddenly, businesses across the globe understood that investing in their talent meant much more than casual happy hours or offering catered lunches. Employees craved for meaningful engagement, and managers needed the tools to foster this.

This surge in demand led to organic, albeit reactive, growth at I/O Coaching. Our growth mirrored the industry’s spike. But it wasn’t without its set of challenges. At times, we would secure a significant project and find ourselves in a scramble to staff it. Predicting the flow of our business became essential, and we continually strive to get better at forecasting our pipeline and understanding industry cycles.

But with growth comes the biggest challenge of quality control. Our commitment, first and foremost, is to our clients. We operate in the client services domain, and this implies that every single project we undertake has significant stakes. Ensuring consistent, top-notch quality became crucial. If a project showed signs of derailing, I learned that swift action and recalibration were key. Setting clear expectations and ensuring alignment became non-negotiables.

Today, I/O Coaching stands strong with a team of seven remarkable individuals. While I look back at our journey with immense pride, I recognize that we’re still on a path of discovery, learning, and growth. Sharing the privilege of working with our esteemed clients and a team of dedicated coaches has truly been an honor.

As we look ahead, we’re excited about the future and the countless leaders we’ll help shape and guide.

Nikki, 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?

My name is Nikki Goldman, and I’m the proud founder of I/O Coaching. At the heart of our brand lies the belief that for businesses to thrive, their leaders must first lead themselves authentically. Authentic leadership fosters environments where innovation, trust, and collaboration flourish.

My foray into this industry was born out of my experience in building companies. Time and again, I found that regardless of the technological or operational challenges we encountered, the most intricate puzzles were always centered around people and communication. It was this realization that ignited my passion for leadership coaching and prompted me to go back to school to study it. I recognized that when we invest in our managers and leaders, we indirectly uplift entire teams, departments, and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line.

Based out of New York City and Miami Beach, I/O Coaching offers a spectrum of services tailored to the needs of businesses, both large and small. One of our core offerings is one-on-one executive coaching. We work intimately with our clients, assisting them to peel back their layers, understand their intrinsic leadership style, and embrace it to lead authentically.

We also host workshops, aimed at forging strategic alignment within teams. When every member understands the collective vision and feels intrinsically motivated to achieve it, the results are nothing short of transformative.

Moreover, to understand the pivotal role of managers in any organization, we’ve crafted specialized training sessions. These manager trainings ensure that those in supervisory roles are equipped with the tools, insights, and frameworks they need to guide their teams effectively.

Of all our achievements, what I’m most proud of is the tangible transformation we witness in the individuals and teams we work with. Seeing a hesitant leader blossom into a confident, authentic guide or observing a fragmented team find its synergy is profoundly fulfilling.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing our clientele at I/O Coaching has unequivocally been delivering exceptional quality in our work. We operate as a word-of-mouth business, believing that the results and transformations we facilitate for our clients will speak for itself. As such, we’ve not ventured into traditional sales or marketing. Instead, the referrals generated from satisfied clients have been our most potent and authentic growth catalyst.

Any advice for managing a team?

One of the foundational elements of effective team management is genuinely listening to the needs and aspirations of your team members. By engaging with them, through mechanisms like surveys, 1 on 1’s, and feedback conversations, leaders can gain a deeper understanding of what their team requires to succeed. However, simply gathering feedback isn’t enough; it’s imperative to act on it. When team members see that their input is valued and drives change, it fosters a sense of belonging and respect within the organization.

Equally crucial is the clarity of expectations and success metrics. It’s human nature to derive satisfaction from accomplishing tasks and attaining goals. When leaders clearly articulate what’s expected, it provides a roadmap for team members to navigate their responsibilities. Achieving clear-cut objectives not only boosts individual confidence but also reinforces the feeling of contributing positively to the broader organizational vision. This clarity, in turn, drives morale and fosters a culture of achievement and collaboration.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iocoaching.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-goldman/