This Coach Helps Her Clients Call Her Own Plays
Originally Published in the South Somerset Extra, February 7, 2002
By John Patten
HILLSBOROUGH - Winding Way resident Natalie Gahrmann won't remind many people of Vince Lombardi or Vivian Stringer, but she is becoming nearly as successful a coach as the football great or Rutgers women's basketball coach.
But don't look for Ms. Gahrmann's "teams" rushing onto a court or field - they can be found across the country, sitting in front of their computers or talking to her on the phone.
Ms. Gahrmann is a personal coach, trained and experienced in helping people find ways to accomplish their goals, whether in business or at home.
"Coaches are really about getting people into action," she said, adding many people don't really know how to focus their goals or take stock of their own strengths needed to accomplish those goals. She added that most of the time, her coaching is designed to help her clients realize their own ability to achieve their goals. "Coaches aren't like consultants, and give you all the answers. Coaches aren't suppose to have all the answers because they trust their clients do."
While she began her practice about three years ago as a related business to her work as a human resources and administration consultant, she has been working more and more helping people develop their more personal goals - "How can I balance work with home and family life?" and "How can I achieve my business goals without sacrificing my family?" are the kinds of questions she's been hearing more often.
"With the recession, a lot of people are working more because they are either having to do work others used to do, or they are afraid of being laid off," she said. "So they end up with less time of their own, and they get frustrated."
That inevitably leads to lower productivity at work and less enjoyment at home - which is where Ms. Gahrmann's coaching can be helpful. She said she was recently exercising at a local gym, when a nearby patron started complaining of bow she felt powerless to find a new and better job.
"I started asking her a few questions, and before she left she felt like she had some ideas on steps she could take and things she could ,do," Ms. Gahrmann said. "She thanked me for the help, but I didn't tell her this is what I do for a living."
Ms. Gahrmann's special skill at helping people find a balance between their private and professional lives helped her earn a position as the resident coach at bluesuitmom.com, a Web site dedicated to the needs of working women.
She also has been asked to offer her expertise at the next meeting of the Hillsborough Life Skills Committee, an educational program sponsored by the Board of Education, and will be speaking on "Mastering the Challenges of Work and Life." Ms. Gahrmann said she'll be sharing many of her tips for being successful both at home and at work at the meeting, set for 10 a.m. Feb. 21 at the middle school.
As a mother of two young children and the owner of her own consulting business, N-R-G Coaching Associates, Ms. Gahrmann has had opportunities to take her own advice.
Ms. Gahrmann began her coaching business after completing course work offered by Coach University, a virtual school specializing in the field. Prior to "attending" CU, she had earned a master's degree in administration and human resource management.
Her training for coaching included learning how to help clients "get a clear idea on what they want," then helping them uncover the ways to achieve those goals.
"You know, most of us learn early on that it's not polite to brag about your accomplishments," she said. "But then when we really need to call on those skills, we dismiss them."
She limits her client list to 10- 15 per month, to allow her time for her family and work on a book compiling ideas and tips she has accumulated on balancing personal and professional commitments (She offers many of those ideas on a "Tip of the Week" newsgroup to about 1,500 subscribers. To sign up, send a blank e-mail to workingparentstips@yahoogroups.com). Her fees range from $150-$500 per month, depending on the complexity and needs of the client.
With so many projects under way, Ms. Gahrmann notes that she has to coach herself to keep moving forward.
"I have had to let go of my own issues," she said. "My house isn't spotless ... that's my way of dealing with my 'perfection' issues.
Instead, she follows her own advice and shares more time with her family - Kaitlyn, 5, Matthew, 7, and husband, Richard.
