Lalitha Mani
I came into coaching via the law. I spent quite a few years as a trademark attorney counseling clients in the selection, maintenance and protection of their trademarks. I loved the interaction with the clients as I undertook their trademark journey with them and helped them launch their brand. I also have a background in Sociology which helps me gain insight into people, their values and ambitions. From counseling clients in trademarks, it was a natural progression for me to getting certified as a coach. Although it appears as a meandering journey, I do feel that I have arrived, found my calling and am fulfilling my potential.
What I bring to coaching is my natural interest in people which helps me understand the social and cultural context in which behavior takes place. My goal as a coach is to put clients at ease, elicit their participation, deepen their understanding of who they are and what they are about, and see them be their best in whatever domain they operate. I help clients step outside their own habitual narratives and storylines to review their situation with different perspectives, and embolden their vision in their path of self-discovery.
Coaching Experience
I am a professional coach, certified with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and holding their Professional Certified Coach credential (PCC) with over 1,000 hours of coaching experience. As an ICF certified professional coach, I work with individuals and teams, senior executives, new managers, young professionals, women leaders, and people in transition, to help them find their passion, innate strengths, unique style to make an impact. With my facilitative and results oriented style, I engage clients to delve deep into who they are, what they truly want and what fulfillment looks like to them. My specialties include, among others, leadership development, life transitions, effective communication, conflict resolution and alignment of actions with values.
I inspire people to find their leader within and help them bring clarity and build confidence to make life and career changes. I coach clients to understand their values in order to discern their trajectory of growth and to focus on what is important to them. As a leadership coach I work with leaders to lean into their unique leadership style, effectively communicate their vision to their group and implement strategies to align and move forward.
Coaching Philosophy and Style
As a coach, I am accessible, supportive and a thought partner to my clients. My own values are to live life fully, include elements of fun, be able to see situations through the lens of humor, and take action with a ‘can do’ attitude. I also find happiness in seeing others thrive. My coaching model is the Co-Active model that brings a balance between who a person is and what a person does. It is a transformative model which helps leaders become more self-aware in their relationships and thereby find courageous and bold action plans to create a successful and fulfilling environment for themselves and their teams. Leaders in this model are seen as being naturally creative, resourceful and whole and capable of finding their own solutions to the challenges they face. This process is facilitated by deep listening, asking broad, open-ended questions to help clients tap into their creative potential, and empowering the choices they arrive at to find their own answers.
My coaching style is inspired by the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is, Treat a man as he should be and he will become what he should be.”
Education and Credentials
I have a Masters in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Prior to becoming a coach, I worked as an attorney for over 20 plus years counseling clients in the government, at large law firms like Perkins Coie, and served as in-house counsel at companies like Kellogg. I am a member of the DC Bar and a member of both the ICF and their Metro DC chapter. I coach pro bono as part of ICF’s emerging leaders’ program.