Heather Poirier is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her professionalism and passion for Non Profit Organizations.

She is a coach for leaders in the nonprofit sector and she helps them overcome their stress or even burnout.

She decided to focus on this specific group of people firstly because she understands how hard it is for nonprofits to swim in the unpredictable corporate sea amongst giants.

The second and deeper reason is because she truly believes that nonprofits are way ahead of other organizations when it comes to making the world a better place, so by helping the people involved it’s the best way for her to foster a positive change. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Heather Poirier:

Name: Heather Poirier
Pillar: The Mind
Who is this coach for: Mostly leaders in the nonprofit sector who are facing stress and possible burnout.
How they can help: By helping her clients gain clarity about their life path, understanding of their high value activities, and find healing for their emotional stressors.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?

My husband and I were able to adjust to working from home during the lockdown here in DC, and once things began to reopen, we took every precaution to keep ourselves safe.

We’ve been fortunate despite the circumstances.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

It didn’t affect my coaching practice because I have been geared from the beginning to coach online.

My clients have been affected in ways both large and small, from loss of motivation to loss of jobs and family members.

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

Be careful but not afraid.

Be wise and listen to your instincts.

Trust people who know what they’re talking about.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

Before I became a business coach, I was a longtime writer and editor whose position, along with 10 colleagues, was outsourced in December 2020.

I’d been wanting to change professions for a few years, so I seized the opportunity and retrained as a coach.

I work with leaders in the nonprofit sector who are facing stress and possible burnout.

Both staff and volunteers struggle with the issues facing nonprofits, ranging from budgets to internal politics, and most leaders don’t have the full set of tools they need to cope.

The work is much harder than it seems. Because most nonprofits don’t pay their volunteers (and some can’t even pay for staff members at first), the volunteers have to dig deep within themselves for motivation. That can last for only so long.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

My fear of client development, believe it or not!

I find everything else about being a coach and an entrepreneur really easy, but reaching out to prospects is something I still have to face head on.

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

My coaching is geared toward keeping people engaged, so I use techniques and strategies that engage each of the seven ways people learn best.

Most coaches, and in fact, most programs of any kind, aren’t aware of these methods and don’t use them.

Keeping my clients engaged is the best way I can help them achieve their outcomes.

My coaching is largely virtual, too, so I have structured it in ways that means my clients don’t have to make a special trip somewhere to meet me, unless that’s their preference.

I’m always open to face to face engagement, but being able to hop onto a video call with clients helps everyone stay on track.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

Everyone has a story, a past, a set of problems they’d rather not face.

I have an array of tools to help my clients find healing for their emotional stressors and upset.

These tools go straight to emotions rather than staying caught up in the mind with all its words and objections. They help people find healing very quickly.

It’s not what I advertise as my coaching service, but it’s usually something I do with a client whenever we reach a major sticking point.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

The full understanding of what their highest value, highest dollar activities are, what their life changing activities are, and clarity about the path of transformation ahead of them.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

I track each client’s progress and schedule calls for only 45 minutes. That leaves buffers for extra discussion without going into the next client’s session.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

Nonprofits will change the world!

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

Let go of your fear so that you can have faith in other people.

Your final thoughts?

Nonprofits are way ahead of other organizations when it comes to helping society change and grow.

My work with nonprofit leaders is the best way for me to help foster a better world for us all.

Where Can You Find Heather Poirier?

If you liked this interview and you would love to see how Heather can help you, go to https://rapidnonprofitsuccess.com/ and discover your next step.

If you like to connect with Heather personally, you can do that through her LinkedIn profile. It was an honor having this interview with her.