Susanne Biro: About Susanne

Certified Coach, Speaker, Author and Workshop Facilitator

About Susanne

My passion in life is the psychology of human motivation, the creation of peak performance, the manifestation of real success, and the study and application of effective leadership. I have spent the last 12 years of my life studying people by asking the following kinds of questions:

How do people think and what do they think about?

What motivates and drives them?

What makes one person succeed, where in the same situation, another fails miserably?

How do successful people define failure?
How do those who achieve their goals and dreams spend their time?
What is it, exactly, that commands true respect from others?
What do effective leaders do that ineffective ones do not?

What I have learned

What I have learned is that success is a mindset, a way of using our mind to effectively move us towards our goals. Anyone who has ever achieved anything of value did so by thinking a certain way and holding several core empowering beliefs. As a result, my area of specialty within coaching is to help my clients see how they currently use their mind (or how it uses them) and how they can begin to use it more effectively to not only achieve their own highest goals and dreams, but as importantly, enjoy the process of their life as they do so.

My formal training

Bachelor Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia (BA);
Diploma in Technology (Business/Marketing Communications specialty) from British Columbia's Institute of Technology;
Public Speaking certificate from Capilano College;
Completion of advanced studies and certification with The Coaches Training Institute (CPCC designation)
Completion of the CTI-sponsored specialty course Corporate Coaching;
Completion of The Leader's Voice workshop (leadership communication training), The Leadership Challenge workshop and certification workshop (leadership effectiveness training); and completion of various specific coach training workshops: A Bigger Game, The Art of Team Coaching, Appreciative Inquiry Into Coaching (NTL) and Group Process and Facilitation.
Master of Arts degree in Coaching and Consulting, Applied Behavioral Science, from the Leadership Institute of Seattle at Bastyr University (MA).

My professional background

In my prior career, I worked as an account executive with a major advertising agency called Lanyon Phillips Communications Inc., located in Vancouver, BC. Accounts I managed included: TELUS Business Solutions, BC Hydro (Corporate, Sales and Marketing, Business to Business), Armstrong Cheese, and Army & Navy Re-branding, among others. I also held the role of United Way employee chair, and within that capacity I found a way to strengthen both inner agency and client/agency relationships by organizing various fund-raising events for large groups.

A wide array of clients

I left advertising in February of 2001 to start my own business: Executive Coaching, Speaking and Seminar Leading. My clients have ranged in age from 16 - 60+ and include: CEO's, senior managers, executives, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, business owners, actors, athletes, people working towards specific health and fitness goals, and those in career transition. The common denominator of the clients I work with? People who are already successful - and feel there is more for them: more fulfillment and satisfaction, clarity and passion, achievement and excitement, and most importantly, more peace of mind. Essentially, people who want to get to the next level AND be able to enjoy the process of doing so.

These days, my private practice accounts for approximately 10% of my work. The other 90% of my time is spent as the Director of Coaching at Bluepoint Leadership Development. Please see the following link to learn more: www.bluepointleadership.com/development/index.php?page=coaching

The extracurricular me

I am a member with the International Coach Federation www.coachfederation.org and the Vancouver coaching community www.vancouvercoaches.org. My volunteer work includes mentoring university students, young professionals and new coaches. I frequently donate time to speak and/or deliver workshops at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia's Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia, as well as for various community and professional organizations.

On a personal side, I am a huge believer in the role that exercise plays in achieving optimal mental health. I love hiking, swimming, working out, and running, having completed my first 1/2 marathon in May 2002. More importantly, however, I take every opportunity to read, attend speakers, seminars and courses to update my skills and knowledge base in order to provide my clients with exceptional value.

What I know to be true

It's easy to believe that you can't attain what you really want, and that people who are fulfilled in life have something you don't. I know this because I spent most of my life believing it, feeling I could not really have the things that I wanted, or at least not in the way that I wanted them. As a result, I started studying people I considered to be successful - successful because they were living their dreams, and because they were respected by those around them. I began reading everything I could find related to this interest. And what I learned is that successful, fulfilled people have one main thing in common: They share a mindset.

I decided that my purpose would be to incorporate that mindset into my own life, so that I, too, could abandon doubt. I was introduced to coaching and immediately began working with my own coach. I wish I had the words to explain how much it has changed my beliefs, my level of fulfillment, and my sense of purpose. As a direct result of working with my coach, I left a 'successful' career as an advertising executive to pursue my passion - the psychology of human motivation, success and leadership.