Nicole is a certified leadership coach, soft skills and communication expert, with a double bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Law. She is the Founder of Nicole Schmitz Leadership Coaching, which helps senior corporate executives and entrepreneurs from 10 countries around the world to develop their confidence, communication, authentic presence, and ultimately, their unique Leadership X-Factor.
Nicole Schmitz, Leadership Coach
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so that we can get to know you better.
Hi! My name is Nicole Schmitz, certified leadership coach, with an academic background in Psychology & Law, and I am the Founder of Nicole Schmitz Leadership Coaching.
A bit about me: I used to be as quiet as a mouse, and then went on to speak in front of live global audiences of 100,000+ people! I’ve since taken that experience to the boardroom and presented to top CEOs in Australia and around the world.
My hobbies include singing, cooking, nature, sudoku puzzles, salsa dancing, and travel – I’ve immersed myself in the cultures of over 45 different counties and lived in 4 cities around the world.
My passions include psychology and the human mind, the value of effective communication, nurturing and guiding others towards their goals, and leading with authenticity based on who you naturally are.
These passions influenced the development of my leadership coaching business. Ultimately, it represents my true purpose and calling in life and there is nothing else I’d rather do!
What is your business name and how do you help your clients?
Nicole Schmitz Leadership Coaching enables senior corporate executives and entrepreneurs to find their unique Leadership X-Factor ‒ which is to think, speak, and connect like highly dynamic, charismatic, thought leaders, to get them ahead in their careers and lives.
I offer a wide range of services centered around holistic leadership transformation. However, I primarily work through my flagship Leadership X-Factor Mastery Program.
With a focus on ‘career essential’ soft skills, my method tackles internal mindset, structured career planning, and external communication strategies, with the objective of helping leaders to develop and refine their authentic leadership presence; or their unique leadership blueprint. This approach works with a person’s natural strengths, as I believe the best way for a person to lead with confidence is by being their authentic selves.
It operates along 6 guiding principles ‒ clarity, confidence, core, communication, connection, and continuity as a structured logical progression towards finding and expressing your unique brand of leadership.
I apply psychology-based insights to truly get to the core of a person’s setbacks and rewire them for good, and everything is tailored and personalised to each client ‒ I work closely with them to uncover their unique challenges and goals to ensure relevant and lasting success.
Some of the results I’ve helped my clients to achieve include asking for and receiving a promotion after only 3 months, delivering a live speech in front of 1000+ people, winning back key global stakeholders after a tough few years in the market, developing stronger, more authentic relationships up and down the chain, and getting their multimillion-dollar legacy project over the line.
You can learn more about my services here.
What kind of audiences do you target your business towards?
My business is specifically suited towards senior corporate executives and entrepreneurs who have the knowledge and technical expertise, however, struggle to articulate their leadership capability effectively.
What they are all looking for is the final piece to their leadership career puzzle so that they can maximise their potential through behaviours such as speaking up with conviction, communicating their message and value, standing out and being noticed, exhibiting high leadership emotional intelligence, and leading with meaningful impact within the communities that they serve.
To date, I’ve worked with senior executives and entrepreneurs at various stages in their career – from senior managers to Directors & CEOs, in ASX listed companies to global multinational firms across 10 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Dubai.
What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?
My long-term vision is to help 20,000 professionals from all over the globe, by 2030, to find their Leadership X-Factor ‒ which is to think, speak, and connect like highly charismatic, thought leaders.
This vision is based on my business philosophy that we all have brilliant ideas in our own right, based on our individual knowledge and experience, and it’s our duty to share it with the world. And with the right tools, this potential can be leveraged for a bigger purpose, whether it be for business, organisational, or collective global goals.
This vision is consistent with my commitment to the UN Sustainable Goals of Quality Education & Reducing Inequalities ‒ where I welcome people from all walks of life ‒ culture, experience, and backgrounds ‒ to help develop exemplary leadership communication so that they can offer their unique value to the world.
In the long run, I see myself creating an empire centered around holistic leadership transformation that can help to improve the lives of countless people around the world.
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
The person who inspires me the most is my father. I really admire his kind, authentic, hardworking nature, and the incredible things he was able to achieve throughout his career and life, despite experiencing several setbacks and coming from humble beginnings. He is an exemplary role model who inspires me to be the best that I can be every single day.
We have a very strong relationship, and he has always held nothing but the strongest belief, support, and encouragement for me with everything that I do. This has been fundamental to my success.
He has been with me throughout my entire professional and personal development journey; he’s witnessed the highs and lows, and significant milestones. He’s gone so far as to spend sleepless nights with me, driving 2 hours on a whim just to show his support, and even moved countries with me to support my endeavours. For this reason, I see all my wins as shared wins with him.
What is your work inspired by?
My work is very much inspired by my personal story, where I have struggled with confidence and leadership communication challenges for a large part of my life.
Early on, I was an extremely shy child ‒ I was as quiet as a mouse. I knew I was intelligent and had bright ideas, but I was afraid of what I had to say, and how I had to say it, and I had this crippling fear of being judged.
However, I didn’t want to be like this forever. So, I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone ‒ entering public speaking and singing competitions ‒ because I figured if I could sing in front of a crowd, I could definitely speak in front of one! And I ended up speaking in front of a live global audience of 100,000+ people ‒ impromptu ‒ as a global spokesperson on topics like globalisation and interconnectedness.
It was then that I learnt one of the most important lessons that I’ve taken with me throughout my life – it’s not what you say, but how you say it. I then took that knowledge and experience to the boardroom and presented to top CEOs in Australia and the world.
Through this, I saw the rewards that are waiting on the other side of overcoming your challenges and the impact you can have when you reach your full potential. This is the reason I have dedicated my life to helping as many people as possible to do the same – to overcome their confidence and leadership communication struggles, express their unique voice, and thrive.
You can learn more about my story here.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
My greatest career achievement to date is having the courage to start and build my own leadership coaching business ‒ from the ground up, on my own.
With many new businesses failing within the first few years, it was a major risk that took strength and vulnerability. There are also those voices and figures around you that doubt your vision or ability to carry through. Nevertheless, I believed in my vision, knew my capability and potential, and surrounded myself with a strong support network.
So in the midst of the global pandemic, I identified a gap in the market where mindset, confidence & communication was at an all-time low, communication skills were rusty, and we were all uncertain about our position in the world – and I took a leap. I brought my vision to life, built my business from the ground up, and launched my global online coaching business.
I studied and learned every single system and process back to front from building and designing my own website, to filming, directing, and editing my own videos, accounts, and lengthy marketing research and campaign efforts. These are skills I had no prior knowledge of but are something I can proudly say I’ve now mastered.
This then led to the development of my flagship Leadership X-Factor Mastery Program – which reflects my own unique IP that encapsulates my target market’s needs in a complete, personalised, practical, and tailored solution toward holistic leadership development that is truly unique and cannot be found anywhere else.
At the end of the day, running your own business can be a challenging, uncertain, and lonely space. Therefore, resilience is critical. You don't have that safety net of being someone else's employee ‒ everything is on you. You can feel pride when things go right, but there's no one to hide behind when things go wrong.
But I chose this path the day I decided there's nothing else I'd rather do than make an impact doing what I am truly passionate about.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
If I could change one thing about the leadership coaching industry, it would be to provide a more flexible, personalized, holistic approach toward authentic leadership development.
From my observations, most leadership programs available today adopt a ‘one size fits all’ standardized approach. However, I believe we are all a product of our own life story and experiences. Therefore, we all learn in different ways.
My overall ethos puts the client in the centre of all interactions where they can move at their own pace, from whichever angle they feel comfortable. This reflects my current processes where although I provide preliminary objectives through my program, they are flexible and tailored allowing the individual to set their own journey, as I believe everyone should have the ability to choose their own path.
My supportive and guiding process allows a person to undergo holistic leadership transformation through all angles ‒ internal mindset, structured career planning, and external communication strategies, towards developing their authentic leadership presence, and unique leadership blueprint.
