Kristen Lessig-Schenerlein, a social entrepreneur, mental fitness coach and yoga instructor, is an expert in nonprofit leadership, forever passionate about the fields of neuroscience, positive psychology, and performance science. After nearly two decades of being driven by a mission, almost to complete burnout and after having experienced the real-life effects of working within a toxic environment, Kristen began down a new path in service to others facing similar challenges. She integrated her own personal yoga practice and energy medicine into a science-based coaching practice. She became a trained yoga instructor guiding her clients “on the mat” and also an ICF Certified Performance Coach and a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach to support her clients “off the mat” with mental fitness training and coaching. Kristen has dedicated her entire career to transforming the lives of others and sees herself now as a guide to those willing to do the innerwork necessary to link their power with their passions, so that they can live a life more in alignment with their values, while showing up authentically in aspects of their lives. Kristen is the founder of Koi Coaching and Consulting, serving clients around the world, thanks in part to being part of the coaching team of BetterUp as well, whose mission is to make coaching accessible to all, unlocking greater potential, purpose, and passion.
Born in a small coastal town in Connecticut, Kristen also spent a good part of her career in Richmond, Virginia, where she founded her nonprofit organization before moving back to the coast where she now resides in Southwest Florida with her husband and a blended family of four beautiful children.
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
Kristen Lessig-Schenerlein, it seems like you are a woman on a mission. You have an amazing background from your early days as a therapist working with veterans who experienced the trauma of a life-changing spinal cord injury to forming a nationally recognized nonprofit that created opportunities and transformed the lives of those veterans, along with many others living with a physical disability and then serving for nearly two decades building, growing, and turning around various businesses, nonprofits, and the leadership capacity among my team-members. How did you find yourself in your place in life and career now?
My mission has always been to impact lives. Now, as a mom of four children, in a blended family and children ranging from 3 years old to 15 years old, to include my stepdaughter who has special needs, I felt I needed to get a bit creative in my efforts to” be the change you want to see in the world.” This led me to pause (and do A LOT of yoga) to release what was “supposed” to be and open myself up to what could be. I was able to use the space created to reflect on how my skills and experience could have the greatest impact, as I reprioritized my personal and professional lives. I went deep into my mental fitness training. I gained clarity on my path forward. Through this process, I was able to see the value of self-actualization, something that so many will never take the opportunity to explore.
I am now committed to helping others navigate growth journeys and major transitions. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to transform lives again through performance, leadership, and mental fitness coaching. I guide other powerful mission-driven social impact leaders through the inner work of connecting their power with their passions so that they too can live a life in alignment with their values. Courageous, authentic, leaders in the making.
As a result, I now make it a priority to stay flexible and open to opportunities ahead. This even allows me to practice yoga regularly, take a few calls while walking the beach, and regularly get to prepare some delicious meals and fresh-baked cookies for the team at home!
What is your business name and how do you help your clients?
I’ve spent nearly 20 years mentoring and coaching individuals, first as a founder and Executive Director of a leading sports organization and now as an internationally credentialed performance, leadership, and Certified Positive Intelligence Coach and Founder of Koi Coaching & Consulting.
As a coach, I know that everyone has different desires (and struggles) related to personal and professional growth. So, my role is to help you get to know yourself better and then give you the tools to bring out YOUR best and achieve the change you want to see…faster and with more confidence than if you were on your own.
My approach is three-pronged:
I encourage you to be MINDFUL – to be self-aware. This IS the heart of daring leadership. Being present in each and every moment. How do you show up in the world? Allowing you to own your strengths and your weaknesses and clearly recognize how you may stand in the way of living the life you were meant to live.
I support you in becoming EMPOWERED – finding the strength and confidence to move forward in all aspects of life. A state of being in which you recognize and celebrate our own wild potential
I create a safe place for you to GROW – a PROCESS of developing oneself, and evolving. A shift in thinking to a view where a love of learning and resilience are the recipes for overall success and happiness.
It is my ardent belief that WE HAVE A CHOICE in how we face our unique challenges – EACH and EVERY day.
Koi Coaching & Consulting was founded under the premise and power of the KOI Fish.
The koi fish signifies the gift of transformation. It encourages you to use your intuition to navigate your life effectively. To be in tune with your emotions and have some time for a little introspection. The world is an ever-changing place. Refusing to change will rob you of great potential and incredible opportunities, so take the koi meaning seriously to experience a rebirth and a renewal. The koi is also symbolic of peace, healing, and open channels. This reminds us of all the need for calm and peace to navigate the rough seas of life. It also encourages you to be on the path of healing because this will provide you with the rebirth that you need. When you do so, you will feel lighter and your head will be clearer. You will find inspiration everywhere, and the future will never look so bright!
“In a pond, Koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, Koi can grow to three and a half feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world.” ‒ Vince Poscente
What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?
In addition to my work with individual clients, I also am deeply passionate about working with teams. Perhaps it is my love of sports and a deep belief that the skills learned on the field can translate into our work environment. I am committed to working with teams to shift from a performance-based culture to a learning culture. As with individual coaching, this begins with the inner work to transform the ways we are showing up, so that we can authentically connect each team member's power with their passion. In creating a learning culture, the environment is created with growth is the core value and regular rethinking cycles are routine.
Specifically, in working in the social impact sector, I want to affect major change in how nonprofits operate. I want Koi Coaching to be instrumental in shifting nonprofit cultures. My personal goal is to coach leaders into creating environments of respect, trust, and openness in which their team members can raise concerns and suggestions without fear of reprisal. This is the foundation of the learning culture, where organization’s can reach their fullest potential so that their mission’s can have the greatest impact in our world.
To be successful in achieving this vision for Koi Coaching & Consulting I feel it is important for me to continue on my learning journey as well, rethinking, unlearning, and growing as a coach. My eyes are set on achieving my Master’s in Positive Psychology to strengthen my ability to help others build their mental fitness so they can find happiness within themselves. I am also continually deepening my knowledge in the principles of yoga to empower individuals towards improved health and overall well-being on a path of Yoga Therapy. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of this work to change the world and I am committed to continue to grow and evolve myself and my business to reach as many people as I can!
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
Being a mother has changed my life dramatically. My first-born daughter was just born when I founded my nonprofit organization. I can actually remember feeding her in the highchair around my dining room table while conducting one of our early board meetings.
When I became pregnant I was in my late 20’s, healthy and active. I would have never thought that I would have had a challenging pregnancy. From just a few weeks in, I was marked high risk and the journey of weekly doctor's visits began. I was away from my family in a new city and not only was I building a business but I was also navigating some very challenging emotions, being completely scared for my daughter’s safety.
As anticipated, her entry into this world was a bit rocky. Hours after entering this world, her dad and I were dozing off, she in his arms. Something triggered me to wake up, only to find that she literally turned blue, losing oxygen from an infection she received during delivery. I rang for nurses and she has swept away from us in a matter of seconds. Thankful for the amazing medical team that cared for her and ensured that we are here to celebrate her 14th birthday this year.
I share this because there is nothing that inspires me more to be the best human I can be than the amazing little girl that fought her way into this world from the very beginning.
She has been my “mini-me” for years and in her, I can see myself. I want to continue to model for her what it means to be humble, kind, and compassionate. To use our strong will and passion for the good of others.
She wrote me a note a few years back saying that what she admired about me was that I was “not afraid of anything”. Boy, if she only knew. This alone showed me that perhaps I was missing a key “coachable” moment even in my parenting. The moments of showing vulnerability as a mom were where I derived the courage for most of what I have accomplished in my life and career thus far.
As Dr. Susan David said, “Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is fear walking.”
My daughter inspires me to walk directly into my fears and to show others how to do the same. Guided by my values, as they are by theirs, we walk together towards the missions and social impact work that matters most to us.
This consistent effort to show up a little more “Sage” (from the Positive Intelligence framework) today than yesterday helps ensure that we all lead a purpose-driven life. And when we do so, we find ourselves happier and able to reach our full potential.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
In adopting what we call the Sage Perspective in Positive Intelligence, I see the Great Resignation and the growing attention around toxic work environments to be a huge opportunity for the coaching profession.
Social impact/nonprofit organizations are created on a funding structure that requires them to default to a performance-based culture too often. Given their reliance on outside funding sources whose emphasis from a development and grants perspective is on results, it is no wonder why there is too often an undermining of psychological safety within nonprofit teams. With the focus being so strong on the organization’s mission, it makes sense that the idea of creating psychological safety seems too time-consuming (all the niceties, etc), too selfish ( we are here to serve those in need, to affect real change in our environments, etc), and simply not something that there is enough time for ( time is a luxury in nonprofits, the lists are long and the resources are scarce) giving unconditional praise to individuals and teams…there is always more than can and needs to be done, keep swimming becomes the nonprofit’s M.O. Unfortunately, however, nonprofit professionals are too often drowning, they are in desperate need of boundaries on work and personal time. They also have a deep desire to be recognized for their sacrifices, their sacrifices in pay, time with family and friends, etc…all too often this has become expected.
How in fact did we get to this place where social impact/nonprofit leaders are expected to do more while being paid less? Oftentimes reporting to members of a board consisting of their peers from college who simply chose the for profit path. These for profit colleagues likely do not get questioned for establishing clear boundaries around work and home time, are able to set more realistic expectations around work that can be accomplished, all while likely having the support of a performance or leadership coach to guide them through their development (something that would seem luxurious in a nonprofit setting).
If I could change one thing about the social impact/nonprofit work… it would be the expectations it inadvertently places on its teams. The adoption of a true learning culture could be the key in transforming how nonprofits operate and aid in resetting expectations of the individual professionals so that as an industry, we remain competitive with the top talent and graduates…not losing them to other industries where they feel supported and respected.
As a result of the challenges in the past few years, it is clear that for many professional’s there has been a major perspective shift on life and unfortunately being “ superhuman” is a badge of honor that many no longer wish to wear!
In nonprofit organizations, it is a known fact that those working for a nonprofit are likely some of the most passionate people you may know… since I have worn this badge of honor, I can attest to having become so deeply connected to the mission and work that I was doing that I just may have lost sight of myself in the process. And more importantly, in doing so, I likely sent the message to those I hired or on my team ( consciously or unconsciously) that time spent working was synonymous with their dedication to the organization itself. There is an ever-present threat of professional burnout in nonprofits, in great part due to this fundamental belief to always be “on”, whether that be for an event, extended hours to complete whatever task is a priority… well, everything is a priority. Another opportunity for backfire in the nonprofit sector.
Speaking of backfiring, I want to close by sharing that though I am a big proponent of values work within nonprofits, guiding principles for both the organization and its team’s stakeholders, and even clients. That being said, I think there is a tendency to take these too far and lose sight of the fact that working in a nonprofit does not mean you are inhuman. Too often the values can be taken to be too black and white and not allowing for the flexibility needed in being human. Going back to my belief in creating psychological safety and fostering a learning culture…we must see our values as guideposts and aspirations while also creating a safe place for our team members to make mistakes and voice their concerns or the truth about a challenge that may be present. Coaching leaders to model vulnerability leads to true, authentic leadership and is a catalyst for creating an environment not falling prey to the false ideas of “good” versus “bad” and a “holier than thou” environment.
