Leadership & Team Coaching
Lead as Yourself.
Build a Team that Thrives.
Coaching that helps new leaders draw out their strengths and turn feedback into growth, for themselves and their teams.
Stepping into leadership changes almost everything at once. The workload grows, expectations shift, and the people you once worked beside now look to you. Many new leaders understandably model themselves on leaders they've admired, and can slowly drift from the leader they are meant to be.
I help new leaders notice that gap and close it. Together we use the feedback from performance reviews, 360s, or strengths assessments, to understand what you bring and how you can grow and lead based on your strengths and who you are. And because no leader leads alone, I also work with teams so they can give, receive, and use feedback well.
Nothing about this work is scripted. Each engagement is built around the person, the team, and the moment they're in. Like a sugar maple, every leader has something to offer in every season.
The Way I Work with Clients
Coaching for New Leaders, Teams, and Organizations
Coaching for New Leaders
New leaders face a lot at once: thinking more strategically, managing former peers, delegating, balancing visibility with doing the work, and getting comfortable not having every answer. Using your performance reviews, 360 feedback, or strengths assessments, we’ll identify how you want to lead, where that differs from how you’re leading now, and build a plan to lead from your strengths.
Good fit if: you’re new to leading, stepping into a bigger role, or getting feedback that doesn’t match the leader you want to be.
INDIVIDUAL COACHING
Coaching for Team Members
Feedback only helps if people can take it in and use it. I work one-on-one with people at any level, whether they come to me on their own or their organization brings me in, to turn feedback from performance reviews, 360s, or everyday conversations into growth instead of frustration.
Good fit if: you’ve received feedback you’re not sure what to do with, you feel stuck, or you’re ready to grow into your next role. Or you’re an HR or L&D leader who wants to support an employee through challenging feedback, a growth plan, or preparation for a bigger role.
INDIVIDUAL COACHING
Team Development
Strong teams share clear norms, understand each other’s strengths, and work through conflict instead of around it. Through team sessions, retreats, and individual coaching where needed, I help teams communicate better and build lasting trust.
Good fit if: your team, whether two people or twenty, is new, growing, struggling with conflict, or ready to perform at a higher level.
GROUP COACHING
Invest in new leaders early, and the whole team grows.
When a new leader finds their footing, their team feels it.
My coaching helps organizations:
Build higher-functioning teams with clear norms and real trust
Turn performance feedback into positive action instead of frustration
Keep and grow promising leaders and the people they lead
Raise performance by strengthening engagement
That last point is grounded in research. People engage most when they feel some control over their work and believe it matters. Leaders who ask good questions and build strong relationships create those conditions, and that is exactly what my coaching develops.
How it works: Engagements typically run six months to a year. Sessions are primarily virtual, so I can work with leaders and teams anywhere, with on-site sessions for retreats and concentrated team work.
WORKSHOP
Bring a Coaching Mindset to Leadership Practice
This popular half day, on-site workshop introduces leaders and leadership to the coaching mindset and provides them with the opportunity to explore how they can bring a coaching mindset to their daily leadership practice.
COACHING FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Whatever season you’re in, we’ll build a plan that fits where you are.
Meet Dr. Sarah Terwilliger, PCC, Leadership & Executive Coach
I believe reflection isn’t the opposite of growth. It’s the root.
I know what it's like to step into leadership, because I've done it more than once. Across a variety of leadership roles, I've had to find my footing, lead former peers, and figure out how to lead like myself. I've also led learning and development, designing how organizations help their people grow into bigger roles. That combination shapes how I coach: I understand what new leaders are going through, and what the organizations investing in them need to see.
My doctoral research focused on achievement emotions and motivation: why some people lean into feedback and growth while others shut down. I bring that research into every engagement, helping leaders build the conditions where their teams engage and grow.
I've coached leaders and worked in the education, technology, non-profit, start-up, sustainability, and athletic sectors.
As a former collegiate runner and Ironman finisher, I know growth comes from steady, consistent practice, not a single big moment.
Credentials: PCC (ICF) · Board Certified Coach · Certified Executive Coach · EdD, Virginia Tech
WHY A SUGAR MAPLE?
Something to Offer in Every Season
A sugar maple gives something in every season: new growth in spring, brilliant color in fall, and in the depths of winter, sweetness that has to be drawn out. I see leaders and teams the same way. Each person brings something valuable, even when it isn't yet visible. My work is helping you recognize it, and lead from it. On any team, people are in different seasons at the same time.
Spring (Steady Growth)
Some people are ready for the daily habit of feedback: small, consistent exchanges that build capacity over time, so it never has to become a big, high-stakes conversation. Some people are ready to build on what’s already working. Small, regular feedback helps their strengths to continue developing and offers opportunity to enhance awareness, perspective, and contribution.
Fall (Transformation)
Some are in the middle of letting go of old patterns — defensiveness, avoidance, silence — and need room for that shift rather than more input. Some are in a season of change, such as a new role, a new team, or old habits they are ready to let go of. They need room and support not just input to find their footing as the leaves change color.
Winter (What Needs Tapping)
Some are holding something valuable; an honest observation, an idea, a concern that won’t surface on its own. It takes someone who knows how to draw it out, rather than force growth that isn’t ready yet. Some hold something valuable that has yet to be tapped; a strength, an idea, or an honest perspective. Like maple sap it takes patience, and awareness to draw it out.
