"Manuelle is an exceptional thinker and advisor on a wide range of critical business and HR fields including leadership development, organization development, learning and global business and people leadership. She brings an uncommon combination of a deep and broad theoretical understanding along with a profoundly practical approach to program development and execution. She has lived a global personal and professional life which provides her with a nuanced and realistic understanding and approach to global business leadership. She is a very effective coach whose combination of caring and honesty makes it easy for others to open up and adopt her advice. She was very helpful to me in establishing the Bank's first formal leadership training program and customizing it to best fit our business and culture. She is my 'go-to person' when I need help in thinking through complex leadership development needs and challenges." Terry Schuler, Executive VP, Human Resources, East West Bank "I want to thank you for the thought-provoking lessons and discoveries I made during your training classes. You have a rare gift, and hope you continue to share it!" Leadership Development workshop participant “Thank you for your outstanding presentation at the Defense Contract Management Command Long Beach Town Hall meeting on July 21. Everybody in the office remarked how wonderfully Ms. Charbonneau presented the training. Thank you for your excellent presentation and contribution to the Boeing Long Beach work environment. You have helped our workforce immensely. It is always a pleasure to host such outstanding presentations.” Sincerely, Walter M. Crandall III Colonel, USAF, Defense Logistics Agency Commander “It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with Manuelle as my executive coach over the last 6 months. I felt the program was tailored to meet my needs and was adaptable throughout. Manuelle is particularly adept at understanding high-level leadership in a global intercultural context. My leadership was transformed in the process and the results exceeded my expectations." Director, global corporation “Manuelle is an extremely insightful, no-nonsense executive coach. Through a 360-degree evaluation and her skillful coaching, I learned a great deal about myself -- my strengths and areas for improvement, and how to work with others more effectively. She's a tremendous asset to any organization.” Tim Worley Executive Director at California-Nevada Section, AWWA I recently took the lead of a newly created organization with the goal of developing and implementing a novel strategy. When Manuelle, whom I had been working with for individual coaching for more than 2 years, approached me to engage in the first connected intelligence executive circle, I felt the timing wasn't right because I was not yet in the new position. Well, I'm glad I participated as it helped with me so much with my transition. Moreover, today I continue to reflect on the work we collectively accomplished and I use this insight and the methods we learned to cope with the continuous challenges associated with change. First, working with other executives who face similar challenges but in a different context, is equivalent to looking at yourself in a mirror but it is not you, and consequently your own emotions are less involved. At a personal level, it was essential for me to understand, reflect and accept how much I needed to change as well in this whole process. Second, Jean-Marie Bonthous, the group's co-leader, is truly a world expert in leading changes in an organization, he will help you understand what: "change readiness of your organization, distributing the load for change, finding the change champions, unit of change is 1, horizon of success and more", mean. He makes it very practical by using both real cases he was involved in and also the situation that the participants are currently facing. I fully recommend the "connected intelligence executive circle" for execs who are about to lead changes (in their current or in new role) so that you not only increase your self-awareness but you also adopt a pragmatic reading grid to control the key parameters associated with changes. Geraud Dubois, DGM, Science to Solutions, IBM Research Your help in preparing for upcoming job interviews was so eye opening, I cannot believe how unprepared I used to be compared to how I felt after a few sessions together. All our work on really taking stock of my strengths and skills, understanding what my future employer was looking for, your advice, the homework you assigned, your marketing approach to job interviewing and our practices paid off... I also gained clarity about my strengths and my career goals in the process. I now have more confidence because I understand where I add the most value. This continues to serve me well into my transition to my new position! With much gratitude for our partnership." D.V. "As a business owner, I always believe that getting clarity on who we are is the key to creating business growth from the inside out. When I met Manuelle, I could feel her sharpness in terms of understanding leadership and how to support leaders in becoming more powerful and successful. During our work together, we assessed my leadership style using the EDP - the Entrepreneur Dimensions Profile. She provided me with valuable insights in understanding my strengths and how to reach my goals. Manuelle is definitely an asset for entrepreneurs who want to increase their impact. I highly recommend her, especially for Franco-American ambitious leaders. Thank you Manuelle!" Catherine Chevalier, Managing Partner of Not Maurice, Creative Marketing Agency, Los Angeles "As a Startup CEO in the US, I thought the idea that I could do everything alone on my own would have been extraordinarily arrogant. Deciding to contact Manuelle was one of the best decisions I made. Manuelle's Executive Coaching is highly structured, professionally delivered, and provides tangible, solution-focused results while providing the support needed to stretch me toward reaching higher goals for my business and for myself. Her executive coaching process was challenging and rewarding and I truly appreciated her commitment, honesty and humility. Manuelle doesn’t pass judgment on you and more important, there’s no agenda other than your own. At the end of her mission, the only thing that comes to mind is "Thank You!” Nathalie de CEGLIE, CEO, Natuza |
"A close friend of mine introduced me to Manuelle, as I was transitioning from working at a startup to a role in a large corporation. I was concerned about how my skill set and experience would translate in the new corporate culture and how to navigate what I perceived to be a very different working environment. Manuelle’s gentle guidance and deep wisdom was instrumental in preparing me for the new challenge; in a few sessions, Manuelle provided me with the tools and understanding to prepare a 90-day plan to present on day one. This 90-day plan has enabled me to hit the ground running and be in control of my own on boarding, and with hindsight, it has helped me enormously in my transition to the new role not only with my boss, but with my peers, influencers, and other executives as well. If you think that you know it all, and that advice is something of a luxury, you have not met Manuelle yet. Her experience with executive transitions is priceless, and the advice and guidance you will receive from her will accompany you during and after your transition, and be part of your success." Jossi Fresco Benaim, Regional Client Executive Latin American, M & E Verizon Digital Media Services “As I reflect on recent accomplishments related to a large reorganization of my business unit, and on many accomplishments throughout my career, it would be hard for me to single out anyone who has had a more positive impact and who has helped me more than Manuelle. I especially benefitted from the one-on-one coaching when I was a new manager, but continued to benefit from her consulting about employee and leadership development for my entire division later on in my career as a senior manager. I feel very fortunate to have had Manuelle as an invisible force by my side.” Supply Chain director, large utility "Manuelle coached me for 4 months at the beginning of the year, and she was a great help in identifying my key assets and strengths, and learning how to showcase them. Thanks to her attentive coaching on how to adapt French mindsets to American situations, I aced my interviews and found a job in six weeks! I especially recommend Manuelle as a calm and strengthening presence and above and beyond advisor." Adrienne Jan, Director of Mobile Products at AEG "Manuelle provided my company, and me personally, exactly what we were looking for: insights into inter-cultural differences, specifically with France, which helped to adjust my behavior and lead across borders more effectively. For any such French-foreign business relationships, Manuelle uniquely qualified due to her experience and background both in France and overseas.” VP, global company “Very professional, very effective in large groups and one-on-one. I enjoy Manuelle’s style and delivery, she is excellent. This was exactly right and very well done.” Seminar participant "Providing staff training is always a challenge due to the time commitment and the return (i.e., knowledge retention). Manuelle worked with me to develop training into smaller “bite size” chunks, resulting in a multi-part series on “Negotiation Skills". We divided the classes into four 1- 1½ hour sections, allowing us to conduct trainings during normal/routine meetings, so no extra time was necessary. Manuelle recognized the advantage of short sessions, and applied homework assignments in between to stimulate participation and keep the subject fresh. She utilized breakout groups during each class and encouraged participants to teach each other. These brief seminars proved highly beneficial and were much better received by participants with more impact than if the same amount of time had been used to deliver a one-time 4-hour training session." Senior leader, state agency "Superb and very helpful presentation. Outstanding as always (Manuelle has been here several times before), with very useful information. The best ever! Very well prepared, very well presented!" Change Management workshop participant "Although I am a senior leader in a technical field, I was actually skeptical at first about how much impact coaching would really have if my coach and I met mostly via video conferencing. I was quickly proven wrong. Manuelle Charbonneau is a savvy and experienced executive coach who was both supportive yet demanding and on task toward my development, so that I could reach the objectives we had agreed on. I was traveling between four countries over the several months of our engagement. Meeting via high definition video conference from my iPad or my laptop allowed us to keep our work going and to debrief in person, right there and then, particularly when I needed it before or after some sensitive meetings. Our video sessions were actually a sort of "privileged space" out of my hectic days. They also gave me the visual interaction I needed, as two of my goals were to increase my executive presence and to connect with others more personally. My own EVP was invited to three touch-point video conferences as part of the process and to reinforce my progress. I still value this intense, memorable and personable experience, which had a direct impact on my capabilities as a leader." Senior leader, global company "Manuelle Charbonneau has a deep mastery of these two worlds: the American business mindset and the French refinement. Both are absolutely necessary to understand and move projects forward between these countries." Nathalie Monsaint-Baudry, author of "Être Française et Américaine : Cristallisations Culturelles". "As I neared the end of my more than four decade legal career I had the pleasure of participating in Manuelle Charbonneau's "Your Next Move" program for more than a year. I cannot imagine successfully transitioning to retirement, as is now the case, without Manuelle's individual and group coaching. Her program is comprehensive, and written and visual resources of all types are available and highly personalized. The roadmaps created for me with her help were invaluable, especially in those instances where I decided to change courses. Those roadmaps also included better understanding what my next act might actually look like as well as terrific coaching on the dynamics of retiring into a longtime marriage to my wife who had retired four years earlier. After 44 years of an all-consuming legal practice, Manuelle's wit, coaching skills and advice were most welcome." John Brown, Partner Best Best and Krieger Law Firm |