Eileen Goldblatt
PRESIDENT & CEO, “I HAVE A DREAM” FOUNDATION

Please tell us about your organization.
I am the president and CEO of the I Have A Dream Foundation. We provide long-range programming for at-risk youth from low economic communities across America.

How long have you been with your present employer & what is your function at your job?
I’ve been with the I Have a Dream Foundation for the past two-and-a-half years. My primary responsibilities include leadership, program development, funding outreach, strategic planning, and creating opportunities with different governmental agencies, private corporations, and individuals. We do all this to better serve our “dreamers.” That’s what we call the children in the I Have a Dream program.

When and how did you first become aware of Life Coaching?
Several years ago, I started talking to people about Life Coaching. I read articles about how CEOs and top level management in the corporate sector had this wonderful resource called Life Coaching.

When did you become a Brande Foundation Life Coaching client?
Last summer, about 10 months ago, I received a phone call from The Brande Foundation inviting me to become a Life Coaching client. I was very excited and delighted to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

What prompted you to use Life Coaching?
I feel that we have to continually grow and stretch ourselves. That includes taking on new opportunities and involving new people and resources in our lives both professionally and personally. The Brande Foundation gave me that opportunity with my coach. I’ve been working with him since last summer and he has given me extraordinary opportunities to look at both myself and my work responsibilities. He helped me improve and take myself to the next level of development in both personal and professional areas of my life.

In what ways has Life Coaching been helpful to you in your personal life?
I am now able to get cues from other people that enable me to look at situations from different points of view. I can explore how I look at information, thoughts, and ideas. I can bounce ideas off my coach. I know that he is there to help.

Have your personal relationships been affected, and if so, how?
I am able to assimilate new ideas and look at people and their ideas from a different point of view. With the help of my coach, I am broadening myself and able to stretch my imagination, my thoughts, and my ideas.

Professionally, how has Life Coaching affected your performance and productivity?
I believe that coaching is one of those wonderful resources that can help me look at my professional situation a little differently. It helps me share ideas and listen very carefully to the ideas of others. I believe that Life Coaching helps professionals attain goals in all areas of life.

The coach/client relationship in Life Coaching sometimes involves very open, candid, honest communication about very sensitive subjects. How comfortable are you with divulging confidential information to your coach?
Divulging confidential information to a Life Coach in any circumstance, both personally and professionally, always takes a certain amount of understanding about yourself and understanding of the other person. And of course, it requires trust. There are certain things that are appropriate to talk about and there are some things that are not necessarily appropriate. I think having a life coach is a wonderful relationship where you can share and where you can trust another person. You know as a professional what is appropriate and what is not appropriate.

Is there any one experience or change in your life that stands out and that you feel is directly attributed to Life Coaching?
Watching myself in a difficult situation and knowing that there was someone there to work with me and help me respond was very, very important. I think that the relationship that I have with my coach is wonderful. It is a trusting relationship and I have felt very secure and very comfortable. I was able to share ideas, receive ideas, and then look at them from a totally different point of view. I believe that over the time I have spent with my coach I have grown tremendously and I thank him enormously for being a part of that.

If I were a close friend of yours contemplating Life Coaching, what would you say to me to convince me of its merits?
Very recently I had the opportunity to talk to a close old friend about the merits of Life Coaching. This particular person is now the new executive director of a medium size museum that is undergoing a lot of change. She is there to bolster a new board and to create a new agenda and a new program. I was able to tell her that having a support mechanism such as a Life Coach could help her think through many of her ideas. A Life Coach could help her with circumstances and problems that she is facing. She could have someone to work with and help her think carefully about her ideas and what she could do. I was able to relate my experience to her, and I certainly hope it was helpful. I was delighted when The Brande Foundation selected me to be involved in this wonderful program for leaders of non-profit organizations. In the non-profit world we often read about Life Coaching in reports about the corporate world. The Brande Foundation has done a wonderful thing by offering this to us, and I want to take this moment to publicly thank them for all that they are doing.