Coaching

If you find yourself negotiating one of life's transitions — with an issue, problem or opportunity that's difficult to grasp — or wishing inner and outer development — then you could use Linda Fairburn's personal brand of coaching. The work she offers is problem-centered, focusing on the present and desired future. Linda works from a place of deep respect for people and compassion for what it takes to create change within and without one's being.

Linda is a change agent. The skill, knowledge and experience she brings to coaching are all about navigating change — chosen change, imposed change, incremental or sudden change, total change, I-didn't-see-it-coming change and you-name-it change.

Fairburn's eclectic educational background paired with four decades of experience as a business and social entrepreneur, adult educator and art therapist enable her to offer a unique blend of skills to successfully guide the often challenging process of personal growth and transition.

Enterprise Coaching

Enterprise coaching has one foot in an organization and the other in personal development. Situations where coaching can be useful are brought about by:

The sale, acquisition or merger of an enterprise...especially where you are the founder or long-time leader
Retirement, resignation or termination...especially where you are a leader or in a family enterprise
Job or role changes...especially where you report to a Board of Directors or are a family member in a family firm
Taking on or buying out a partner...especially where families or shotgun agreements are involved
Starting a business or charity...especially where turning a vision into a reality is concerned

While Linda works with everyone negotiating transition she has a special interest in supporting founders, leaders, family members, partners and social or business entrepreneurs seeking to be of benefit to others and in the world.

Transformational Coaching

Transformational coaching can be precipitated by a mid-life crisis where values, beliefs and purpose are called into question. The term, mid-life crisis was coined by the late Elliott Jaques, psychiatrist and organization development consultant, who Linda was fortunate to have worked with for several years. While psychologists may dispute whether or not the mid-life crisis is a real condition, when you're in one you will have no doubts about its authenticity. You may be:

Experiencing dissatisfaction within yourself because of unrealized goals, self-perceptions or relationship issues
Questioning what you're doing or values you've held dear for most of your life
Feeling like you can no longer do or be the same person as you have been but don't know what steps to take to change
Noticing relationships are changing and you no longer feel comfortable in the role of parent, partner, friend, or co-worker
Asking, "Is this all there is?"

As you peel away old ideas you may experience a fragile frame of mind and appreciate the guidance and leadership Linda can bring to the process of self-examination and the search for new meaning and purpose.

Biography Coaching

Biography coaching can be precipitated by outside events that often represent a turning point in one's life. Biography coaching helps identify the patterns, self-limiting beliefs and stories we tell ourselves about what's possible. Situations where biography coaching can be useful are brought about by:

Health crises brought on by accidents, injuries or illnesses
Death of a loved one, divorce or changes in an important relationship
Career changes as in graduation, resignation, termination, retirement or bankruptcy
Spiritual transformation where you feel like you have moved into new territory and no longer know the rules
Changes of fortune...especially win falls of inheritances and lump-sum settlements, moving forward in the face of loss.

By creating new stories we learn to meet apparent obstacles with compassion and turn them into fuel for our awakening and empowerment.

Getting Started

Coaching begins as do all relationships — with a conversation. Not everyone knows where they're going — they just know they're on a journey and need a compass — a pathfinder. Not a problem. This conversation is the beginning of sorting that out.

The initial meeting is complimentary and all meetings take place in person, on the phone, by email or via Skype. Ongoing sessions are from 1.5 - 2 hours in length and based on an hourly or daily fee-for-service comparable to that of a good therapist or consultant. Coaching sessions are arranged on a set schedule, project basis or as needed and are considered a valid business expense.

Please contact Linda Fairburn at Make Things Happen or at 519-716-3933 to arrange a complimentary consultation.

…helped me to achieve new goals, but more importantly, it enabled me to discover more about who I am as a person, what my passions and strengths are, what motivates me and discern what my goals in life really are.

Shari Morash

Linda carved a niche in my life to help me soar as a founder, author, student and educator. Her impact on my life and future direction has been remarkable. Who I am today is due in no small way to Linda’s wisdom, encouragement, and gentle guidance.

Life coaching with Linda has been life changing.

When I met Linda I was at the cross-roads with a charitable foundation, in the midst of a university degree and at odds with some key life relationships. My work with Linda has been a blessing in many ways that I wasn’t expecting. I went to her for help with the succession of my charitable organization and what transpired was far deeper. My work with Linda was life changing. Linda is remarkably supportive, gentle and compassionate yet intuitively experienced at narrowing in on what held the most value to me, what obstacles were in my path, and what next steps were necessary to take to accomplish my goals.

My coaching experience with Linda not only helped me to achieve new goals, but more importantly, it enabled me to discover more about who I am as a person, what my passions and strengths are, what motivates me and discern what my goals in life really are.

Linda has the gift of being able to find that inner gold, the hidden treasures that makes me tick.

My sessions with Linda are always productive and rewarding.

Linda has creative ideas that I’ve found eye opening, innovative and achievable. It’s amazing to look back at the process working together with Linda, how someone could help me sift through what was working in my life and what wasn’t and be able to visualize some key goals to help me move forward. As I look back, my next steps weren’t all that difficult, I just couldn’t see where I was going. Linda helped me clarify what was already there and emerging, see the potential and identify the missing parts.

I think my life came together so quickly because Linda is so tuned in to the inspiration of the moment. I feel more satisfied with the direction my life is taking.

You’ll be in great hands if you decide to work with Linda.

Shari Morash, Founder
Josiah's Journey

Working with Linda made a difficult decision easier. I experienced complete confidence in her professionalism and felt supported and listened to. She educated us to see that what we were experiencing was not personal but a natural process of growth and organizational development. Linda helped us all get to the heart of the matter, a place we couldn’t have gotten to on our own.

Linda helped us turn a challenging and stressful time into one of growth and positive change. She helped us identify gaps in our infrastructure and create a stronger scaffolding for our future growth. This was done by having us create policies and procedures that needed to be put in place, improving our internal and external communications, mapping roles and areas of authority and accountability to organizational functions and existing and future staff.

I highly recommend Linda for her expertise, knowledge, dedication, humour and heart.

Mary Robinson, President and Founder
Good Grief Inc.