In Chapter 11 of 15 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "At This Moment in Your Life Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" French notes how she first looks to close relationships - her husband and best friends - for advice. She then looks outside her inner circle to experts, for example her fitness coach and career coach. She shares how important it has been to be willing to be coached and allow others to help her hold herself to higher standards.
Audrey Parker French returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview after a one-year sabbatical from work and getting married. She co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm. In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University.
Transcript:
Erik Michielsen: At this moment in your life, where are you seeking advice and coaching?
Audrey Parker French: Seeking advice and coaching has actually been a predominant theme in my life over the last 5 to 6 years. Right now I would say I’m seeking the most coaching from the people closest to me that I look up to. My husband, my best friends, and then beyond that, if it’s something other than, you know, something in that frame, I’ll go to someone who has a specific area of expertise and ask for some sort of coaching or advice. You know having a fitness coach, you know, if I wanted to change some of my fitness goals, and you know I don’t wanna ask someone who doesn’t really know about fitness about being my coach for something like that.
So you know, I think that having coaches and being willing to be coached and hold yourself to a high standard and have someone else hold you to that same high standard, it has done incredible things in my life, in my career and in my personal life to have coaches in both of those areas of my life, my professional coach has really helped me improve my professionalism and develop in areas that I – I could’ve, yes, of course I would’ve developed but it would’ve taken me a lot longer, and I’ve had personal coaches in my life, for emotional and spiritual guidance and coaching that have really, in those areas, helped me to grow a lot faster. So – and actually I’ve been coaching some women in my life and it’s nice to feel like I’m able to, you know, to return that favor to other women who can look to me for inspiration and guidance and coaching.