Executives and chief executives
You are accountable for outcomes you cannot personally control. You need a place to think out loud with someone who has sat in the chair and made the call.
Executive Coach · Leadership Development
Leadership is a series of decisions. I help you make them well.
I am Charity Russell — a nonprofit CEO, certified executive coach, and speaker with more than twenty years in senior leadership. I coach executives, managers, and professionals through the decisions that carry weight: the strategy, the personnel call, the direction of a career, the version of yourself you are becoming while you do the job.
20+Years in executive leadership
CEONonprofit chief executive and founder
2×Titan 100 honoree, Phoenix
MBAPlus M.A. in Human Services Counseling
Who I work with
People whose decisions affect other people.
Directors and senior managers
You were promoted for your competence and now the job is judgment, people, and politics. You want to lead without imitating the last person who held the role.
Professionals in a deciding season
A promotion, a pivot, a business of your own, a boundary you have avoided setting. You want to move deliberately rather than react.
The work
Three ways I work, one standard: direct conversation and measurable movement.
01
Executive coaching
A confidential one-to-one engagement over several months. We work the real agenda: the decisions in front of you, the relationships that determine whether they land, and the habits of thought that either sharpen or slow you.
02
Leadership development
For leaders and teams building capability, not just morale. Structured work on communication, delegation, accountability, and influence, drawing on Maxwell Leadership methodology and two decades of running organizations.
03
Personal growth
Career and life do not sit in separate files. When the question is direction, purpose, or the cost of how you are currently working, we address it directly — with counseling-trained practice, not platitudes.
Why coaching works
Strong coaching doesn't just develop the individual — it strengthens the entire organization around them.
It builds better leaders, stronger teams, and a culture where people want to stay and grow. Coaching has traditionally been reserved for a narrow slice of leadership. But real impact happens when coaching is available at every level — not just the top. When leaders and their teams have access to genuine coaching, it builds capability, strengthens retention, and drives better results across the board.
The research backs this up:
01
Company-wide engagement
Coaching consistently strengthens employee engagement, with strong approval from both senior leaders and their teams — showing that its impact is felt company-wide, not just at the top (ICF/HCI, 2023).
02
Measurable return
Companies that invest in coaching see a strong return, with studies estimating an average payoff of seven times the cost of the investment (PwC/Association Resource Center).
03
Retention that pays for itself
Organizations that build a real coaching culture retain their best people at significantly higher rates — turning coaching into one of the most cost-effective retention strategies available (ICF/HCI, 2018).
Investing in coaching isn't a soft benefit. It's one of the clearest, most measurable ways to build stronger leaders, keep your best people, and grow a healthier organization.
Sources: International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Human Capital Institute (HCI), “Defining New Coaching Cultures,” 2023; PwC and Association Resource Center global coaching ROI survey; ICF/HCI, “Building a Coaching Culture for Increased Employee Engagement,” 2018.
How I coach
“I think the greatest way to lead people is through questions.” — John Maxwell
I coach from a foundation of positive psychology, drawing out your strengths and the version of you that is already capable of the next level, so the answers that surface in our sessions feel like yours — because they are. My background running a multimillion-dollar organization shapes the questions I ask, getting you to clarity faster than you'd find it alone. You leave with language for what is actually happening, a clear-eyed view of your own strengths, and a next action you arrived at yourself.
Together, we face what's ahead — I ask, you discover, and I hold the space with respect, care, and candor, no judgment.
A place to start
Is coaching right for you?
A short guide to what coaching is, who it helps, and how to tell whether now is the right time. Download it and read it before we ever speak.
Start here
A 15-minute conversation, no charge
Bring the decision, the team problem, or the next move you have been carrying around. We will talk plainly about where you are, what is actually in the way, and whether coaching with me is the right instrument for it. If it is not, I will tell you that.
Charity.Russell@outlook.com