About

I’m Laura Barker. This is my story.

This is a story about a search – my search for meaning and purpose. I spent most of my career in Human Resources and then switched to project management, thinking PM would satisfy me more than HR. It didn’t. I felt lost and frustrated. The dissatisfaction eventually impelled me to recognize the obvious: I needed to take risks in order to grow.

Laura smiling — **Laura Barker**, CPCC, ACC

My mistake? Thinking switching careers would provide the meaning I craved. The truth is, I got it backwards. Taking a risk was less about changing careers and more about figuring out who I was. I erroneously thought finding the right career would make me happy.

Instead, I needed to identify my values, meaning who I was, before I could apply it to my work, or what I did. Until I learned my values – what motivated me intrinsically – I would keep hitting a wall career-wise. I would continue finding elements I enjoyed in jobs without knowing why I liked them. Conversely, when I disliked parts of my job, I would lack the understanding as to why they rubbed me the wrong way.

The why was my values. HR and PM represented parts of me but not all of me. I needed to connect the dots – recognize my values – to build a meaningful life.

My key values included connection. Connection became the foundation for people and processes. Working with people in HR, I connected habits, behaviours, and actions. In PM, I built processes to connect time, people, and resources appropriately.

Today I can answer the question, Who am I? I am approachable, intuitive, heart-based, organized, a thoughtful listener.

Part Two of my journey required figuring out what I wanted. I wanted to foster a kinder world, based on connection. I wanted to be a changemaker, an uplifter, who could shine a light on others because service lives at my very core.

My fog lifted when a trusted friend suggested coaching as a career to me. Boom! It felt good right away. Something shifted and I knew this was what I was meant to do. Things fell into place, quickly and effortlessly. I enrolled in coach training within six weeks and completed it while working in my final HR role.

Connecting who I am with what I wanted to do gave me the meaning I sought in my life. Coaching is my purpose.

Each of us has a purpose and my job is to help you find yours. What you do is the natural extension of who you are. I am here to guide individual transformation so that people live a life fully loved™. Through coaching, my clients become more self-aware, see where they’re sabotaging themselves, and identify their values.

If you’re looking for that kind of clarity, impact, and growth, check out my career coaching packages.

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.
LM

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.
OS

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.
VB