Leadership coach, consultant, facilitator and designer, Christie Mann inspires individuals and organizations to develop people, drive business and ultimately improve lives. Christie spends her days working with organizations coaching senior and executive leaders, designing and delivering coaching and leadership programs and developing leaders who coach. She holds the designation of Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation, is a graduate of the Co-Active Leadership Program and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CTI) – in her quest to infuse more Co-Activity into the corporate world Christie provides business development services to CTI in Canada and South-western US acting as Director of Corporate Client Services.
In addition to corporate clients and in a desire to give back, Christie has custom-designed and delivers a series of experiential developmental workshops to heighten self-awareness, build self-compassion and leadership skills among the vulnerable youth of the Catholic Children’s Aid Society in Ontario and juvenile detention centers in Los Angeles.
Christie is an impactful coach, dynamic speaker and facilitator, and is a trailblazer in the field of leadership coaching. Her passion for what she does paves the way for those seeking new personal and professional heights. www.christiemann.com
What events led up to you deciding to take back your life?
I was doing the kind of work that was meaningful but I wasn’t doing it in the environment or with the audience where I knew I could have the greatest impact and show up as my most authentic self. I kinda felt stuck and the quiet voice inside of me was whispering saying; “slow down, there’s something else for you…” So, I choose to not take on any new contracts for a period of time, do some deep self-healing work and reflection and listen to the quiet voice…
Was there a significant event or moment that made you realize you needed to make a change? What was it?
When I finally got quiet enough I heard the calling…”Christie, you should be working with kids whose parents are incarcerated. The leadership skills and tools that you share with corporate audiences, you should be sharing with kids who are going through this difficult time.” This revelation was significant to me because when I was 13 years-old my dad went to jail for 8-months and it was the end of my family unit as I had known it and the beginning of some difficult struggles, which would lead me on a painful and rewarding journey of healing and learning heart-centered communication skills.
Was there a first step of action when you decided to take back your life? What was it?
I remember the exact moment, I was with one of my life-long friends and we started searching right way for existing programs for this audience and couldn’t find any in Toronto, where I was living at that time. So, I thought, I must create one then…
I ended up co-creating (with my students) an 8-week program for 10 youth in Foster care (mostly because their parents were incarcerated). It was a series of experiential, leadership development workshops which aimed to heightened self-awareness, build self-compassion and develop leadership skills for the Youth of Hamilton Catholic Children’s’ Aid Society. It was an incredibly healing experience for the youth and for me. This then lead to an opportunity to design, develop and deliver a 12-week program for incarcerated youth at Camp David Gonzales, a Probationary Detention Center located in Calabasas California.
Some of the feedback from our students:
- “I loved that you made me find my inner peace and found out stuff I didn’t know about my self. I loved your class.”
- “It made me a better person.”
- “It made me discover what is really important. Such as my values; like respect, pride, family, power, and looovvee.”
Extremely rewarding and impactful work and this is just the beginning of a life-long journey to bring these skills and tools to this audience.
Since you took back your life, how have things changed for you?
I feel more authentically aligned to my purpose. I still do and enjoy my work in corporate environments but connecting to this audience and in this way has allowed me to more fully show up to myself and others in all areas of my life and I like I said, I feel like I’m just getting started. There is so much work to be done in this area and it’s just the beginning of this ride.
What would you say to anyone who finds themselves in the situation you were in?
Slow down, stop the exterior distractions as best you can, listen to the quiet voice inside…it has guidance for you and will point you in the right direction. We just have to be quiet and present enough to hear it.
What does ‘Fully Alive’ mean to you?
Being ‘Fully Alive’ to me means having the courage to step out of our comfort zones (the status quo and this looks different for everyone), to get quiet enough to hear the quiet voice and be brave enough to follow it’s guidance. Being ‘Fully Alive’ means having access to the entire human experience, all of our emotions, the ups and downs of life and most importantly learning and practicing how to love and be compassionate with ourselves and with others.
Favourite Inspirational Quote
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
Connect with Christie
Take Back Your Life Month
Last year, I declared May 16th ‘Take Back Your Life’ Day, because that’s the day that I took back my life from that evil beast, Cancer. It’s so important to me that this year I’m declaring the whole month of May ‘Take Back Your Life’. Every Tuesday and Friday this month, be inspired by stories of everyday people who have transformed their lives. These are people who converted a moment of struggle into a moment of strength and revolution! (Read more here.) Check back here to read their stories & share your own on social media! #TakeBackYourLife
