By Lorna Oppedisano<\/p>\n
Photo by Alice G. Patterson<\/p>\n
\n
Elizabeth Bessey had been coaching for decades, but she didn\u2019t know it. Her nearly 20 years as a certified human resources professional armed her with all the skills she\u2019d need to start her own coaching business, EB Professional Coaching, specializing in energy leadership.<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cWith human resources, it really was a natural progression to go into coaching,\u201d she said. \u201cThe best part of HR for me was working with the management staff and helping them to get better and do better and understand where they\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Elizabeth always knew she wanted to be of service, she reflected. That\u2019s what led her to work in the field of human resources, in sectors from technology to construction to primary health care.<\/p>\n
\n
During her career in human resources, no two days were the same. That was one thing that drew her to the work. She also loved being able to help different leadership teams navigate their decisions.<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re in human resources, you\u2019re at the leadership table,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cSo either I was on the leadership team or working directly with an owner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Working in human resources could sometimes be a balancing act, she explained, but she always enjoyed helping people find a good approach to the big picture.<\/p>\n
\n
During her nearly two decades in human resources, Elizabeth always kept the idea of owning her own company and working for herself on the back burner \u2014 she just didn\u2019t know exactly how that would plausibly unfold or what it might entail.<\/p>\n
\n
In the fall of 2016, she decided to take the leap and venture out on her own.<\/p>\n
\n
She and her husband took a vacation \u2013 during which she had time to disconnect and unwind for the first time in years \u2013 and when she returned home, Elizabeth realized that coaching might be the perfect calling for her skill set, drive andpersonality. <\/span><\/p>\n \n She met with a coach she knew through her husband\u2019s job and realized this was, in a sense, what she had been working toward her entire career.<\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>I\u2019d been coaching for years [without] really knowing about coaching,\u201d Elizabeth remembered.<\/p>\n \n She hit the ground running, going through 300 hours of training in six months, and earned her certification as an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner through Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC).<\/p>\n \n Undertaking that intense training period gave her a chance to experience what she now helps her clients work through.<\/p>\n \n \u201cOne of the best parts about working with clients is that I went through the transition myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n While she was armed with a fitting skill set and knowledge from her previous career, Elizabeth had to get used to the challenge of running her own business. She shifted gears from promoting the businesses she worked with at job fairs to promoting herself at networking events. Without that separation of risk, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s you and it\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Elizabeth utilized business coaching through the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center, which in turn led her to discover and join the WBOC. Interestingly enough, she said, she connected with a number of other coaches through the organization.<\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>We\u2019re all coaches but we all do something different,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n Thanks to some brainstorming, there is now a coaches\u2019 mastermind group that meets at Caf\u00e9 at 407, and organization that Elizabeth serves on the board of, once a month. There, they have an opportunity to discuss the nuances of everyone\u2019s niche forms of coaching, from business coaching to personal coaching.<\/p>\n \n In her business, Elizabeth specializes in energy leadership, focusing on leadership development, emotional intelligence, <\/span>communication and relationships in her coaching and workshops. With a variety of tools, she helps clients work on their challenges, at a pace based on each client\u2019s agenda and timeline. It\u2019s not giving them the answers, not mentoring and not consulting, she explained.<\/p>\n \n She usually begins by asking her clients to share what challenges they are facing and what results they wish to achieve.<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s the stuff that\u2019s keeping them up at night, that\u2019s what we want to work with first when someone signs on as a coaching client,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n It could be either professional or personal, she said \u2014 whatever block they find themselves struggling against, she helps them work through it.<\/p>\n \n \u201cYou\u2019re just partnering with them and supporting them and cheering them on,\u201d Elizabeth said with a smile.<\/p>\n \n To learn more about Elizabeth and EB Professional Coaching, visit <\/i>ebprofessionalcoaching.com<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Lorna Oppedisano Photo by Alice G. Patterson Elizabeth Bessey had been coaching for decades, but she didn\u2019t know it. Her nearly 20 years as a certified human resources professional armed her with all the skills she\u2019d need to start her own coaching business, EB Professional Coaching, specializing in energy leadership. \u201cWith human resources, it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[913,243,863],"class_list":["post-2496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-elizabeth-bessey","tag-wboc","tag-womens-business-opportunity-council"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Elizabeth-Bessey-0007.jpg?fit=3470%2C5200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2183,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2183","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":0},"title":"WBOC Leading Woman: Diane Rizzo","author":"Staff","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jamie Jenson Some might say Dianne Rizzo became a life coach by chance. But for Dianne, who had spent three decades as a registered nurse, it felt like a natural progression. \u201cI had been coaching people through nursing \u2014 coaching patients and families \u2014 all during my nursing career,\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dianne-Rizzo-0005-RT.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dianne-Rizzo-0005-RT.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dianne-Rizzo-0005-RT.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dianne-Rizzo-0005-RT.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3559,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3559","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":1},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady: Devan Robinson – Coaching people past the barriers in their lives","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"April 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn Social conditioning affects most women at some point in their lives. Although some types of social conditioning \u2013 such as people-pleasing, perfectionism, among others \u2013 are learned at a young age, conditioning can be unlearned. Helping people overcome these obstacles was the goal this month\u2019s WBOC Leading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WBOC Leading Lady"","block_context":{"text":"WBOC Leading Lady","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1232"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2811,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2811","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":2},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady: Belinda Porter","author":"Staff","date":"February 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn Photo by Alice G. Patterson \u00a0 Heat Effect Life Coaching founder Belinda Porter aims to change the conversation surrounding sexuality. \u201cLike many people \u2014 or at least people my own age \u2014 I was brought up that [sex] was not something you talked about,\u201d Belinda said. \u201cI\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Belinda-Portrer-0002.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Belinda-Portrer-0002.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Belinda-Portrer-0002.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Belinda-Portrer-0002.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2333,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2333","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":3},"title":"WBOC Leading Woman: Jen Liddy","author":"Staff","date":"April 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By Christine Dunne \u00a0 Jen Liddy remembers feeling lost as a business owner, unsure of what she was doing and how to feel good in her role. She was always scrambling to get things done, and doubting her abilities. \u201cI remember walking out the door and saying I never want\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jen-liddy-coach-0106b.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jen-liddy-coach-0106b.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jen-liddy-coach-0106b.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jen-liddy-coach-0106b.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3340,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3340","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":4},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady – Adrienne Peltz: Forging a unique path","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"October 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn When Adrienne Peltz\u2019s husband, Aric, wanted to propose to her, he wanted to give her a special ring. The special ring he had in mind had to be handcrafted by a local jeweler since he did not know how to forge custom jewelry yet. After Aric learned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WBOC Leading Lady"","block_context":{"text":"WBOC Leading Lady","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1232"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3423,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3423","url_meta":{"origin":2496,"position":5},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady: Shea Palmer – New Woodstock entrepreneur helps educators support students\u2019 success","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"December 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Kate Hill For the past several years, retired teacher Shea Palmer has been using her knowledge and experience to help other educators address their students\u2019 needs through her New Woodstock-based business, Shea's Classroom. Palmer creates and shares elementary school teaching resources targeted at educators seeking lessons and tools to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WBOC Leading Lady"","block_context":{"text":"WBOC Leading Lady","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1232"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Shea-Palmer-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Shea-Palmer-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Shea-Palmer-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Shea-Palmer-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Shea-Palmer-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496\/revisions\/2498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}