A Trusted Catalyst
I am known for delivering high-impact coaching for chief executives, senior executive teams and senior leaders of companies throughout the world. I do that by creating safe space for my clients to “flip the script” on limiting mindsets.
I have been an independent coach and consultant for over 27 years. My signature blend of business experience, psychological expertise, and finely-tuned intuition seasoned with a large dash of warmth and humor have—time and again—delivered exponential results in individual leadership development and team communication.
I am the co-author of the classic, I’m Not Crazy, I’m Just Not You!, an international top-selling book on psychological type (Myers-Briggs Type). Available in multiple languages, this book makes the Myers-Briggs research and knowledge on personality types both accessible and actionable to professionals and the general public alike.
A dynamic, highly esteemed speaker, coach, and consultant, I thrive on operating as my client’s team member, partner, and ally. I am known for my fearless and supportive candor.
Anchoring my relationships in trust, respect and a healthy dose of humor, I use well-grounded assessment data from 360 tools, personality assessments and interviews to gain insight and challenge that inspires honest reflection and lasting strategic change.
The lyric from Broadway hit, “Wicked,” sums it up: “Don’t be offended by my frank analysis. Just think of it as personality dialysis!”
I became a Certified Daring Way™ and Rising Strong™ Facilitator in 2014-15. The Daring Way™ and Rising Strong™ are highly experiential personal growth methodologies based on the research and best-selling books of Dr. Brené Brown.
In 2016 I was selected as a Master Facilitator for Brené Brown’s company, Brave Leaders Inc., tasked with delivering in-person facilitation of the course, “Daring Leadership: The Four Pillars of Courage” and all the “deep dive” modules. Since 2016 I regularly have been offering “Rising Strong™ For Leaders and Helping Professionals” intensive weekends, creating a protected space for deep personal development for leaders and the people who support them.
In 2018 I became a Certified Dare To Lead™ facilitator while maintaining certifications to lead both Daring Greatly™ and Rising Strong™ curriculum. The Dare To Lead™ curriculum is 16 hours of the best of Brené Brown's research applied specifically to organizational and leadership settings.
I’m a learning junkie and hold certifications in many of the most effective personality and leadership assessment tools on the market. Additionally, I have served on the faculty of several qualification programs training other coaches in effective application and interpretation techniques of the MBTI®, FIRO-B®, and CPI® to name a few. I coached senior leaders and high-profile clients during my seven-year tenure at the Center for Creative Leadership.
I offer this experience and training to my clients, creating innovative solutions with state of the art tool delivered in an ethical and effective manner.
My early career included ten years in higher education administration, leading the few “for-profit” spaces on a college campus—summer conferences, residence life and career services—all the while designing leadership experiences for students, faculty, and staff.
A graduate of Wake Forest University with an undergraduate degree in Economics, I went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from Florida State University.
As the youngest of five children in a family of achievers, I learned early both the angst of wanting to be just like an adored brother or sister and the satisfaction of carving out my own strong identity. On the family farm in rural Virginia, I was both nourished and challenged in ways that forged my rare combination of toughness, vulnerability, curiosity, and a deep empathy for others.
When you are with me, I hope you know you are being seen and heard at levels you’re unlikely to have ever experienced before. This—as much as my extensive training and experience—is why the testimonies about my work from extremely high-ranking executives across many industries are effusive and heartfelt:
- The ROI on this process was exponential. As a result of the feedback and coaching, I have taken out wasted time and effort in my leadership style which I can redirect to winning in the marketplace.
- Having someone who truly listens, someone who hears what you say as well as what you don’t say, is rare…having them then be adept at objective analysis to lay out what you need to know in actionable terms is not just uncommon, it is valuable.
- She helped me identify those ways I can influence my staff when I return to the Pentagon…She challenged my thinking and ideas—my staff won’t know who I am when I get back!! We set clearly identifiable and reachable goals.
- Coaching with Sarah was probably the most personally and professionally helpful experience I have ever had.
I live in Winston-Salem, NC with my husband, Andrew LaRowe, our 13 year old rescue-Pit named Pie, and a holiday assortment of six grown children (and partners) and five growing grandchildren who live up and down the east coast, at least for now.
Our home reflects a vibrant and inviting warmth: a fire in the fire pit, something delicious cooking in the kitchen, friends and family engaged in solving the world’s problems, and always music in the background. In fact, to me, “home” is wherever two or more are gathered together with good food, loving conversation, live music, rest, and lots of laughter.