At Droste Group, we recognize that it is vitally important for you to select a coach you connect with to get the most out of your engagement. That is why we have strategically assembled a diverse team of leadership coaches. As part of a regular blog series that we call “Coaches Highlight,” we will introduce the members of our coaching team and give you some insight to help you connect with the coach who is just right for you.
Meet Gale Thompson
Gale Thompson is an accomplished leadership and executive coach with over 20 years of business experience across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT, consulting, and international development. A lifelong learner, Gale grew up in Pittsburgh and watched as industrial America went through rapid transformation and turmoil, which sparked her desire to understand global economic and political forces.
After attending Wellesley College and studying abroad in Italy, Gale dove into business on Wall Street, but quickly realized she wanted to understand how the broader world worked, not just the business world. This curiosity prompted her to pursue an MBA from Wharton and a Masters in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University, where she received a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Egypt to study the Egyptian economy.
After returning to the United States, Gale began consulting at APM, the largest stand-alone healthcare consulting firm at the time, working to re-engineer hospitals. It was here that she noticed emotions flying around the workplace that seemed to get in the way of making rational decisions. Gale realized that for all the business strategy and organizational management instruction she had received, there had been very little discussion about what was going on inside the people she worked with, or how she and her colleagues could work as an effective team and show up as their best selves every day.
This realization was the beginning of her journey from the outside world to the inside world—first exploring what was going on for herself from a psychological perspective, then for other people. Her curiosity led her to obtain a Master of Social Service from Bryn Mawr College, which provided more context on the emotional world. With that, she became more curious about how emotions were constructively engaged within the business world since brain science reveals that all decisions require input from the emotions.
Continuing to work within the business world, Gale applied her global and relational insights increasingly as a consultant with Accenture for 15 years, working on health and life sciences-related work, and helping manage global and national organizational partnerships and leadership teams.
Since Gale had been informally coaching leaders for years, when she came across leadership coaching as a profession, she wanted to go deeper so she pursued leadership coach training at Georgetown’s Center for Transformational Leadership in 2013. She is an experienced Professional Certified Coach (PCC) by the ICF (International Coach Federation) and continues to add certifications to her toolbox with the Leadership Circle (360 and culture tool), Dare to Lead™ Certified Facilitator (based on Brené Brown’s work), Heartmath (stress management techniques), Strength Strategies, and Conversational Intelligence.
Gale’s coaching style is influenced by her knowledge of neurobiology, strengths, emotional awareness, purpose and values, as well as methods for finding wisdom within. She believes people must first learn how to manage themselves from the inside – clarifying their purpose and cultivating their strengths. They are then better able to harness the positive energy of their teams and the people around them, drawing out the strengths that they all have in service of shared goals.
Gale’s ideal coaching client is a curious learner who has reached the limits of how they’ve been approaching their work and leadership. They’re ready to experiment with different ways of seeing and behaving, from an authentic place, in order to be more effective and fulfilled as a leader of themselves and others. Whether it’s with individuals or teams, Gale is passionate about helping people show up as their best selves.
A resident of Washington, DC, Gale loves adventures. She’s climbed Kilimanjaro, hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and has traveled extensively to every continent except Antarctica. She continues to learn through exploring the value of silence and discovering new ways to reach inner wisdom.
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If you’re interested in setting up a coaching experience with Gale or any of our other amazing coaches, email us at info@drostegroup.com. Leadership coaching is one-on-one development, focused on behavior change to improve overall performance and effectiveness. Leadership coaching is just one of the many services we provide. To learn more, visit www.drostegroup.com.
