Community Highlights: Meet Noa Ronen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Noa Ronen.

Hi Noa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I helped many organizations go through change as a human resources manager and as a change management consultant. I was lucky to sit in meetings with CEOs and their executive teams at a very young age and see how they think and what is important to them when they lead a change. I also witnessed the human fear and resistance when people believe the change process will lead to losing their jobs. It helped me learn how to communicate with and influence both sides and how to collaborate. And then, I went through my personal change following a job opportunity for my husband that led us to the decision of moving from Israel to New York City. This change brought me to my current career as a leadership and executive coach.

After our move to North Carolina eight years ago and joining the local networking scene, I had the desire to help people and myself network without tension and feel that they can have real conversations. Research shows that nature is good for our mental health and inspires creative ideas and new perspectives in life/work situations. This is why I founded Walking Mastermind™, a unique system that allows leaders in their community or workplace to network and create deeper connections and conscious conversations while walking outdoors.

When I don’t coach, you can find me running or sip on a good cup of coffee in one of the local coffee shops (I am a big supporter of buying from local businesses). Now I also have a coffee plant named Joe, a gift from a close friend who got it for me at Cary’s farmer market. It loves the NC humidity, unlike my hair. 🙂

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since I was a little girl, I knew that my secret power was my ability to influence others when I speak. I could sense it in the playground, and later on in the Israeli army, or when I worked as a young change management consultant with executives. When we moved to the US, I had a mean voice telling me that my English is not good enough. Even though I did all the “right things” that worked for me in Israel to try and replicate my old life in the new situation, the voice followed me everywhere and said, “No one will want to work with you; your English is not good as your first language.” I was stuck for almost five years, feeling a lack of fulfillment, shame, and disappointment looking at the mirror and asking myself, “How come the old me, who used to bring results and get things done and was seen, is so stuck?” I didn’t know then that I was at a transition point, a moment in life where the actions that we took that always worked for us don’t work for us anymore. After fighting everyone, and mostly myself, I decided to take a break. I had my third child and started blogging. Blogging then was like podcasting today and people liked it, and there was one week that a few women who didn’t know me or each other called me – all at the same week, with the same question and request: “How did you do that? I am so stuck with my life, can you coach me?” I didn’t coach them, but my intuition told me that the universe is sending me a message and I should listen to it.

After I finished my studies and got certified as a coach with ICF, I started coaching. People heard my story and asked me where they could hear me speak and again, that voice came back and said: “Your English is not good enough to speak on stage.” I decided to overcome this barrier and joined Toastmasters to work on my ability to speak in English. When I started speaking at events and conferences, people asked me, “Is there a book?” Last year I published my first leadership book (in English): BEyond Leadership from AwareLess to AwareNess and this is when I said to that voice: “We are done! My English is good enough.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a certified leadership and executive coach and I encourage founders of startups, executives, social leaders, and their teams to lead the change they care about and never settle for how they “should” do things. I love working with organizations who go through what some call “The Messy Middle.” Those are the moments when organizations double or even triple their size. With the change, there is a need to redefine the purpose, structure, leadership actions, and way of being as leaders. The problem is that doing or taking action without understanding our blindspots is what keeps us from achieving our goals. I call it a state of AwareLess. How do I help my clients stop being AwareLess?? By creating awareness.

Creating awareness is gathering data about our two important energies: The Doing Energy (our actions) and the Being energy (our thoughts, emotions, mindset, hopes, aspirations, fears, perspectives). It is not that the doing is better than the being or vice versa, but learning how to engage both to see new results. This is when you not only see the results you want, but you move to a BEyond Leadership Mindset where you see BEyond yourself, BEyond your values, and BEyond your vision to influence and engage others and help them BEcome their best selves.

As part of my desire to help people create a deeper connection when they network or work together, a few years ago, I founded the Walking Mastermind™, a unique system that allows leaders in their community or workplace to network and create deeper connections and conscious conversation while walking outdoors. I offer team coaching, group coaching for leaders, executives, and emerging leaders, and also individual, 1:1 coaching. Follow Noa on social media @noaRcoach. Get Noa’s book on Amazon: BEyond: Leadership from AwareLess to AwareNess: Dare to BE the Leader You Can Be.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
The four books I believe you should have handy are 1. The Anatomy of Peace, Arbinger Institute – everything about conflict and finding peace in your heart.

2. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less Book by Greg McKeown – if you feel you lack focus and you say yes to the wrong things that take you nowhere, do yourself a favor and read this book.

3. Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less-And Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined Book by Scott Sonenshein – this is for anyone who wants to shift the conversation from the resources they DON’T have to how to have a resourceful mindset.

4. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad One’s Book by James Clear – all about habits. Even if you know and read many other books, this book has it all together in an organized way.

Podcast I like: Brene Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us is one of my favorites. Work-life TED with Adam Grant is another favorite of mine. For the creative minds, I really like The Chase Jarvis Show.

Apps: The Meditation App I love is Calm. It is my favorite and most of my clients like it too. It can help you learn how to meditate or support you in moments of anxiety or stress, help you fall asleep when you wake up in the middle of the night, allow you to listen to a night story, or help you practice gratitude.

Pricing:

• If you email me with the code VoyageRaleigh you will receive a special one time discount on the 12 sessions package at the fee of $1,800 instead of $2,500.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.noaronencoaching.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/noarcoach/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoaRCoach/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoaRcoach
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLTz81i-EliqZhbq5vC5Wg
• Other: https://www.noaronencoaching.com/beyond-blog

Image Credits
Elizabeth Galecke Photography http://www.elizabethgalecke.com/