Kaleidoscope Coaches Page

This page provides information about Carol Harris-Fike and Jane Kerschner, founders of Kaleidoscope Coaches and the ontological coaches ready to serve you and your organization. Read the interview below to learn more about Carol and Jane.

                                         
Why did you choose coaching, specifically ontological coaching?

 

Carol

 

I “coached” leaders for 20 years and, oh yes, I lived life for more than 50 years... so far!! Professionally, I was a public school administrator coaching teachers, parents, principals, and others. Over time… a long time… I learned to handle the stress and give through my heart each day, no matter the current crisis. Personally, I went through a loss of a child, divorce, remarriage, and other life experiences, common and uncommon. I learned that every toleration (problem, issue, challenge) was really personal. All are related to how a person observes a situation and what experiences and cultural ideals one brings to the situation. When a person can observe the toleration… issue… challenge from a different place… in a different way… the toleration can be transformed because possibilities for different actions appear. I also learned that emotions are felt all over the body and affect the language we use to resolve (or not) our tolerations… problems… issues… challenges. I learned that we all have a choice in every action we take.

 

Jane:

 

I found that ontological coaching greatly enriched what I could offer my organizational and personal clients. Often consulting did not build capacity or ownership in the clients.  The solutions that I generated with my clients were good solutions, but often they didn’t leave the paper they were written on and/or the meeting in the leader’s office. I recognized that lasting changes called for transformational learning.  Not only did the system have to change in multiple ways, but also the leaders within that system needed to change.  Ontological coaching allows the coachee to shift the way he observes within his system, whether it is a school district, school, classroom, or other context.

 

 

What are some of your professional accomplishments?

 

Carol:

 

I chose early retirement from a leadership position coaching and supervising seven elementary principals and schools; leading the writing, implementation, evaluation, assessment of the entire curriculum and school programs; prior to that I was a public school principal and a teacher. I am also an international educational consultant in “learning how to learn” and brain compatible educational programs. I have consulted with educators in such countries as South Africa and Brazil. I also serve on two non-profit boards and have served on other boards in the past.

 

Jane:

 

I began my career as an elementary school educator.  I was drawn to children who were struggling to fit in as learners and members of a community.  I chose to get a masters degree in Gifted and Talented Education.  While my three daughters were young, I became a professional volunteer working in leadership positions in the preschool, public schools, girl scouts, and community organizations.  I started teaching at a small, struggling private school and developed an administrative position for myself to handle all the aspects of the school that were falling through the cracks.  That is when I started to see the educational setting as a system and was drawn to Edward Demmings’ Total Quality Management work.  In the mid 1990’s, I obtained a second master’s degree in organizational development.  I have worked as a director and a consultant for The Ophelia Project, an organization providing consultation and training in understanding and supporting youth with peer aggression.

 

 

What are some of your accomplishments as a coach?

 

Carol:

 

Within educational organizations I have helped leadership teams move into the “age of accountability” and still keep what they know is beneficial for the education of the whole child. Along with raising academic expectations we raised whole child expectations, increased test scores and reduced peer aggression; increased the number of students studying higher level math as well as music, art, and drama. Within my personal coaching, I have supported clients in making shifts in the observers they are of themselves and their lives which has lead to gigantic transformations in how they see life situations. One coachee moved from a mood of resignation to one of ambition and turned her school around in all the ways mentioned above. Another made a decision to move out of fear and into joy around the opportunities she could embrace within retirement from 30 years in public education.

 

Jane:

 

In my work as a consultant in school and communities, I have combined ontological thinking and being with problem solving as my clients (superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, and students) work together to move to intoleration of peer aggression and to know and use ways of creating safe communities.

 

 

What is your approach to working with your clients?

 

Carol:

 

My work is ALL about my clients… never me. My job is to listen with my inner ear, ask the difficult and challenging questions, declare the breakthroughs, and be there… always… to support the client’s work with ideas for practices and actions that will lead to the transformation of frustrations, concerns, upsetting situations, and even anger into peace, acceptance, and/or new ambitious actions… whether we are coaching within an organization or for strictly personal reasons.

 

Jane:

 

I believe that each person is unique and by listening to the dreams, desires, and the frustrations, problems... limitations can be discovered and removed. Working through emotions and the way the person holds the emotion within the body can change the mood and the resulting actions. Even subtle shifts bring powerful results!

 

 

What is your educational background and training?

 

Carol:

 

First of all, I’m a SWTW, a Strong West Texas Woman. West Texas women have to be strong; it takes it to live on that land!!?? I now live in beautiful western Colorado, where serenity is a gift from the mountains. My degrees come from Texas Tech University and Texas University at Austin. They are in education and administration… and LIFE. My coaching training is from Newfield Network and from LIFE. My understanding of the brain/body connection (and designation of a member of “The Brainy Bunch”) is from Pat Wolfe (and all the brain researchers she brought to us), Stuart and Carol Heller … and LIFE. My understanding of how we learn to learn is from Katherine Greenfield… and LIFE.

 

Jane: I began my education career as an elementary school teacher, and later became an administrator in a private school. Then I obtained a masters degree in gifted education from George Washington University. In the early 1980s, I entered Marymount University’s Business School (Arlington, VA) and obtained a second masters degree in organizational development.

 

 

What other interests have added to your knowledge and skills as an ontological coach?

 

Carol:

 

I have studied Tai Chi and Chi Gong for over six years and studied many mind/body gurus from Deepak Chapra to Ken Wilber… and on and on. I also am a Reiki Master/Teacher. Studying the martial arts and healing have allowed me to truly know the way our bodies connect with all parts of us both within and between other people and the universe. I understand more distinctions every day about the way language (which includes thinking), is part of a systems understanding integrally connected to moods/emotions and the whole body. I serve on two non-profit boards. I look for connections among people and in all we learn from each other… and I find them everywhere. We have the answers… we just don’t always have a way of calling them up exactly when we need them… without connecting with someone else who will support us along the journey. I am so pleased to have been called to support others in this beautiful journey… what a joy it brings to me every time a new friend makes a breakthrough and sees his truth!!!

 

Jane: I am in the process of receiving certification in Stuart and Carol Heller’s work in understanding the body and emotions: The Five Rings Operating System. I continue to consult with The Ophelia Project, providing consultation, training, and coaching to schools and organizations who work with youth in the area of peer aggression.

If you are ready to talk with us about how we can serve your organization click on the the Contact Us button at the top left of this page or email info@kaleidoscopecoaches.com. To learn more about our services go to Services by clicking on that button.