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Scott Zimmerman

"When Michael and I first spoke about company culture, I was struck by how thoughtfully he spoke about the nuances of effective communication and how company culture is defined as much by what we do not do, as it is defined by what we do. I admittedly had not given much attention to shaping our culture, though was urged to consider how this is one of the most valuable assets of a young startup. A company with strong vision and invigorating culture is as important as the ideas you pursue. Michael's advice helped me identify areas where and how communication among team members could be improved, which helped us execute better as a team."

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Caterina Rizzi

"The first time that I spoke to Michael, I left feeling like something impactful had happened. Someone who finally had insights for me, who got through to me. He helped me develop actionable goals and held me accountable to my goals instead of simply talking at a high level about my thoughts and concerns, like so many other coaches do. He really listened and gave valuable suggestions for improvements, and solutions to help make my big ideas even bigger, not only for what was best for me, but for also for my company. No one can teach you how to be a founder -- it’s something that you have to learn (very quickly) as you go along. Having Michael to help guide me along that journey was infinitely helpful and I highly recommend coaching as a tool to help you grow both as a founder and a leader. Look no further, this is the guy for you."

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Ben Congleton

"In the multiple years I've worked with Michael as my coach, he has consistently listened, reflected, and helped me take action in meaningful ways. He is fantastic at asking the right questions that lead me to new insights and help me grow. His biggest impact has been helping me look beyond individual conversations to build systems that have helped me make a strong transition from founder/leader to CEO. Specifically, Michael helped me solidify the importance of being ruthless with my time which helped me step away from operations.  He helped me be thoughtful about expressing gratitude which lead to a worldwide discussion around mental health in the workplace and an HBR Article.  He helped me navigate parental leave as a founder/CEO, which has fundamentally shifted how I integrate work and life -- and when I returned he helped me take a step back so that I could focus on the most impactful conversations. Michael has made a meaningful impact in my growth as an executive, and I have a strong belief that he will similar impact on your growth as well. I highly recommend Michael for new executives taking on the transitions in their careers. "

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Yunha Kim

"When Michael first said we’re going to having coaching sessions via video on weekly basis, I was skeptical, but now, I’m a believer in Michael! I’ve worked with Michael for the better part of the past year. During this time, we’ve raised our series A and more than doubled our team. Michael has helped me understand the limiting beliefs and assumptions I’ve been making (all my life!), and has helped me become a much better pitcher for the company, which allowed us to run a very competitive process and raise a great round. As we scaled our team, my role changed and Michael helped me through that transition by identifying my areas of development and coaching me to grow in those important ways. I’ve worked with several other exec coaches in the past, and I didn’t like it when those coaching sessions became more loosely-structured therapy-style sessions where we discussed things reactively. Michael does a great job of helping me address important things as they come up without losing sight of the overall goals we’ve set. He keeps me accountable, and helps me actually achieve the growth I most want as a leader. Michael challenges me fiercely, but makes it so much fun. If you have a chance to work with him, take it. I’d work again with him at a heartbeat if/when his schedule opens up :)"

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Chris Tsai

"Michael is a gifted coach with uncanny skills in leadership development. I attended a T-Group intensive weekend that Michael facilitated and was blown away by his ability to influence, teach, and embody an aspirational model of interpersonal dynamics. My goal by the end of the weekend was to do whatever was necessary to work with Michael. Soon after, I completed a coaching arc with him which I will describe as nothing short of revolutionary. If you want to level up your leadership game in a way that simultaneously humanizes you and those around you, you need to work with Michael right now."

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Luca Foschini

"Michael's approach to coaching is exceptionally centered, thoughtful, and warm. He relentlessly but tactfully digs deeper to uncover the underlying causes of what prevents us from accomplishing the life trajectory we've chosen. Michael has facilitated my path to engaging more deeply with the world around me by becoming more curious of other people's thoughts and more grateful to be able to share mine with others. Michael rarely addresses leadership tactics directly but instead chooses to focus on the deeper mental models that shape those tactics, engendering a positive, lasting reflection that goes way beyond leadership skills as a result."

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Emmy Yardley

"Michael and I clicked immediately from our first conversation. He’s humble, inquisitive, and passionate about helping me achieve my goals. He helped me navigate and take action on many complex situations, and was my biggest advocate - constantly looking for ways to help me improve and calling out wins when I was completely oblivious to them. From helping me tackle strong personalities to helping me clarify and move forward on my big ideas to pushing me to confront how to best prioritize and spend my time, having Michael in my back pocket has been one of my secret weapons to executive leadership success. One of the neatest parts of my coaching experience with Michael was looking back and seeing how much I had grown as a leader during my time working with him, and realizing what big work we’d been able to do together."

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Brad Henrickson

"I've experienced tremendous value working with Michael.  His client-led coaching approach has helped me develop much deeper insight into how I show up in critical conversations and how I relate to my wider executive team.  The lessons I've learned with Michael have helped me improve my overall effectiveness as an executive and have been useful in numerous situations outside of just my career.  My only complaint is that I wish I had connected with Michael sooner."

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Lucia Guillory

"I began coaching as an inveterate skeptic. Over the course of working with Michael, I became convinced that it really works! Michael helped me unpack the deeply rooted beliefs that drive some of the behaviors I’ve tried and failed to change in the past. I observed and measured (yes, quantitatively) the impact of Michael’s support and seen meaningful positive changes in both my work and personal life. Michael is deeply knowledgeable, highly empathetic, and always there for me. I can’t express how fortunate I feel to have Michael as my coach and friend."

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Chetan Jhaveri

"Michael has the rare gift of allowing the client to steer the conversation and develop insights, and yet he very much adds value and amplifies insights along the way. Many times I bring up things with him in the course of conversation that I am not necessarily expecting to be a centerpiece of an interesting conversation, and yet he senses the value, stops to make sure we discuss, and helps me shape my reflections. Conversely, sometimes I bring up things I know are important, and he pivots the conversation in a new and insightful manner. I think of Michael as what The Mirror, Mirror on The Wall should have been – he has a nose for what should be discussed, and is highly effective at reflecting, honing and challenging your insights on that topic to facilitate self improvement."

Back to Coaches

Michael Terrell

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Michael is an executive coach who specializes in working with passionate leaders and teams. 

He has worked with leaders in industry-leading non-profits, family business, and tech. For the past five years, he has focused his coaching work on helping startups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Michael is a senior facilitator for one of the most popular courses at the Stanford GSB called Interpersonal Dynamics, and he frequently guest lectures on team dynamics in the Stanford School of Engineering. 

 

He is the co-author of The Inside-Out Effect — a book that helps leaders transform themselves as the necessary first step to increasing their impact — and is the a former co-host of a cheeky-yet-insightful podcast called Meanwhile. 

 

Michael holds a degree in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University where he first honed his startup chops as a Mayfield Fellow.

Insights

 

Playful

Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding

The ocean and I have had a special bond since I was a kid. In 2015, that connection came to include wind, harnesses, boards, and massive sails overhead as I took up kiteboarding alongside my brother and dad. In the years since, we've been lucky enough to spend countless days playing on sun-soaked surf learning to fly together. 

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Charlie

Charlie

Charlie is my furry son and sidekick. He often joins me at the office and is a favorite of clients and co-workers alike. When he's not putting in a long day at the office, you can find him chasing frisbees, large sticks, and pigeons in Golden Gate Park. Click "View Pics" below to see more of this good-lookin' guy.

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Spotify Playlist

Spotify Playlist

I've more than once told people that I wish life had a soundtrack. Before that movie-esque technology arrives, I settle for curating Spotify playlists for my down-time, my commute, and for our Fort Light retreats and offsites. Click this big orange button to groove to one I call "Celebrate":

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On His Bookshelf

Immunity to Change

Immunity to Change

In Immunity to Change, authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey show how our individual beliefs—along with the collective mind-sets in our organizations—combine to create a natural but powerful immunity to change. By revealing how this mechanism holds us back, Kegan and Lahey give us the keys to unlock our potential and finally move forward. And by pinpointing and uprooting our own immunities to change, we can bring our organizations forward with us.

This persuasive and practical book, filled with hands-on diagnostics and compelling case studies, delivers the tools you need to overcome the forces of inertia and transform your life and your work.

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The Course of Love

The Course of Love

We all know the headiness and excitement of the early days of love. But what comes after? In Edinburgh, a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love. They get married, they have children—but no long-term relationship is as simple as “happily ever after.” The Course of Love is a novel that explores what happens after the birth of love, what it takes to maintain love, and what happens to our original ideals under the pressures of an average existence. You experience, along with Rabih and Kirsten, the first flush of infatuation, the effortlessness of falling into romantic love, and the course of life thereafter. Interwoven with their story and its challenges is an overlay of philosophy—an annotation and a guide to what we are reading.

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Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.

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CLIENT

LOVE

Luca

Jeff

Lucia

CLIENT LOVE

 

Scott Zimmerman

Founder & CEO, Xola

"When Michael and I first spoke about company culture, I was struck by how thoughtfully he spoke about the nuances of effective communication and how company culture is defined as much by what we do not do, as it is defined by what we do..."

read more

Caterina Rizzi

Co-Founder, Breather

"The first time that I spoke to Michael, I left feeling like something impactful had happened. Someone who finally had insights for me, who got through to me. He helped me develop actionable goals and held me accountable to my goals instead of simply talking at a high level about my thoughts and concerns..."

read more

Ben Congleton

Co-Founder & CEO, Olark

"In the multiple years I've worked with Michael as my coach, he has consistently listened, reflected, and helped me take action in meaningful ways. He is fantastic at asking the right questions that lead me to new insights and help me grow. His biggest impact has been helping me look beyond individual conversations to build systems that..."

read more

Yunha Kim

Founder & CEO, Simple Habit

"When Michael first said we’re going to having coaching sessions via video on weekly basis, I was skeptical, but now, I’m a believer in Michael! I’ve worked with Michael for the better part of the past year. During this time, we’ve raised our series A and more than doubled our team..."

Read more

Chris Tsai

Co-Founder & CEO, Celery & Co-Founder & CEO, Resolve

"Michael is a gifted coach with uncanny skills in leadership development. I attended a T-Group intensive weekend that Michael facilitated and was blown away by his ability to influence, teach, and embody an aspirational model of interpersonal dynamics..."

Read more

Luca Foschini

Co-Founder & Chief Data Scientist, Evidation Health

"Michael's approach to coaching is exceptionally centered, thoughtful, and warm. He relentlessly but tactfully digs deeper to uncover the underlying causes of what prevents us from accomplishing the life trajectory we've chosen..."

Read more

Emmy Yardley

Chief Product Officer, ChowNow

"Michael and I clicked immediately from our first conversation. He’s humble, inquisitive, and passionate about helping me achieve my goals. He helped me navigate and take action on many complex situations, and was my biggest advocate..."

Read more

Brad Henrickson

VP of Engineering, Earnest

"I've experienced tremendous value working with Michael.  His client-led coaching approach has helped me develop much deeper insight into how I show up in critical conversations and how I relate to my wider executive team..."

read more

Lucia Guillory

VP People & Places, Virta Health

"I began coaching as an inveterate skeptic. Over the course of working with Michael, I became convinced that it really works! Michael helped me unpack the deeply rooted beliefs that drive some of the behaviors I’ve tried and failed to change in the past..."

read more

Chetan Jhaveri

Co-Founder & COO, Sophia

"Michael has the rare gift of allowing the client to steer the conversation and develop insights, and yet he very much adds value and amplifies insights along the way. Many times I bring up things with him in the course of conversation that I am not necessarily expecting to be a centerpiece of an interesting conversation..."

Read more