What to Expect from an Executive Leadership Coach: Exclusive Interview with Karla Garcia Teruel

In the fast-paced and competitive world of business, many professionals seek help to enhance their skills and navigate their careers more effectively. This can be true for Fortune 500 executives or bootstrapped entrepreneurs. To shed light on the role of an executive leadership coach and dispel common misconceptions, we sat down with Karla Garcia Teruel, Founder of Growth Empowered a highly regarded coach with a wealth of experience.

Garcia Teruel shares her perspective on what a coach is while simultaneously debunking false expectations: "A coach is a partner–a partner that engages in thought-provoking conversations that enable self-awareness and insight that can lead to driving change. [Trying to provide a single definition of coaching can be misleading] because there is no one type of coach out there.” Garcia Teruel adds that viewing executive coaches as advice-givers is a misconception. She believes individuals have the internal resources and agency to find their own answers, solve their own problems, and make the changes they seek, and the coach's role is to help them do that. 

Garcia Teruel's journey to becoming an executive leadership coach is pronounced with varied experiences starting from childhood. Although she was born in Mexico, she spent her life living in nine countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With a Master's degree in Coaching Psychology, an MBA, and expertise working with global corporations, family businesses, startups, and even as an impact investor herself, Garcia Teruel's diverse academic and professional background has shaped her understanding of the challenges faced by individuals across various countries, industries, stages of business, and even personal identity.

Although similar concerns seem to unite the 300+ leaders Garcia Teruel has coached–including fear of failure or success, challenges managing others, lack of confidence or imposter syndrome, and issues with burnout–she takes a unique approach to helping each of her clients. “My Master’s in Coaching Psychology very much influences how I coach.” Garcia Teruel coaches through the lens of various social and psychological postulations like cognitive behavioral theories, behavioral change theories, leadership theories, and even positive psychology. She says, “It’s about figuring out what [someone] wants to try out or which tool they want to use at that moment.”

Because Karla isn’t an advice giver, much of her coaching is rooted in asking questions individuals may not have faced before and allows them to analyze how their beliefs and assumptions have been impacting their behavior and choices, which directly feeds into team response and morale. 

“Karla's emphatic and honest way of coaching helped me understand where my motivation and procrastination problems came from. She taught me self-reflection tools and techniques to help me navigate the rollercoaster of emotions that is a high-paced executive job,” shared 2021 Solver, Thomas Feitoza. Director of Folio.

Garcia Teruel has been Solve’s executive leadership coach of record and has supported innovators in our network since 2019. 

Highlighting the impact of her coaching, 2022 Solver, Emtithal Mahmoud shared, “Karla was invaluable to my experience at MIT Solve. Not only was her support instrumental at an important time for our company strategically and for me personally, but her method of collaboration–doing with and not for–made it easier for me to navigate the personal and professional even after our sessions ended. The coaching I received from Karla was nothing short of transformative. It really represented to me the very core of what MIT Solve was about—building community, ownership, and agency in the business world, for the people, by the people.”

Another Solver from the 2022 Class shared similar experiences of growth: “Karla is an incredibly gifted coach and it was amazing to work with her. As a neurodivergent person, an entrepreneur, and a mixed-race individual, I've done a LOT of thinking about my own identity, behavior, and perspectives, but Karla was able to help me realize aspects of myself that I completely missed or ignored that were inhibiting me from reaching a new level of success and self-confidence. Karla has a very gentle and kind yet direct way of guiding you to what you've been missing, doesn't make assumptions about how you think or feel, and gives you tools that are actually actionable for use in daily life,” shared Vanessa Castañeda Gill, co-founder and CEO of Social Cipher.

As we wrapped up the interview, we asked Garcia Teruel about her daily habits and guiding principles. She emphasized the importance of self-care, mindfulness, nutrition, and movement. "The potential that exists when you put yourself first means you can do way more for others," says Garcia Teruel.

Through her unique background and academic expertise, Garcia Teruel brings a holistic approach to coaching, empowering her clients to navigate the complexities of the business world and achieve their full potential. With her guidance, individuals work to develop self-awareness, overcome challenges, and create meaningful change in their personal and professional lives.

Garcia Teruel will meet her fifth class of Solver teams this September during Solve Challenge Finals 2023. If you’re interested in meeting these innovators and helping them scale, request your invitation now.