Attend any industry conference and you’ll find career coaches on the agenda. Where is the demand coming from, and is it helping planners?
The trend has its roots in the pandemic, according to Vimari Román, CEO of Be Productive Coaching. She spent more than 20 years in meeting planning and hospitality, including roles at Sonesta, Hilton, and Accor, before starting her coaching business in 2012.
“So many companies are still understaffed, and that has left planners with much more on their plates. Coaching provides an outlet,” Roman said.
Founders Drive Demand
Román covers many topics with clients, from career transition, to setting boundaries at work to avoiding burnout. The majority of her clients are corporate; 90% of those are individual planners and 10% are organizations that hire her to provide coaching to their employees.
Alanna Carron, founder of Iconic Event Experiences, worked with Román for a year and a half as she transitioned from a corporate position to starting her own company. “While making F&B and AV arrangements is second nature, being my own boss was not,” she said. “Working with a career coach helped me to make sense of and reduce negative influences, replacing them with positive self-reinforcement.
Juliet Tripp, known as The Events Coach, is also seeing demand from founders who want businesses that scale without sacrificing health or family, and in-house leaders who want visibility and influence. “Coaching provides that elevation. Those at the very top now know their greatest leverage point isn’t just another event on the calendar, it’s their ability to lead with clarity, authority, and long-term impact.”
Skift Meetings is offering one-on-one coaching sessions with Juliet Tripp during breaks at its upcoming Skift Meetings Forum on September 15 in New York City.
Industry Associations Jump In
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has also gotten into the coaching business in three ways:
- a new coaching cohort program started two years ago
- one-on-one career coaching it offers planners at its annual conference
- listings for coaches to its career development web site.
Tim Luepke, director of the MPI Academy, highlighted the trend toward personal and professional development. “Coaching focuses on skills that are often overlooked in traditional educational settings or through company-sponsored and industry-specific training programs,” he said.
A Personal Decision
Rachelle Stone, founder of R. Stone Consulting, has a background rooted in event production and destination management. Along with Román, Stone started Coaches for Conferences, as a service specifically for planners.
From a coach’s perspective, Stone says it’s not essential that they are familiar with a person’s job, but she has found that it’s important for her meeting planners. So she starts every potential client relationship with what she calls a chemistry call.
“Choosing a coach is a very personal decision,” she said.
