Career Coaching Secrets

From CIO to Coach: Jane Williams on Reinventing Your Career and Finding Your Fire

• Davis Nguyen

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In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, we sit down with Jane Williams — executive coach, hybrid work strategist, and former CIO — who shares her journey from corporate leadership to building her own coaching business. Jane reveals the mindset shift required to thrive outside the corporate world, how she empowers women in tech through her Find Your Fire program, and lessons learned in lead generation, brand development, and staying focused as a solopreneur.

Whether you're just starting out or scaling your coaching practice, Jane’s insights into remote leadership, confidence-building, and authentic outreach are packed with value.

You can find her on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeparkerwilliams/
https://www.findyourfirecoach.com/


You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

Get Exclusive Access to Our In-Depth Analysis of 71 Successful Career Coaches, Learn exactly what worked (and what didn't) in the career coaching industry in 2024: https://joinpurplecircle.com/white-paper-replay

Jane Williams:

When you're in a job and somebody else is setting your goals and your agenda, it's different. When you're sitting here and there's other things to do besides sit down and work on your mailing list, which is not fun, there's too many reasons not to do it. So I think a lot of it is just... And one of the things the branding company did, it was really kind of great. I mean, it's like make a calendar for yourself. And today I'm going to work on email. Today I'm going to work on, you know, my outreach. Plan that time. Focus on your goals. Because before you know it, two months are gone and you haven't done anything. So to me, it's just set up that same rigor and focus that you had when you were working, you know, in the corporate world with someone behind your back pushing you.

Davis Nguyen:

Thank you so much. Before Purple Circle, I started and scaled several seven and eight figure career coaching businesses myself and consulted with two career coaching businesses that are now doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or just building your practice for the first time, you'll discover the secrets to elevating your coaching business.

Rexhen:

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. I'm your host, Rexhen, and today's guest is Jane Williams. Jane is a hybrid work strategist, an executive coach, and former CIO with over 30 years of experience guiding organizations through the evolving intersection of technology, leadership, and organizational change. She specializes in helping companies design high-performing trust-based systems for distributed workforces moving beyond outdated models of control. Through her signature program called Find Your Fire, Jane empowers women in tech and other high-stakes leadership roles to lead with clarity, articulate their unique value, and thrive amidst complexity. Her work blends strategic depth with human insight to future-proof organizations and leaders alike. It's a really honor for me to have her on the podcast today. Welcome to the show, Jane.

Jane Williams:

Thanks so much. It's exciting to be here. Can't wait.

Rexhen:

Cool. Yeah, it's a pleasure for us. So Jane, tell me a little bit more about what inspired you to become a coach and start your own coaching business.

Jane Williams:

That's really interesting. Many, many years ago when I was first starting my career, I was lost and foundered and I was feeling like there was nothing I could do that was right. Everybody was against me and I hired an external coach. We had a lot of leadership training in my company and IBM, but I really thought it was important to get an external perspective on how I was approaching it. So I hired this coach years and years ago and she really turned around my career. I've learned about that. I learned from that experience and I've kind of kept that close. And then when I was a CIO and I had the opportunity to get coaching for some of my really high performers, I did that and it was fantastic. Their careers just went crazy from that. So I'm a real believer in that external to the company, kind of another look at where your career is going. And then when I retired from being a CIO, the company that I was working for actually reached out or that I had hired actually reached out and asked me to work for them. So I've been an executive coach with them for, I think, four years now. So it's really fascinating that that look into what you're doing within a company from an external perspective is so important. And I think a lot of people don't get that.

Rexhen:

Cool, so you did receive basically great coaching in your early years and kind of like you found the value in it and then later on kind of like moved into coaching. Was that something you wanted to do or you were looking to do or was it because the company approached you?

Jane Williams:

Honestly, because the company approached me. I mean, I was open to that kind of thing, but I didn't really know much about actually doing it myself. And I think one of the important things when that company approached me and I still work for them, there was, there's no requirement. There wasn't a certification requirement. There wasn't anything like that. And I think, you know, in the coaching industry, it's relatively new. anybody can be a coach right now, put up a shingle and say, I'm a coach. I think what was really, really important that was that from that initial and from the first two clients I had, I really, I needed some training and I went back and got my certification through ICF. I ended up getting the board certified coaching, but I think that is just, that was what turned everything around was actually going through the training, understanding that this isn't just a hobby. You know, you're not mentoring people, you're actually coaching. And so learning that and understanding that difference, I think, made the huge difference in how I've approached it.

Rexhen:

How do you feel about it currently? Do you enjoy coaching?

Jane Williams:

I love coaching. I mean, I cannot imagine not doing it. It's new. I've met so many different people. I still have friends, you know, from the people that I coach that I've met all over. And they tell me their stories and they keep telling me their stories. I do a newsletter now on LinkedIn with women that I have, a lot of women that I have coached before and that I know called IT Women on Fire. And just hearing their stories from after they've coached and how they got launched and turned everything around, it's just so rewarding. It

Rexhen:

really is. Cool, interesting. And like, according to LinkedIn, there's about one year and five months. Has it been more than that, that you start your own business independently?

Jane Williams:

I kind of started independently about then. You know, I've been working for the other company and realized the problem, you know, it's a non-compete and I can't go back to the companies that I coached for clients. So I kind of started and launched my own effort. It's been an interesting, interesting experience. Moving from a very, very corporate background to an entrepreneurial background and it's been a huge transition for me learning how to present online to really just reach out and trying to attract new people it's it's a whole different whole different mindset so it's an interesting journey

Rexhen:

So for one year and a half or kind of like maybe slightly more, what do you think is one of the kind of like little learnings that you got that you wish you had known from the start that was kind of like an unexpected lesson learned or even expected?

Jane Williams:

I think it is trusting advice. I think there's a lot of people out there. It seems like there's a lot of people who are calling themselves coaches, but there's even more people who are coaches to coaches. And it's very difficult. I mean, it's not that easy to go out and generate leads and find people and get people to trust you. And especially on an individual basis, companies are way more willing to pay for coaching services than an individual is. So it's hard to get that trust. And there's so many people out there wanting to I'll generate leads for you. I'll do this and that for you. And they're just not, they're not trustworthy. It's very, very, very early on. I signed with a company and they were going to get me all these leads. And I was so embarrassed. I mean, the stuff they sent out on LinkedIn was just, I was, I was like, I have to get off LinkedIn. This is horrible. So I think a lot of it is, you know, take a breath and look around first and just don't die. I dived in. Yeah. And there's so many people out there willing to take your money for, you know, giving you actually no value whatsoever. Yeah,

Rexhen:

absolutely. Absolutely. There's a lot of companies and not just in coaching, but I think in every industry, there's a lot of lead generation agencies that do sometimes overpromise and don't deliver to the expectation or deliver to their promise. So yeah, being aware of that is definitely a very good learning. Now, we talked a little bit about this in the beginning when I did your intro. Who do you typically work with and what transformation do you help them achieve? How does the ideal client look like?

Jane Williams:

I think I'm most successful with what I did in my career was I did not have a traditional trajectory. I kind of started late in my career. I didn't have a lot of confidence. I listened to what other people told me was what they wanted my success to be and tried to fit myself into that mold. I think the people that I work best with are people who are making the transition between the doing to the leading. You know, it's very, very different. And people who are just a little bit, they're searching for their own voice. And I say it's in find your fire and find your voice. It's find how you fit in. What do you have to bring to value to this company? If there is, then you define it and you define your own success. Don't let someone else do it for you. And when I get that to people, it's a light turns on and they start thinking about it in a new way. And Many, many, many ways to be successful in business. And it's not just one path. So you need to find your own way, be true to what you believe in and make the most out of what you already have. Because I think everybody in coaching comes to a coaching situation with really everything they need. A coach, a good coach just helps them find it.

Rexhen:

Cool. And where do people find you mostly? What has been most effective for you so far? Apart from like that, I just didn't work.

Jane Williams:

It's networking. I mean, it's all about the people you know and how you reach out to them. I think, you know, everybody says do LinkedIn marketing, but I have not had enormous success with LinkedIn marketing, just blind marketing. I have had enormous success on LinkedIn with people that I know and developing a network. And it's take it back from the technology and get back to the real people stuff. Have all the conversations you can possibly have and with human beings, not through technology. And they tell people and other people and every coach I talked to has been successful. It's all word of mouth and networking. So I think that's really, you know, be confident that you can do that. I think a lot of people networking. Oh, my gosh. And they get they get scared. But that's all. It's just reaching out to people. and not be afraid to do that.

Rexhen:

And when you say reaching out to people, what is the strategy there? If not, are you using LinkedIn or are you just reaching out to people you know locally through live events or something like that? A

Jane Williams:

lot of live events locally, I do that. And LinkedIn, obviously, the people that you meet, I mean, I was surprised when I started, you know, I had Sales Navigator on LinkedIn. You start to look at leads online. all of the people that I actually had connections with. I was surprised. And somebody had told me that a while ago. It's like, you know more people than you think. And you know more people in positions of influence than you think. And LinkedIn is great for organizing that and understanding who those people are and finding them. But just kind of keeping your own list and ICRM tool, but just making it real in that way, I think is really the best way to do it.

Rexhen:

So currently, it looks like it's basically strategic reach out through even live events locally or also through very targeted outreach on LinkedIn and then getting them into your CRM and then you... You also mentioned you have a newsletter on LinkedIn. And when it comes to the newsletter, is that generally mostly a place for you to share content or value in terms of what you coach or what you help with? How does the content look there?

Jane Williams:

Tangentially. I'm really doing interviews kind of like you're doing here. I do interviews with women who have made great strides in IT. And so I asked them what worked, what didn't, and they're just so happy to talk about that, what they want to share. So when it's building a sense of community that way. So anybody who listens to the newsletter or is in the newsletter gets all their friends to look at the newsletter and then they talk to other people. It was funny. I had interviewed a woman here locally that I know and we were having lunch together and I had just published her interview and we're walking out on lunch and somebody came up and said, Oh, Meg, I saw your interview, you know, who's the coach and she said oh it happens to be you know here's Jane we happen to be together and so that worked into a relationship so it's it's just like that and it's just taking advantage of any I hate the word authentic but any real interaction you have and any chance to get to know people and get out there and let them know your services in a really organic way not a salesy way because that's another thing is like coaching is not You know, it's like lawyers and doctors. How do you sell yourself really, right? And I'm not out there trying to sell my services so much as make people aware that they need them.

Rexhen:

When it comes to your coaching business, even though it has not been that long, when you generate revenue through your coaching business, is it mostly through your contracts with other companies or you also independently get clients that are completely unrelated to the other companies, which has come straight to you?

Jane Williams:

Yeah, it has to be pretty much individuals. I have been focused on individuals right now, but that's why I'm kind of moving into the consulting avenue to get more into the corporate client side of it. It's a lot for an individual to commit to a coaching package, you know, and put that money up and invest in yourself when you don't really, you know, if you go to a doctor, you go somewhere, you know, you've got a pretty much expected outcome. But in coaching, you don't. And you could be wasting your money. You could spend all this money. And I think it's a lot more difficult for individuals to come to that realization than for a company to which the money is hardly anything.

Rexhen:

Cool. Yeah. So you're trying to shift more to corporations, not exactly through coaching, more through consulting.

Jane Williams:

The consulting I have spent, I have a very unique experience. outlook on remote work. I started in 1997 with IBM at a time when the company had decided it was in financial trouble. They decided to get rid of a lot of real estate. And if you were traveling a lot, you didn't get an office, you didn't get anything. And they gave me a laptop and a credit card and said, you know, go be due. And I've been doing that remote work thing since 97. I've also, you know, I was in a global practice at IBM where I managed global remote teams from China, India, Boston, Texas, you know, all sorts of developers working together in a global environment, all virtual. So I have enormous amount of experience in that and also took some time at the end of my career to get a doctorate and I focused on remote leadership. You know, what is the difference in leading between sitting there in front of your employees and doing it like we're doing on Zoom. So a lot of experience in that. And I think that there's a lot of push and pull right now, obviously, you know, remote work comes into fashion, goes out of fashion. It was almost dead before COVID and now it's, it came back and now everybody's pushing everybody back in. But there are very few organizations that I know of that actually developed an intentional hybrid work policy that focuses on the readiness of the leadership, the readiness of your infrastructure, but actually, more importantly, the readiness of the employee. So not everybody can work remotely. Not everybody's going to be successful that way. And You need to sit down and determine which jobs can be remote, which jobs can't be. Make it intentional rather than this knee-jerk, everybody back in the office or everybody here Tuesdays and Wednesdays and that kind of thing. So I really think there's a need right now, whether you want to do remote or not remote, you at least need to understand as a company why. And it's not just, it's not just, it's a considered opinion that takes into account your ability to attract and retain talent, your ability to be successful and to lower your costs, optimize your infrastructure costs. Lots of things go into it.

Rexhen:

And when it comes to coaching business, are you currently working towards apart from like switching the focus? Are there any other goals that you're looking into the next one to three years?

Jane Williams:

Wow, that's a good one. I would love to establish this brand as a consulting business that combines coaching as a package. It's not done often or it's not done well. And I think the company that I work for does it really well. And I think it's valuable. That's where I'm really going to focus is finding that blend. And I would love to, over the next five years, develop a brand, hire some other people, and then just kind of sell the business and move out. So to get that concept going, though.

Rexhen:

Yeah, we've actually seen that happen with a couple of coaches in Purple Circle where the goal was to sell out the business. And yeah, we've seen that happen. So it's definitely a good goal to go after. And when it comes to investments, has there been any investment in your coaching business that you feel like apart from the investment that was not good, but like any investment that actually helped grow the business or did you saw it as valuable when you're growing your coaching business and that could be any coaching programs masterminds or communities anything like that or any other thing that you actually feel like actually had value in you growing your coaching business you'd like to share

Jane Williams:

yeah i mean obviously i went through a program minna brown um does performance coaching she does a fantastic fantastic training program i still stay with them it was a great investment that i made i think and this is kind of off the wall but I invested very early on. I was scared to death. A lot of I am not from the generation that came up doing video. You know, we're not comfortable with it. And I invested with a company that took me through that. We would just do, they would do a session and they'd make all these 30 second videos out of me talking. And most of them aren't publishable, but I learned, I learned to think on a dime. I learned to think remotely or think on video that way and to project a little better on the video and to have that confidence to do it. To me, it's find where you think you have a weakness and invest in that and that's what I did there that that was a huge wonderful investment that I made I haven't invested in branding I mean I obviously had a branding service do the find your fire coaching I think that was instrumental in pulling together my messaging my focus they were great you got to be real real careful about who you who you trust on that but I think they were great you know I've got the color scheme and the video background and all this stuff I mean I Got that stuff from what I learned from them. So that's important, too. And how you present yourself. In the corporate world, when I was a CIO, I had a way I had to present myself. I had a way I had to dress and act and talk. And it's completely different. You've got to make a new you. So I think any investment in that, I think, is really, really important.

Rexhen:

Cool. And are you doing a lot of video content right now or not?

Jane Williams:

I've gotten into it a little more. I do a lot of these podcasts and things like that, but I haven't put a lot out, and I really need to start doing it more. I really do.

Rexhen:

Cool. I think you have a natural way of expressing yourself, so I don't think that is a good challenge. That might be just a limited belief.

Jane Williams:

I should show you some of those early videos.

Rexhen:

Well, you should see my early podcast.

Jane Williams:

Learn by doing. I mean, I've even told my coaching people that I coach. I said, you know, if you're worried about how you present yourself in the meeting, do a podcast or do a video every morning just for you.

Rexhen:

And then you'll get used to it.

Jane Williams:

You'll see how you look and you'll learn from it.

Rexhen:

So yeah, you'll definitely get a hang of it. And when it comes to challenges, what would you say is the biggest challenge that you're right now facing with your coaching business right now? Like you're You're working on refining your offer, but what would you say is the biggest challenge from you getting from where you are at now to where you want to be? I

Jane Williams:

could be described as a golden retriever. I've heard people say that when you throw a tennis ball, I go chase it. So I have a problem focusing. you know when when you're in a job and you're you're doing you know somebody else is setting your goals and and your agenda it's different when you're sitting here and there's other things to do besides sit down and work on your mailing list which is not fun there's too many reasons not to do it so i think a lot of it is just one of the things the branding company did it was really kind of great i mean it's like make a calendar for yourself and Today I'm going to work on email. Today I'm going to work on my outreach. Plan that time. Focus on your goals because before you know it, two months are gone and you haven't done anything. So to me, it's just set up that same rigor and focus that you had when you were working in the corporate world with someone behind your back pushing you.

Rexhen:

So you'd say optimizing your operation is... where the challenge is currently. Yeah. It's been quite a lovely episode. Is there any final advice you'd like to give to other coaches who are looking to scale their impact? And this would be like an advice you'd give to yourself?

Jane Williams:

Don't be afraid to get yourself out there. I mean, you can hide behind lead generation packages and you can throw a lot of money at things thinking you're doing something. But in the end, it's just get yourself out ready and go out there and meet people go to those events just do it and just get out there

Rexhen:

thank you so much jane and for anyone who wants to connect with you or find you they can find you on linkedin at Jane Williams and they uh like credit for your own coaching business is their website or is that not yet the website

Jane Williams:

yes find your fire coach

Rexhen:

okay findyourfirecoach.com right

Jane Williams:

right

Rexhen:

And we'll put that also into the description. And I was just checking your LinkedIn. There's also like an option there for anyone to schedule with you if they're interested in what you're doing. So thank you. Thank you so much for coming to the podcast. It's been a lovely episode.

Jane Williams:

Thank you very much.

Davis Nguyen:

Thank you. Thank you.