About The Executive Happiness Coach®

Jim Smith, SPHR, PCC, spent more than 20 years in the insurance, banking, and hospitality industries, where he held senior executive roles in Sales, Finance, Operations, and HR, so he understands what it takes to succeed in business. He has been coaching executives and organizational leaders since 1992.

Jim works with leaders who want to accelerate their way to increased effectiveness and more balance. His personal mission is to raise up leaders and help people discover and increase the amount of happiness in their lives and work. He provides executive and personal coaching, leadership development, and Organizational Development consulting. Jim’s clients include non-profit and government organizations and educational institutions as well as top-tier Fortune 500 companies in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Everyone – at every level – benefits from better leadership!

[Psst. Jim, here. I’d like to interrupt your reading of my bio for a moment. Why Leaders? you might ask. Doesn’t EVERYONE want more happiness in their life? I’m betting that, even as you’re reading this paragraph, the little voice in your head is saying, Yes, I’d love to be happier.

Well, I’d like to share two important points with you. One, I passionately believe that ANYONE can be a leader who works to raise up others and help in their development. So if you are a parent, child, coworker, friend, retail clerk, second cousin, or just a random stranger, you have the POWER to help others and yourself improve their experience of life.

And two, have you ever heard the phrase, “shit rolls downhill”? That phrase often refers to the flow-down effect of toxic leadership. A poor (or stressed or unhappy) leader impacts all the people in their downstream. In a like manner, a leader who is more competent (and calmer and happier) has a positive impact on all those who are with or below them on the organizational chart. I like to work with leaders because through them I can help impact many others. And who are the leaders? Certainly those with a title…. AND see point #1 in the preceding paragraph!]

Jim holds an MBA in organizational behavior from the Weatherhead School at Case and a BSBA in management and finance from John Carroll University. Jim holds certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and he is a Past President of the Cleveland Society for Human Resource Management. He currently serves as President of the Cleveland Coach Federation and is on the board of the Northern Ohio HR Planning Society. In addition, he is an adjunct Instructor in Graduate Business Management for Baldwin Wallace College.

Finally, there some coaching credentials:

• Jim is a Certified Authentic Happiness® Coach, focused on the intentional creation and use of Positive Emotion to reduce stress and build a happier, more balanced life
• He has also completed certification in Ontological Coaching** through The Newfield Network, one of the top-tier coaching schools in the industry.
• Finally, Jim is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a designation earned through the International Coach Federation (the primary credentialing body for the profession) after completing rigorous training, demonstrating strength in the 11 Coaching Core Competencies defined by the ICF, and having participated in over 1500 hours coaching conversations with clients.

[**Jim here, with another comment. OK, big deal, you might be saying. What’s in it for ME? Let’s talk about you for a moment. You are a Human Being. You are not a checklist. So my coaching is not about lists and formulas and telling you what you “should” do – or not. My style is Ontological Coaching, which focuses on coaching to the four primary domains we “live in” as humans – language, emotion, movement, and consciousness. Thus my coaching and facilitation style pulls heavily from emotional intelligence, the mind-body connection, and experiential learning and awareness. My clients typically realize large shifts in self-awareness and their personal “presence” in the world and at work. If that’s what you’re seeking, you’ve arrived ?].

And a personal note:

Jim and his Baby Boomer wife have raised four Millennial kids with the help of 8 phone lines, 9 computers, and 10 email accounts. He swims and walks to keep healthy and worships dark chocolate. Jim deeply believes that Happiness is a decision, not an event!

Need more information? Contact Jim.