Coming Soon: Vanda Lewis Dyson - Leadership and transition coaching rooted in experience and intuition
Vanda Lewis Dyson is an executive and leadership coach. She helps leaders, emerging leaders and entrepreneurs hone their leadership skills, improve their work/balance and manage transitions. She grew up in the mountains of Colorado and spent a lot of time outdoors skiing, hiking and camping, She followed in the footsteps of her grandfather and Dad to become a CPA. She transitioned from public accounting to starting her own consulting business after she had children to working w her husband’s commercial real estate business. When he was injured in a motorcycle accident she ran and sold the business. One of her bosses called her ‘the fixer.” Vanda finally realized that her passion was mentoring and helping people grow in their careers.
Vanda's Journey to Coaching
Vanda shares her background, including growing up in Colorado, becoming a CPA, transitioning from public accounting to consulting, and eventually finding her passion in mentoring and coaching.
Vanda shared her experience growing up in a resort community in Colorado, where she spent her childhood skiing and participating in sports. She discussed how this lifestyle shaped her independence and strength, and how sports played a crucial role in her development. Vanda's Accounting and Entrepreneur Journey
Vanda discussed her career path, starting with an accounting job at Arthur Anderson after graduating from the University of Denver, following in her father and grandfather's footsteps. She emphasized the importance of accounting as a foundation for understanding business, sharing her experience of applying these skills across various sectors.
She shared her journey of transitioning from a career in accounting to running her husband's successful commercial real estate appraisal company after they moved back to Denver. After her husband's motorcycle accident, she took over the business and eventually sold it in 2007 to an outside buyer. Vanda emphasized that while hard work is crucial (citing 80% importance), success also involves elements of luck, and achieving success requires focusing on small, incremental steps rather than aiming for large, immediate goals.
Vanda's Journey to Leadership Coaching
Vanda transitioned from a career in accounting to leadership coaching after realizing her passion for people-focused work, obtaining her coaching certifications and leveraging her extensive business experience. She explained that her coaching practice primarily helps women leaders, including a controller client who needed guidance on presenting data without taking criticism personally and an attorney who became a CEO and required weekly support. Vanda emphasized her preference for working with people rather than numbers, and highlighted that referrals have been her main source of business growth since restarting her consulting practice.
Women's Coaching and Career Transitions
Vanda discussed the importance of self-reflection and coaching for women to identify their own wants and values, particularly after significant life events like marriage or children. She emphasized the value of coaching as a supportive process distinct from therapy, and shared her website for potential consultations. www.vandadyson.com
