"I'm Deborah Guy—executive coach, fear mastery specialist, and founder of Grounded Leadership™.
I was handpicked by a Fortune 100 Chairman to direct their executive coaching program. I've worked with leaders across industries and continents. But the most important decision I ever made had nothing to do with a title.
At 38, I walked away from a career that looked like success to build a life that actually felt like mine. It was the first time I trusted myself more than I trusted my fear.
You're not stuck—you're on the edge of a breakthrough
As an executive coach for leaders navigating promotion points and pivots, I help you develop the clarity, courage, and confidence to lead without self-sabotage.
That's the work I do now. Whether you're preparing for your next role or learning how to thrive in the one you've just stepped into, something deeper than strategy is at work. This is why executive coaching for leaders focuses not on tactics, but on the invisible patterns that keep capable people playing smaller than their potential.
The result? You stop performing confidence and start actually living from it."
Are You Getting in Your Own Way?
Executive coaching is a professional development partnership that helps leaders recognize blind spots, overcome internal barriers, and build the confidence to lead at their full potential. Unlike consulting (which provides answers) or therapy (which explores the past), executive coaching focuses on unlocking what's already within you—the self-trust and clarity you need to take decisive action now.
Research published in Harvard Business Review found that 85% of executives identified "fear of not being good enough" as a significant barrier to their performance. The International Coaching Federation reports that 86% of companies saw positive ROI from executive coaching investments, with leaders reporting improved confidence, communication, and decision-making. (Sources: Harvard Business Review; ICF Global Coaching Study 2023)
85% of executives identified "fear of not being good enough" as a significant barrier to their performance.
86% of companies saw positive ROI from executive coaching investments
Research from the Harvard Business Review
reports from The International Coaching Federation
Let's Connect
→ Ask yourself: What noise have you been trying to lead through?
What Does Executive Coaching
→ Ask yourself: Which of these patterns feels most familiar right now?
→ Ask yourself: What would change if you trusted your own judgment completely?
→ Ask yourself: What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
for Leaders Actually Look Like?
Something's gotta shift—you can feel it.
You want to stop second-guessing yourself in the moments that matter. You want clarity about what's actually holding you back—instead of managing around the same patterns for another year. You want to make decisions from your values, not your anxiety. And you want to finally trust yourself as much as everyone else seems to trust you.
Whether that shows up as a career breakthrough or a personal one—the work is the same.
Let's have a Real Conversation
For Individuals Ready to Transform.
For people ready to stop managing around fear and start living from their actual power. This isn't therapy. It's the deep, practical work of fear mastery, identity, and self-trust.
We address the patterns underneath the patterns: self-sabotage, imposter syndrome, emotional reactivity, and the quiet ways you've been abandoning yourself.
You don't need a title or a team to do this work. You just need to be ready.
Investment: Premium tier, Same structure as Executive Coaching. Application Required.
PERSONAL BREAKTHROUGH COACHING
Create the Life Your Soul Intended
Ways that we work together
Apply for Private Coaching
Limited availability, by application only.
For leaders in significant career transitions who need real-time support navigating communication breakdowns, self-doubt, leadership blind spots, and role adjustments. This is where your external ambitions meet internal capacity.
This isn't about fixing what's "wrong" with you—nothing is. This is about building the internal leadership capacity that matches your external ambitions. I witness the leader and the life you say you want—and hold you accountable for achieving it.
Investment: Premium tier, pay-as-you-go. No long-term contracts because your growth shouldn't feel like another obligation.
This work is by application only. Not because it's exclusive, but because it requires readiness for strategic intervention—not formulaic programs.
Strategic Intervention for Leaders in Transition
EXECUTIVE COACHING
Apply for Private Coaching
Cohort Based, Community Supported.
Essential Foundation for Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
GROUNDED LEADERSHIP™ GROUP
In an age where AI can handle technical tasks with increasing sophistication, the leaders who thrive aren't the ones with the most advanced tools—they're the ones with the most developed human skills.
Emotional intelligence isn't a "soft skill" anymore. It's your competitive advantage.
Build emotional intelligence and self-regulation under pressure in a community setting. This isn't a "starter option"—it's an essential foundation for sustainable leadership growth in an era where human connection, trust-building, and emotional leadership separate those who advance from those who plateau.
The Grounded Leadership™ Group serves dual purposes:
- Entry path for leaders building foundational skills before or instead of private coaching
- Reinforcement system for leaders maintaining momentum and practicing what they've learned
What you'll develop:
- Recognition of fear-based patterns in real-time
- Self-regulation techniques under pressure
- Courage-based decision making
- Emotional leadership capacity that AI can't replicate
- Community accountability
Investment: Accessible tier, cohort-based. Space is limited to maintain group intimacy and coaching quality.
Cohort Based, Community Supported.
For IT Leaders Navigating Industry Disruption
SCOUT TO SAGE FRAMEWORK
Learn About Scout to Sage
Let's have a conversation
Technical expertise got you here. What's next requires a different kind of leadership.
As AI automates more technical functions, your value as a leader shifts from what you can do to how you can lead. The leaders who thrive aren't fighting the disruption—they're developing the distinctly human capacities that AI can't replicate: strategic thinking, team trust-building, emotional intelligence, and the courage to lead through uncertainty.
The Scout to Sage Framework helps IT leaders navigate this shift—moving from reactive problem-solver (Scout) to strategic visionary (Sage). This specialized approach addresses both the strategic challenges of transformation and the fear-based obstacles that show up during massive change.
This framework is for IT leaders who:
- Are preparing for or adjusting to expanded leadership responsibility
- Need to lead teams through significant technological transformation
- Face increasing pressure to be strategic, not just technical
- Recognize that emotional intelligence is now their competitive advantage
The work blends Grounded Leadership™ principles with IT-specific challenges, helping you lead the transformation—not just manage the technology.
Because here's the truth: You already know more than you think you do.
The challenge isn't lacking information—it's navigating the fear that comes with stepping into bigger leadership, making bolder moves, and trusting yourself in new territory.
As a certified fear mastery coach with 25+ years of experience helping leaders break through their invisible barriers, I don't just help you identify what's holding you back. I help you develop the internal resources to move through it—again and again.
What if you could lead without managing fear?
I stand as a witness for the leader you're becoming. A partner in building the personal foundation that supports sustainable success. And a champion for your growth, especially when your own inner critic gets loud.
This work changes careers. But more importantly, it changes how you experience your own life.
70% improvement in work performance
51% improvement in team effectiveness.
Leaders who invest in executive coaching
Why This Approach Works
Frequently Asked Questions
About Executive Coaching
Executive coaching is a professional development partnership between a trained coach and a leader seeking to improve their performance, confidence, and effectiveness. Unlike consulting, which provides external expertise, executive coaching helps you unlock insights and capabilities you already possess but haven't fully accessed. Sessions typically focus on real-time leadership challenges, decision-making, communication, and the internal patterns that may be limiting your potential.
Executive coaching is present-and-future focused, working on goals, performance, and leadership challenges you want to address now. Therapy typically explores past experiences to understand root causes of emotional difficulties and may address clinical conditions. Coaching assumes you're fundamentally capable and healthy—you're not broken, you may just have patterns that aren't serving you. If clinical mental health concerns are present, therapy is the appropriate starting point.
Consider executive coaching if you're a high-performer who feels stuck, a leader preparing for promotion or adjusting to a new role, or someone who recognizes patterns (overthinking, imposter syndrome, self-sabotage) that are limiting your potential. Coaching is for people who are ready to invest in themselves and do the work—not for those seeking quick fixes or someone to tell them what to do.
Most clients notice shifts in perspective within the first few sessions. Meaningful behavioral change typically emerges within 2-3 months. Sustainable transformation—where new patterns become automatic—usually develops over 6-12 months of consistent coaching. The timeline depends on the depth of patterns being addressed and your engagement between sessions.
According to the International Coaching Federation, companies that invest in coaching report a median ROI of 7x their initial investment. Individual leaders report improvements in confidence, communication, work-life balance, and team effectiveness. Beyond measurable metrics, many clients describe coaching as the catalyst for breakthroughs they'd been unable to achieve on their own.
Sessions are confidential conversations focused on your real-time leadership challenges. We explore situations you're navigating, identify patterns that may be limiting you, and develop practical approaches you can apply immediately. Between sessions, you'll have reflections, tools, and accountability to maintain momentum. This isn't advice-giving—it's a partnership that helps you access your own wisdom and build self-trust.
a note about our
Conversation
- Whether we're a good fit to work together
- Which pathway best serves where you are right now (Personal breakthrough? Leadership coaching? The Group? Scout to Sage?)
- What success would actually look like for you
You'll get a sense of my approach, I'll get a sense of where you're headed, and together we'll decide on the right next step—even if that's not working together.
If I'm not the right fit, I'll gladly point you toward someone who is. If another path serves you better right now, I'll tell you that too.
Let's Talk
I will NEVER spam. share, or sell your personal information - D.
Let's find out what makes sense for You.
Not every offering serves every goal. Let's figure out which path fits where you are right now.
This conversation helps us both get clear.
Clarity starts with a real conversation.
Schedule Your strategy session
A 45-minute conversation about where you are and where you want to be and which approach will get you there—no pressure, no pitch.
STRATEGY CALL PREP GUIDE
I'll send this to you when you book your call—so you can show up clear, focused, and ready to get the most from our conversation.
It's a short reflection tool that helps you articulate what matters most before we talk.
Discover what's driving Your Decisions
Take this free 5-minute assessment to discover which of the six core human needs are unconsciously shaping your leadership patterns—and why certain challenges keep showing up.
Based on proven research. Results sent immediately.
Discover Your Needs Profile
Organizations where I've coached leaders ready to lead from their strengths, not their fears.
