Carol A. Brainard, MBA, PCC

Executive Coach and Consultant

I believe in the power of conversation to help leaders and teams create an environment where people are trusted, respected, and successful. In other words, a workplace where people thrive.

Since the beginning of my career, my work has involved helping people to communicate more effectively. In my early years in marketing database technology, I saw firsthand the challenge of negotiating marketing needs and technology solutions top-down with little discussion of organizational impact.

In 1984, I founded Brainard Consulting, LLC to focus on helping organizations include broad-based collaboration in change and improvement initiatives. Projects included global expansions, new product launches, capacity-building, and business process re-engineering.

In the early 2000s, I became a certified executive coach with the goal of increasing my effectiveness in guiding leaders through organizational change. While I thought I was simply adding to my professional toolbox, I discovered that coaching is my best way of helping people grow and change.

Today, my passion is working with organizations committed to having an impact on society. My experience includes a wide range of corporate, non-profit, government and public sector organizations, with emphasis in recent years on social justice and K-12 public education reform.

These high stakes settings often create high stress. When tensions are high, people cannot perform at their best. As an executive coach, I work with people to better understand themselves and others, helping them be at their best, and able to create a more healthy, sustainable working environment.

"My mission is to help organizations achieve exceptional standards for customer satisfaction and product/service quality in a healthy and rewarding work environment, and to help individuals realize their full potential for creating positive change."

- Carol Brainard

Qualifications & Associations

Masters in Business Administration
Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation
Certified in Conversational Intelligence®
Certified Deep Transformational Coach
Neurolinguistic Programming Master Practitioner
Past President of the Triangle Organization Development Network
Executive Coach for the Broad Residency in Urban Education
NCSU Business Coaching Certificate Program Faculty

“Carol is more informed and up-to-date about developments in my industry than any other professional with whom I’ve worked. Her depth and breadth of knowledge are astounding. In addition to her unfaltering competence, I enjoy working with Carol because of her direct style, compassionate nature, and sense of humor."

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