--- title: "Coaching for Directors in Finance and Software" id: "5859" type: "page" slug: "coach" published_at: "2026-10-29T01:50:57+00:00" modified_at: "2026-10-30T05:03:46+00:00" url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/" markdown_url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/coach.md" excerpt: "Directors in Software and Finance often struggle with prioritizing, delegating, speaking up, taking action and not living up to their full potential—I help solve that. Do you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or out of step with your workplace? Do you spend......" --- [Skip to the content](#site-content) [John Poelstra](https://johnpoelstra.com) ### Bringing order to chaos and clarity to confusion - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) Toggle search field - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) # Coaching for Directors in Finance and Software Directors in Software and Finance often struggle with prioritizing, delegating, speaking up, taking action and not living up to their full potential—I help solve that. Do you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or out of step with your workplace? Do you spend more time firefighting than leading with intention? Whether you’re at a career crossroads or simply need better systems for delegation and decision-making, I can help you move forward with clarity and confidence. Most things can change, even when we believe they can’t. I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. **Over 10 years of coaching · 520+ clients · 3,150+ sessions** ## Are We a Fit? We may be a great fit if any of these sound familiar: - *“I feel stuck or disconnected from my role or industry. I’m tired, and I’m not sure what’s next. How can I know whether I’m in the right place or need to make a change?”* - *“I’m not sure what success means anymore. I don’t need more money or a bigger title. I want my career to reflect what matters most to me.”* - *“I’m moving so fast I don’t have time to think clearly. I need to pause and work with someone who can help me build better structures for my work.”* - *“I have big decisions to make, but I’m stuck because everything feels important.”* - *“I know I’m doing too much myself. I want to learn when to let go and when to stay hands-on, especially with less experienced team members.”* - *“My days are full of urgent tasks that feel like endless fire drills. I want clarity on where to dive deep, what to delegate, and how to focus on what truly matters.”* - *“My calendar is a mess. I need better systems for time blocking and decision frameworks that make me less reactive at work and at home.”* ## What Clients Say > I was amazed at how well John could help me get at the real issues that were blocking me, which was typically me getting in my own way. The coaching experience with him has helped me up my game and make me more productive, assertive and confident in my role. It was a great experience and I would recommend John to anyone. Even if you don’t think you need the help, he’s going to surprise you by what you get out of it. --- > John is a great coach. He uses a variety of methods, so coaching with him is neither boring nor one-size-fits-all. Despite my initial skepticism, he was quickly able to identify how to work with me effectively. He helped me gain self-confidence and a better understanding of myself, which helped me at work as well as in my private life. Plus, it was fun! --- > Before working with John, my life was good, but I had no idea how much better it could be. I sensed that I wasn’t living up to my true potential. I knew I was good at certain things and had some vague long-term goals, but I’d never made the time to articulate a crisp vision of the future I wanted or how I would get there. Working with John helped me discover the gap between my big dreams and executing on them. Previously, I’d had lots of great ideas and goals, but they never materialized. Through a variety of exercises and conversations, John helped me uncover and state my true values and priorities, and from them, create a mission statement and goals in alignment with them. It was awesome. I started getting traction right away. In a matter of weeks, I achieved goals I had been dancing around for years. ## My Approach I see every client as creative, resourceful, and whole, and more powerful and capable than they imagine. My role is to help you uncover your own best answers, and to trust that you can. My style is direct and playful, thought-provoking and challenging, compassionate and humorous, grounding and empowering. Clients gain new insight into who they are *being*, so that what they’re *doing* becomes more effective. That shift comes from taking greater ownership of what they create in every part of their lives. ## My Background I bring 30 years of experience working with people and organizations across many industries, from startups to Fortune 100 companies. **Technology.** Half of my career was spent at Dell/EMC and Red Hat, the world’s largest open-source software company, in managerial and individual-contributor roles spanning software testing, project management, marketing, and team leadership. **Finance.** I’ve worked as a bank auditor at Wells Fargo, a certified public accountant at Grant Thornton LLP, and a financial reporting manager for a nonprofit. This combination means I understand the pressures you face from the inside. More on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpoelstra) ### John Poelstra [https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756](https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756) ### Subscribe to Podcast [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-poelstra-show/id1130635146?mt=2&ls=1) [Android](https://subscribeonandroid.com/johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) [by Email](https://subscribebyemail.com/johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) [RSS](https://johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) ### Links - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) - [Blog](https://johnpoelstra.com/blog/) - [Podcast Production](https://johnpoelstra.com/podcast-production/) - [Better Meetings](https://johnpoelstra.com/meetings) ### Subscribe to Podcast [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-poelstra-show/id1130635146?mt=2&ls=1) [Android](https://subscribeonandroid.com/johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) [by Email](https://subscribebyemail.com/johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) [RSS](https://johnpoelstra.com/feed/podcast/) © 2026 [John Poelstra](https://johnpoelstra.com/) — Powered by [WordPress](http://www.wordpress.org) Theme by [Anders Noren](https://andersnoren.se) — [Up ↑](#)