True North Effect
Work with Me
Whether you are looking for a single session to work through something specific or ongoing support to build something lasting, there is a way to work together that fits where you are right now.
I keep my one-on-one roster small on purpose. It's how the work stays deep and meaningful.
60-Minute Coaching Session
60 minutes · Virtual
A focused session built around what you are navigating right now. Whether you are working through a difficult decision, a leadership challenge, or just need space to think out loud with someone who gets it, this session meets you exactly where you are.
The Mini Series
4 sessions · Virtual
Four focused sessions to work through something real, with the continuity a single conversation cannot give you. More than a one-off, lighter than a full engagement. A defined arc to make progress on one goal, with the same person beside you the whole way.
Leadership Essentials
5 sessions · 4 core areas · Virtual
- One core area per session: managing yourself, leading people, leadership presence, and decision-making and direction
- A pre and post assessment
- A Certificate of Completion at the end
A structured program, scoped to your role and where you are headed. We settle the shape and the investment together on a first call.
Book a call to scope itThe True North Package
3 to 6 months · Open-ended · Virtual
For the person ready to go deep on their own goals. This is ongoing coaching with no set curriculum. It shapes entirely around what you bring and the season you are in, going deeper than a single session allows and building change that lasts. Choose a full engagement, or pay month to month, whichever fits where you are.
- Regular coaching sessions across 3 to 6 months
- Text and email support between sessions
- A personalized plan built around your goals
- Tools, prompts, and check-ins along the way
A defined engagement shaped around you, by inquiry. Tell me what you are working toward and we will find the structure and pace that fit, and talk the investment through openly.
Let's TalkLet your company invest in you
A lot of organizations have professional development budgets that cover exactly this. Coaching is a recognized investment in your growth, not a personal expense, and asking is far more normal than it feels. Here are a few things that help when you make the case to your manager or HR.
- Leadership coaching is a recognized professional development investment, not a personal expense.
- Many organizations already have L&D, professional development, or continuing education budgets that coaching qualifies under.
- Coaching directly supports performance, retention, and leadership readiness, outcomes your organization cares about.
- Coaching with an ICF-trained coach is a structured engagement with clear goals and measurable outcomes.
- A 3 to 6 month engagement is a defined, time-limited commitment, easy to scope and budget for.
A longer engagement can also close with a certificate of completion, a plain record of the work you did. That is the shape of the Leadership Essentials program: you work through the four core areas, do the real work, and finish with something to point to when you make the case for a bigger role.
Subject: A professional development idea I'd love your support on
Hi [Manager's name],
I wanted to run something by you. I have been thinking for a while about working with a leadership coach, and I have found someone who feels like the right fit, Melissa Schmitt at True North Effect. She is an ICF-trained coach with a master's in industrial-organizational psychology and a background in healthcare operations, and her approach is grounded and practical.
Where I want to focus is [your specific thing here, stepping into leading people, growing into a bigger role, leading through change, or getting clearer on my next step]. I think investing in this would make me stronger at [the thing it would help you and the team with].
It is a defined engagement, three to six months, with clear goals we set together at the start, and it ends with a certificate of completion I can add to my development record. I wanted to ask whether something like this could come out of our development or L&D budget. Happy to share more, or set up a quick chat if that is easier.
Thanks for considering it.
[Your name]