Meet your coach
Julia Johnson, Founder & Principle Career Coach
After 20+ years in the corporate world, working for companies such as Cisco Systems, Red Hat, and Fidelity Investments, I launched Careers for Humans Coaching, a practice dedicated to helping people be more successful and more authentic at work.
How is that possible? It all comes down to strategically fostering real connections in ways that are valuable to the business and meaningful to the people who make up the business. It’s not impossible, but it does require forethought.
As an independent career coach, I work with individuals and teams to build useful perspectives on challenges and opportunities, to develop a better understanding of the corporate landscape, and craft practical plans to find, grow, and optimize their strengths.
My background blends professional expertise in leadership, organizational and program management, strategic communications and marketing with industry-leading coaching approaches.
A nerd at heart, I mix theory with lived experience to deliver practical support to globally diverse clients. My theoretical approach is heavily influenced by business and social science disciplines, including strategic communication, decision-making science, economics, management, risk mitigation, goal setting and achievement, positive psychology, cross-cultural community building, and organizational psychology.
What does this mean for you? It means when we talk, I might pull a tactic directly from intentional change theory or leverage the perspective shift we gain through standpoint theory. We might speak directly about your recent 9-Box rating. Or we might employ strengths assessments, blue sky exercises, or SMART goal planning.
It means creative and rigorous problem-solving and support.
It means you get coaching based on sound principles spanning multiple-disciplinary data sets delivered in approachable conversations tailored to your needs.
A coaching engagement that adapts to the untemplate-able uniqueness of you — without sacrificing best practices.
Our Philosophy
Participation in the economic system is a human right.
Work does not have to be soul-crushing.
People, society, and economies thrive when we all apply our strengths.
It is OK to find your own path.
Asking for help is an act of courage.
We believe we need one another to thrive.
Investing in you is a great investment.
Our Principles
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We’re here for you and your goals, not to impose our own ideas of success. Let’s find the path that lights you up.
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Diverse perspectives are magical! People who identify with underrepresented groups are warmly welcomed, and folks from majority demographics are too!
We won’t tolerate hate, discrimination, intolerance, or punching down.
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Our client list is always confidential. We will never share your personal or conversation details with your company, our clients, or anyone else. Privacy is paramount.
Confidentiality is built into every coaching contract. Let us know if you need additional privacy accommodations.
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We’re real live humans. And we expect you to be too — flaws, inefficiencies, and imperfections included. That’s how we like it. And we like you.
FAQs
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Coaching is working one-on-one with a skilled expert who’s aligned and invested in you and your performance – no competing corporate priorities, no unbalanced cheerleading, no comparison or judgements. Just a professional coach who is all about YOU – your goals, challenges, and strengths.
Coaching is different from just talking with a friend, because a coach is trained, skilled, and hired to help you build on your strengths, identify your blockers, and achieve your goals – not just be a pal. When you work with a career coach, together we focus on you – your skills, weaknesses, vision, goals, and the competition – just like athletic coaches do with their star players.
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It is not. Therapists are also trained professionals who work with people to address problems, challenges, and patterns, however, therapists tend to work with specific kinds of cognitive, behavioral, or medical issues. Coaches, especially career coaches, do not.
Think of it like this: coaching takes its name from athletics. Your favorite world-class athlete has a team of folks helping them perform their best day-in, day-out and enjoy a long, successful athletic career. That support team includes medical professionals – trainers, doctors, possibly surgeons and physical therapists after an injury. It might even include a sports psychologist or other therapist along the way.
It always includes a coach. Someone to study your performance, celebrate the wins, analyze the losses, and strategize how to best position your talents for the match at hand and life-long success.
A career coach helps you do the same. We look at your vision, review your strengths, the ways you play best, your options, and we build a playbook to help you thrive. We always align it to your big goals, so that every little win adds up to successful career and a fulfilling life.
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People seek career coaching for all kinds of reasons:
Career pivots
Career advancement
Unsatisfying team dynamics
Confusing feedback
Skill building
Accountability
Validation and encouragement
Focus, clarity, and momentum
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Of course you can! If an exchange with an AI agent meets your needs – growth, development, financial, privacy, and ethical requirements – then of course you can.
It doesn’t meet everyone’s needs, and so here we are – another option, one that prioritizes the human connection.
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Maybe… it depends on your needs. The fact is no matter how much your boss likes you, their job is to manage the business. The best managers can do that while also caring deeply about you as a person and your hopes for your career. But there is always a dual loyalty.
As a coach, our first and sole priority is our client. You know you’ll get honesty and uncompromising support – without the on-the-job politics.