Laura Nickels considers herself the Queen of the Pivot — having navigated family moves, career changes, divorce, and a period of intense career burnout. Through Nickels Coaching, she uses personal experience and professional skills to steer others through life’s twists and turns.
On coaching: It is based on a lot of counseling skills, like reflection and deep listening, but is also very action oriented. You want to get from A to B; it’s my job to use my skills to help you get there. Even to this day, 2.5 years in, I’m surprised by how effective it is.
When does it work? The thing I love about coaching is that it is beneficial for anything, for people of all ages. Whether it’s something that takes three months, something that’s going to take a whole year, or something that we could unwrap in one session.
I’ve had clients come to me to sort through big changes: retirement, cross-country moves, switching careers. I have had people who are stuck, tired of spinning their wheels with nutrition and fitness. I’ve had clients trying to figure out the next thing; they know that something needs to change, but they’re not quite sure what it is.
On pivots: I am so passionate about talking about pivots because life is full of them. We all need the ability to be flexible and move with life as you go. But also, recognizing that pivots can be overwhelming because they are like shifting sand. Sometimes you don’t know what direction you’re going to end up going. There’s a lot of new emotions coming in. Sometimes pivots bring happiness and sadness at the same time. Sometimes you’re navigating grief while you’re also navigating joy.
There are major pivots and small pivots that happen every day. The more we are able to move with them on a daily basis, the easier it gets to manage the bigger ones, too. I try to help my clients realize that everyone is equipped with the skills to navigate these things, but sometimes we just need more tools in the toolbox to use.
Game changer: When I wake up in the morning, if I somehow make sure that I do something for my mind, my body, and my spirit first thing, my day is completely different. For my mind, a basic gratitude practice shows my brain to look at the world (differently). Then I’m more apt to have gratitude for everything else as I walk through my day.
And then for my body, it can be stretching or going for a walk — it doesn’t have to be a whole lot. And for my spirit, I love meditation. I think meditation practice or mindfulness is so important because it allows you to learn to observe yourself in a nonjudgmental way.
Client zero: I try to be super vulnerable and open about the fact that I’m client zero. I am constantly working on myself, and I think that’s really important in somebody you look to as a helper. I don’t want anyone to think that I have everything figured out. We are all on this journey, figuring out how to be human and what we want our lives to look like. If I can help somebody else also navigate this with compassion and love, that’s my goal.
