Self-Trust and Deconditioning:
One-on-One Work with Melanie
I offer two types of one-on-one support: self-trust and deconditioning, described below, and leadership consultation and mentoring. An overview of both, and how they differ, is on the One-on-One page.
WHO THIS WORK IS FOR
For anyone asking who they are — and who they want to become — in these times
The world is changing faster than most of us can make sense of, and many find themselves questioning: who am I — and who do I want to become — in these times? The scripts we inherited about what success “should” look like can seem less relevant, less fulfilling, or even empty. Many are craving something different: a way of understanding their own unique purpose in these times.
This work is for anyone trying to sort out what’s right for YOU, underneath all the noise. It might feel hard to put into words, but you might be asking questions like:
“I’ve been successful by outward standards. But as I think about the future, I’m craving clarity: what does success look like on my own terms, not the terms I inherited?”
“I’m exhausted. Not just because I’m busy (aren’t we all?), but deep inside — like I’m trying to do everything because I don’t know what I really want to do.”
“I feel like a lot of different people sometimes. How do these parts of me come together?”
“How do I make decisions I can trust, when anxiety or external pressure makes everything feel equally urgent or equally impossible?
Where these and similar questions lead looks different for everyone. For some, it’s more alignment in the role (and life) they have. For others, a different kind of role, space in their lives for creative work, or exploring something new entirely.
What I hope for you: a greater sense of clarity and calm and being at home with yourself, whatever the future brings and wherever your next steps lead.
WHAT THIS WORK OFFERS
Deconditioning from external scripts and learning to trust what you know
Over time, many of us learn to override our own sense of what’s uniquely right for us in favor of what feels safer or more acceptable. This work is about the slow, often surprising process of deconditioning from external scripts and learning to trust what you know.
I see the beginnings of that process in my workshops. I’ll guide a group through a freewriting exercise — set a timer, don’t lift your pen, let your hand go — and it’s often the skeptics who are most surprised by what lands on the page. A phrase they didn’t know they believed. A decision they’d been circling. The answers were there, underneath the noise. One-on-one, we can go much further.
Together, we’ll look at learning to tell the difference between what’s you and what’s conditioning — the scripts, shoulds, and expectations that shape what we think we’re supposed to want. That’s a practice, and it plays out in choices: the small ones and the large ones, which add up to a life. We’ll look at how you make them, and experiment with making them differently.
WHAT I DRAW FROM
Self-understanding, creative, and contemplative practices, brought into high-pressure professional lives
You might know me through my more public work as a speaker, consultant, and author, focused on workplace culture and practical frameworks and tools for leading in complex times. Privately, I’ve spent decades studying (and personally testing) a variety of different traditions related to self-trust and deconditioning. In our work together, we’ll draw from a variety of self-understanding, creative, and contemplative practices that share a common focus: helping you hear yourself more clearly, especially when external pressure, anxiety, or the weight of others’ expectations makes it hard to know what’s true for you.
This work brings those different perspectives — ones that aren’t often paired — together. As a former executive and in my current leadership work, my career has largely been about navigating high-pressure professional environments. At the same time, I hope to act as a bridge: introducing you to self-trust and deconditioning approaches that you may not have encountered in your professional and personal circles, and that I believe are increasingly important in these times.
HOW TO WORK TOGETHER
In-depth work over time
I like to work with people over time — going in depth, getting to know you, and being there between sessions as well as during them. As such, I work primarily in packages (starting at $850), and all packages include asynchronous messaging support between sessions on the Signal app.
This is deeply personal work, and I want to make sure it’s a good fit for you. For those interested, I’ll send more information about my approach and options for working together. Please reach out via my contact form or schedule an exploratory call. Either way, please include a few sentences about what brings you here.