About Shelley Pernot

Shelley Pernot, Career Coach in Austin, Leadership Coach in Austin

For years, I lived my life unconsciously. From a distance I looked successful, but I moved from one task to the next – busy, stressed, unfulfilled, and not sure why I was semi-miserable.  On the outside everything looked great.  On the inside – not so much.

Originally a small town girl from east Texas, I worked my way up through the corporate ranks, for many years was the only woman at the decision table, earned an MBA from a top European school, and succeeded in a well-paid job in risk management in London. I had arrived…..kind of. But no matter what I did I couldn’t shake a general feeling of emptiness.

Discovering Mindfulness

In 2009, I moved back to the United States and discovered yoga by accident. After a few months, I knew something was different. I was different.  I wasn’t drinking and eating too much.  No longer was I quite literally pulling my hair out from stress.  I lost weight and got fit.  This yoga/mindfulness thing was definitely working for me!

Shelley Pernot, Career Coach in Austin, Leadership Coach in AustinFeeling uninspired in my job I decided to take a sabbatical so I could become a yoga teacher and travel to Africa. When I returned to work, I was fueled with a renewed energy to follow my passion for development.  I made an abrupt change in my career and went from risk management to leadership development.  In my new role, I created and taught programs aimed at fostering corporate culture that welcomed honest discussion.

I made positive changes and saw dividends in areas outside of my career, too. The more energetically I embraced my passions, the more everything changed. Ever since I had completed my coach training, I had dreamt of having my own coaching business.  That dream was realized in 2015 when I took the plunge and launched True North Coaching and Development, specializing in career and leadership coaching.

My Coaching Philosophy

As you can tell, I love my work!  And I would love to work with YOU.

I will create a safe space for you to explore what’s holding you back.  I will challenge you ever so respectfully but firmly to reach your potential, and I will enthusiastically champion your successes, of which there will be many.  And I promise there will also be plenty of joy and laughter.  Just because we’re working hard, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right?  I encourage you to check out the testimonials from some of my clients to see what they say about working with me and the value of coaching.

Coaching Credentials

  • I hold a Masters and Bachelors from the University of Texas at Austin in Accountancy and an MBA from the Erasmus Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands.
  • I’m an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach at the PCC level, and I graduated from the esteemed Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) program.  I have also served as a faculty member for the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) program, where I got to work with really amazing aspiring coaches and teach them how to coach.
  • I have served on the Austin, Texas Board of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as Treasurer.
  • I’ve also served as a faculty member for the University of Texas Center for Professional Education (UTCPE) and NYU Professional Pathways.
  • I’m a certified yoga instructor and incorporate mindfulness practices into my coaching practice.
  • I completed my first book in 2017, Running on Empty: An Irreverent Guide to Filling Up with Mindfulness, a fun, Bridget Jones meets Jon Cabot Zin guide to finding more meaning and balance in your life and am currently working on my second book.

And finally…in 2016 I ticked a major bucket list goal off my list by completing the High Passes of Everest trek.

What’s your dream?  Let me help you discover it!

Shelley Pernot, Career Coach in Austin, Leadership Coach in Austin

book a coaching consult today!

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“I have found this executive coaching experience incredibly enriching and valuable in particular as I have begun to internalize the questioning approach in my own reflections on issues that I face.”

F. Bloch-Creasey

“After each career coaching session, I come with away with more clarity on my own purpose and how to bring more of what I want into my life, both professionally and personally.”

M. Wickersham

“ I have actually made things happen and taken big steps that I was always afraid of taking before, after Shelley’s constant and persistent ‘what is stopping you?’ made me realize I was stopping myself.”

L. de Ponte

“Working with Shelley as my career coach, I have been able to achieve my goals of increasing my confidence within the work environment, developing a vision and plan for my career and communicating more effectively.”

A. Bedoya

"I have been able to move seamlessly to another position within the company and Shelley’s leadership coaching helped me to clarify questions I needed to ask to help with that transition!”

S. Zeigle

“Shelley's leadership coaching took me through a number of exercises that got me thinking in a different frame of mind and gave me clarity on what I want my future to look like.”

H. Bartlett

“Shelley's leadership coaching helped me transition into my new role and to achieve my goals of improving the level of engagement with my peers and senior leadership.”

S. Salvesen

"Through working with Shelley as my career coach I was able to identify where some of my natural abilities weren't being used and how that led me to be unhappy. Now I'm shifting to a career and an industry that is fully enthralling and I couldn't be happier!"

C. Van Ert

"The insights Shelley relayed during our collaborative leadership coaching sessions translated into relevant and thought provoking training which I find very useful for the business world."

K. Makransky

"I now have clarity around what specific career roles to apply to, why I would be a great fit for those roles, what my natural abilities are, how to leverage those abilities and how I want to balance career with other priorities in my life. Both gentle and direct, her career coaching helped me reframe limiting beliefs and perspectives so that I could achieve a major break through."

J. St. John

"Working with Shelley was one of the best decisions of my life (at it was definitely outside of my comfort zone)! She helped me focus during a time when I wanted to make a big career and life transition, but I wasn't sure how to start."

A. Kilpatrick

"If you are trying to figure out what the next step in your life and career is, I would highly recommend working with Shelley as a career coach."

A. Cepeda

"I have found strength I forgot I had and learned to lead in a way that is more true to who I am as a person. I could not recommend her enough as a leadership coach!"

R. Mallernee

"Shelley has been invaluable in helping me make a mid-life career change."

I. Hallett

"Shelley has a very holistic approach to career management and was very effective at helping me focus on what I wanted to achieve and how to get there."

C. Howard

"Working with her has impacted both my personal and professional development in a tremendous way. It was truly a transformative experience."

P. McKay

"Shelley is simply fantastic career and leadership coach. She has helped me discover who I am in my core, set a course for my journey, and accompany me to navigate the challenging obstacles (often the obstacle is ME), and to not settle."

M. Trujillo

"With her help I am back on a successful and enjoyable track in my journey in life."

D. Jirkovsky

"Her career coaching system really helped me develop professional and personal confidence while guiding me towards a path I can really be proud of."

A. Chehadi

Shelley has run successful coaching and training programs for the following organizations