Jo Ilfeld

Executive Coach & Leadership Consultant

San Francisco, CA

SUMMARY

Jo Ilfeld, PhD., is an Executive Coach and Leadership Consultant who works with senior executives and their teams as well as and high potential leaders to create more impact and influence in their organizations. She helps her clients build the necessary competencies to be confident, effective leaders of high-performing teams.
 
Jo incorporates cutting-edge research to help her clients lead with clarity of vision, master the art of results, develop their influence, and cultivate executive presence. Jo’s specialty is helping highly analytical leaders deepen their relational skills to effectively influence in today’s workplaces. Jo’s clients praise her wise insights as well as her warm and non-judgmental nature, although she can be counted on for her truth-telling and ability to encourage clients out of their comfort zone.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND

Prior to being a coach, Jo worked at Applied Decision Analysis and PwC to provide strategy and marketing consulting to F500 clients. After completing her PhD in business, Jo started, scaled and later sold her own first company into a million dollar business. Jo is an adjunct professor in Sonoma State’s executive MBA program teaching their cornerstone “Leadership Intelligence” class to executives throughout the Bay Area.
 
Jo currently resides in Berkeley with her husband, 3 kids and Havanese dog. In her “me” time, Jo loves to hike in the Berkeley hills with her dog and read a mixture of cutting-edge leadership research and fun fiction. She also serves on the boards of two local non-profits to give back to her community.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

My role as CFO demanded a better way of managing my work relationships and dealing with people who don’t operate like me. My emotional reactions to other people’s behavior were not helpful. Coaching with Jo has been transformative. I now understand the way I process information and interactions and can think more clearly about how to respond and thus manage any situation much more effectively. I’m more alert to my behavior and capable of stopping myself and centering before going down the wrong path or overre­acting; I’m not as personally offended or affected by other’s behavior.
– CFO, Huneeus Vintners

Working with Jo has been the best professional development experience I’ve ever had. I feel much more confident and happy at work. I’ve developed a bigger vision for my work. I can act on many more opportunities in my current job and I now better understand how to use my power for the good of the organization. I’ve become more calm and open in times of intense leadership dis­cussions and questioning. I feel much more collaborative and can now model good collaboration practices for my staff as well. Overall, I am a lot more confident working with my staff, the leadership team, and our board.
– CFO, Alameda County Community Food Bank