Linda Lalicata is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her expertise and confidence.

She started with a background in biology and teaching, but soon she discovered a passion for psychology and chose life coaching as her path, guided by the advice of her counselor cousin. She says that choosing that path was probably the best decision of her life. Overcoming self doubt and the emotional scars of a rocky family relationship, she embarked on a path of personal growth and education, eventually becoming a successful coach.

She has a flexible approach, tailored to each client’s needs, incorporating techniques like NLP and positive psychology to create not just helpful but also enjoyable coaching sessions. She works mostly with women helping them gain self confidence and feel empowered so they can achieve their career goals.

She empowers her clients by uncovering their strengths and core values, enabling them to overcome obstacles with ease. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Linda Lalicata:

Name: Linda Lalicata

Pillar: The Spirit, The Mind

Who is this coach for: Women fo want to gain self confidence and feel empowered so they can achieve their career goals.

How they can help: By using the ICF method and various tools and techniques like NLP and positive psychology, just to name a few.

First of all, how are you and your family doing after these Pandemic times?

Everyone in my family is doing very well.

My husband had the virus last summer, but recovered very well once he went on medication.

We were fine during the quarantine because we are homebodies anyway.

The hardest part was not being able to go out to dinner, because enjoy that.

I am a pretty good cook, so I just cooked more.

How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

I did have one client during the pandemic, and she was not a very social person.

The pandemic was almost like a blessing to her because she did not have to make excuses to her parents about preferring to stay home with her children rather than go out with friends.

In my case, I was busy studying.

I was still training online with iNLP Center, and I had not yet graduated from FIT.

The timing was perfect, I had no excuse not to study since we couldn’t go anywhere!

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

I learned that if you are given the gift of time, no matter where it comes from, use it wisely.

Too many people squandered it by becoming lazy and depressed about having to stay isolated.

I practiced my instruments, worked on my studies, worked out more, and finished art projects.

Yes, the pandemic was terrible, but you should always try to find the bright spots in the darkness.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

It is a long story, but I will shorten it up the best I can.

My background is biology and I teach at Bronx Community College.

The students there have problems that run deeper than just having academic issues.

I wanted to learn how to help them overcome some of their struggles, like time management and concentrating on their studies rather than wasting time and energy in the wrong way.

I decided to go back to school for psychology and graduated two years with top honors from Florida Institute of Technology.

I loved it so much, I wanted to do more with it, but did not want to become a therapist.

My cousin, who is a counselor, suggested life coaching.

I have never regretted it furthering my education and feel it was one of the best decisions of my life.

I am still busy trying to build my client base, but I do have too terrific clients right now.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

I had a very rocky relationship with my family that left me a bit emotionally scarred.

My husband is great and always encouraged me, but I did not believe in myself.

After high school I did not know what I wanted to do.

I thought I wanted to be a vet, but I am far too emotional for that career.

I would have been crying all of the time!

I worked mostly as an administrative assistant, which can often be a thankless job.

It took a long time, but I finally began to realize I was pretty smart.

As a child I was compared to my sister, who was a great student.

I just gave up trying to compete and relied on my looks instead.

I thought I was dumb, but I was actually so ambivalent about school that I was coasting along and not trying at all.

I was popular with my teachers and fellow students, but I was no scholar.

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

I work primarily with women who are trying to further their careers, but have challenges with family, friends, and other life challenges.

I help them uncover their strengths and core values so they can build on them, so they get ahead quicker and more successfully.

I help them find their inner warrior so they can overcome challenges with grit and grace.

I’m also looking to expand my business to include B2B, working with human resources to help them improve their work environment.

I have heard from far too many assistants that they don’t always feel respected by their superiors, that they are not given the information needed to do a good job because their boss has a chip on their shoulder.

That is no way to run a company, and yet many big name firms still hire people that are insensitive, arrogant, and crude because they know how to bring in the big bucks.

It leads to a revolving door that bleeds money.

Assistants will only take so much before they walk.

It is very costly to do a search, and then train new employees.

There is a better way, train employees from the top down proper communication skills and create a more nurturing environment where everyone wants to do their best, not the bare minimum to get a paycheck.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

I try to tailor my coaching approach to each client.

I am trained in the ICF method, but I have found it is not right for every client.

Some prefer a more back and forth approach rather than being questioned.

I don’t know if it is unique, but it works.

I use NLP when appropriate, as well as positive psychology techniques.

I think other coaches try to be too much like therapists.

I think the sessions should not just be helpful, but fun.

I know I have done my job well if a client comes to a session stressed and practically in tears and they leave laughing and smiling and feeling better about themselves and their lives.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

They feel empowered and confident.

They learn how to use their gifts to be more successful and they become more resilient.

If they face a setback, they can take it as a learning curve, not a failure.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

I do use some techniques that I always use when I first work with a client.

I have them take an assessment online to discover their strengths.

You would be surprised how many people don’t know their gifts.

I also have a method to help them find their core values.

One of the main reasons people get so stressed at work is that their company’s values don’t align with their own.

If someone is very empathetic and their office is cutthroat, they will never be happy there.

I also know numerous NLP strategies that can be quite effective.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

That women are powerful and smart and deserve to be heard and respected.

They should be paid the same salary for the same job as a man, get the same amount of respect, and they should not have to change their personalities to please other people to get ahead.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

This is not an easy question.

It might be that if you don’t believe in yourself, you won’t get anywhere.

Your career won’t move forward, your relationships will suffer, you won’t ever reach your full potential.

It doesn’t matter what others think, if you don’t have confidence and the ability to make mistakes and learn from them, you will stay stuck in place.

Your final thoughts?

Yes, I do have some final thoughts.

I think that the world of coaching is growing and needs to have some regulation.

While I am not sure if we need to be licensed the same way as therapists do, it would not be a bad idea to need certification before starting to practice.

Right now, anyone can say they are a life coach.

They keep their fees extremely low, and many people are taken in and end up wasting money.

It is one of the reasons that many people have negative views about the industry.

If someone is serious about coaching they will take the necessary steps to getting training and certification.

Where Can You Find Linda Lalicata?

If you liked this interview and if you would love to unleash your confidence, feel empowered, and embrace your gifts to be more successful in life, go to https://www.resolvedself.com/ and discover how Linda can help you.

If you’d like to learn more about her coaching, follow her Instagram and Facebook.

If you’d like to connect with her more personally, you can do that through LinkedIn or by sending her a mesage on her Email [email protected]. It was an honor having this interview with her.