Energy Leadership Coaching · Twin Cities & Virtual
Coaching for purpose-driven women navigating change, so you can lead from what fuels you and finish your days, even the hard ones, tired but whole.
5.0
Google Reviews
35 years
Inside nonprofit leadership
ICF ACC
Associate Certified Coach
ELI–MP
Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner
The reality
A reorg. A funding cut. A workload that never gets lighter. A tough conversation. Uncertain expectations. A new role you didn’t ask for. Imposter syndrome. No time for strategy.
You have spent your career doing more with less. You know your team is stretched, and so you take on more. You are the one people lean on at work and at home. You are the thread that keeps sewing things together. It creates pressure, and you find yourself reacting to it, rather than leading through it responsively.
You want to lead more intentionally, but between back-to-back meetings and late-night emails, intention gets traded for getting it done.
The mission is still close to your heart, but it is hard work, and serving it may mean sacrifices that feel out of balance. Something has to change.
“The goals I set for myself when starting all focused on being a better leader, slowing down and spending more time processing, fostering positive change, and being better about expressing my needs. As we began to dive into my goals, it became abundantly clear that these 'work' related goals were more tied to my personal life than I could have imagined. By exploring my energy levels and what fuels me each day, I was able to break down the root causes of my reactions and the way I carried myself both at work and outside of it. As my time concludes with my sessions, I have seen improvements in all facets of my life and learned new things about myself. I can see a shift in my work and the way I work through situations. Coaching has been very beneficial to me. Everyone in my life knows who Poppy is. She helped me see what is already there. I have grown so much and I am proud of myself and the work I've done.”
What shifts
We start by learning about your current challenges and identifying your ideal vision for your work and life. Then we orient our work toward that vision with specific coaching focus areas that become the pillars of the change you desire.
Then we gather information from the Energy Leadership Index Assessment™ to build awareness of your seven levels of energy. It shows what energizes and engages you, and the impact stress has on how you show up.
You leave the debrief with greater awareness of who you are and how you lead, and a new lens for your daily experiences. From there, you create a way of leading that fits your values. Alignment replaces weight with energy and focus, so even hard days can leave you whole, proud, engaged, creative, and connected.
“My coaching sessions with Poppy were invaluable! Not only was it a practice in self-care by prioritizing my growth as an individual, but it also allowed me to think about my values, how I prioritize and live in line with them, and how I have the answers I am seeking. Her sessions gave me time to dig, reflect openly and honestly with myself, and make a plan. Thank you, Poppy! Your wisdom, compassion, and depth of meaning have no bounds!”
Who this is for
“Poppy offers thoughtful questions and guidance. Each coaching session has a high impact. She is authentic and committed to supporting professional and personal growth. Her insight garners tremendous self-reflection and vision for the future. The concrete steps I created in our sessions yielded tangible results.”
Ways to work together
Every engagement starts the same way, with a complimentary Spark Discovery Session. It is a coaching conversation, not a sales call, and a great way to know whether this is the right partnership.
You bring the session topic and identify the outcomes that make our time a valuable hour of your day. Each session results in insights and next steps.
The ELI shows you what energizes you when things are going well, and what happens when you experience stress. It identifies your energetic profile and helps shed light on what empowers you, giving you more choice going forward.
A cohort coaching experience with 1:1 coaching to integrate change with the support of a collective of 12 women seeking sustainable leadership through change.
Our next cohort starts November 13, 2026.
“Poppy provided me with life-transformative coaching. Not only did it help me shape and evolve my existing job into a more deeply satisfying role that uses my range of skills, but she also helped me realize I needed to tend to the whole ecosystem of my life. I benefited enormously from her coaching, and I continue to refer to the lessons I learned from and with her.”
Why Poppy
I spent 35 years in nonprofit organizations and education, running programs, raising money, serving on boards, and holding senior leadership roles at Skills for Tomorrow Charter High School and Voyageur Outward Bound School.
I learned so much about leadership as I was tested during COVID, the 2020 uprising in the Twin Cities, a capital campaign, staff turnover, serious field incidents, and so much more. Several years before that, I had to find a way to lead through my mother’s illness and passing, and then my father’s a few years later.
Those years taught me the value of being present, slowing down, and doing a values and mission check. I lived through frustration and stress before realizing my limiting beliefs were actually limiting me. Through coaching, I found my center and chose to create a shift in my life.
The shift I made was to give back to the sector differently, by coaching the women who lead it.
I would love to hear what your world is asking of you right now.
Training and recognition
Coaching credentials
“Today I got to experience the amazingness that is a coaching debrief with Poppy Potter. She walked me through my results of the Energy Leadership Index (ELI). What I expected would be a chill, reflective chat; what I got was deep, powerful insights into the ways I get stuck. Whew, did I see some truth in those results! And, Poppy helped me imagine different ways forward. The ELI was on point, and the way Poppy guided me through it was next level.”
Common questions
Many nonprofit leaders fund coaching through their organization’s professional development budget.
We pace 1:1 coaching to ensure momentum, usually meeting once a week or once every two weeks.
No. It doesn’t put you in a box. It shows how your energy shifts under stress, so you can see where you have a choice.
Most nonprofit leadership training hands you a curriculum. Coaching starts from your answers. You already know more than you think; we make it usable.
No. Coaching is forward-focused. We work on how you lead and live from here. If therapy would serve you better, I’ll tell you.
We follow up the Discovery Session with a Clarity Call to discuss next steps, which could include investing in yourself or using the roadmap the Discovery process has given you to get started.
“As a coach, I want to continue growing and developing with as many insights as possible. When an opportunity to do an ELI 360 with Poppy Potter opened, I jumped on it quickly. Poppy is an exceptional coach — she paces the conversation in such a way that I have time to process information and make deep connections. She also helped me see how my inner critic may be causing me to show up more authentically in some areas of my life and less so in others. I really appreciated the time that Poppy took to dissect my results and help me understand my strengths in addition to identifying growth opportunities. I am very grateful for Poppy's expertise and encourage others who have been working solo or are in a new position to start or end coaching with an ELI 360 — do it!”
Sparks of change
5.0 average across Google Reviews
“I have used Poppy's services now for 2 years and it has helped me clarify my own personal goals and grow some of my more difficult ideas into measurable practices. Perfect for people who want to make large impacts on their tough stuff.”
Mickey Mikeworth
Mikeworth Consulting
Story 1 of 8: Mickey Mikeworth
5.0
Across the board on Google Reviews
35
Years in nonprofit leadership
ICF
Associate Certified Coach, PCC in progress
Try it first
If we are, your first full coaching session is on me. It’s a real coaching session, not a sales call, and you’ll walk away with a clearer next step whether or not we keep working together.
Start here
Every client above started with a single conversation. If change keeps coming and you don’t have space to meet it with the intention and authenticity you’d like, let’s talk.
5.0 on Google · 35 years in nonprofit leadership
