The thinking behind how we coach.
Our Philosophy
We don't start with a program. We start with the leader.
Cadence's approach starts from a simple premise: real change in how someone leads requires more than encouragement. It requires someone who knows how to build trust, take a position, name what isn't working, and hold a leader to a standard they wouldn't set for themselves. That's the thread running through everything we do — coaching, courses, and assessments alike.
Active Coaching, in Practice
The kind that pushes, not just listens.
Where some coaching relationships stay neutral — reflecting questions back, letting the client arrive at their own conclusions — Cadence coaches take a more active role. We bring a point of view, challenge assumptions directly, and push toward change rather than waiting for a leader to find their own way there. It's the difference between a conversation partner and a personal trainer: both are useful, but only one is going to tell you when you're avoiding the hard set.
The Mindset + Skillset Framework
How a leader thinks. What a leader does. Two tracks, running together.
Mindset
How a leader thinks — the judgment, self-awareness, and decision-making that shape everything else. This is where change actually starts: not with a new technique, but with how a leader sees the situation in front of them.
Communication + Skills
What a leader does — how they show up in the room, lead a hard conversation, or communicate a decision to a team. Skills that hold up under pressure, not just in theory.
Our Approach
What You Can Expect
- Real effort, not a quick fixChange happens through sustained effort — more like a relay race than a single handoff. We're upfront about what that takes before we start.
- Direct feedback, not vague encouragementYou'll hear what we see, including the parts that are harder to hear. That's the active coaching model at work.
- Progress measured against real goalsWe check progress against what was actually agreed on at the outset, not a general sense of how things are going.
- A defined end, not an open-ended relationshipEvery engagement closes against the goals it started with, with an honest look at what changed.
Meet our Coaches
A team built for depth, not just a founder with a roster behind the curtain.
Cadence has grown into a bench of full-time coaches and specialists who've been doing this work long enough to have something to say about it. Whoever you end up working with, you're working with someone who's been in the room before.
Aram Arslanian
Michelle Winklaar
Michelle Rakshys
Michayla Dixon
Michelle Bevan
Clare Carpenter
Bettina Gonzalez
Bonnie Henault
Sean Lande
Marten Niner
Connie Pacifico
Harjit Singh Gill
Hiro Takeda
Carol Vickers
Brian Wallace
Marni Wandner
Mike Weyandt
Our Coaches
"We’ve assembled a team of coaches that are making a real difference in the lives of the people we work with. They aren’t just coaches who are committed to helping clients get where they want to go, they are coaches who are willing to ask the questions no one else in that person's life is asking. We look at a lot of very good coaches to find one we'll put in front of a client. Credentials get you into the conversation, but they don't tell you whether someone can sit across from a senior executive and ask the uncomfortable question, and stay in the room while that person works through it. Plenty of experienced coaches won't. That's the bar, and it's why the process takes as long as it does."
“Cadence's approach is one that's close to my heart as a coach because it considers the whole person. Cadence coaches don't separate leadership and communication skills from the human being carrying them. Whether it's one-on-one coaching or team trainings, we start with the core: the mindset, the identity, the why underneath it all. The skills get built on that foundation, which is why they stick. Stronger leaders build stronger teams. Stronger teams keep their best people.”
Cadence has helped us transform our business from a service provider to an advisory business. Aram has extraordinary insights into group dynamics during a period of change. My entire management team across Canada speaks highly of Aram’s capabilities and the value he brings to us as a team and individually. He has an exceptional ability to investigate and understand complex group dynamics and then transform that intelligence into a program for change. I value his advice and will continue to work with Cadence.
Executive VP
Real Estate Management Sector
Find your Cadence today
Let's talk about what you're working on.
Most of our clients come through referral — which usually means you already have a sense of what working with us is like. If you'd like to explore whether Cadence is the right fit, the best place to start is a conversation.