Knowledge, Experience Brings New Opportunities Says Philadelphia Therapist
Russell Bonanno is a consultant and executive coach for Protem Partners. He also leads the firm's national practice in post-crisis management. Protem Partners are the transition experts. They help organizations move forward after a crisis. Their experienced professionals will help create a plan to successfully move organizations toward their goals and execute their plans. Bonanno works out of Protem Partners Philadelphia office, and has his master's degree in education with a clinical focus in psychological services.
What continuing education is required for your role?
"There is no formal continuing education required for executive coaching/consulting, however, because of changes in technology along with changes in the social, legal, and economic environment a wise individual would keep up with trends, various publications, and would participate in professional conferences."
Can you describe your duties?
"As a coach/consultant, the duties vary tremendously. Roles can go from working with an individual to assist that person in developing a personal plan for career development, to assisting an executive in evaluating and responding to issues within his/her company. Company-level consultations typically involve working with teams of executives or boards of directors to fine-tune mission statements, develop strategic plans, or operationalize strategy in addition to policy review or analysis of business processes."
How has education prepared you for your career?
"My education was very broad-based. Essentially I had a 'classical' undergraduate education with extensive work in the humanities and social sciences in addition to courses specific in business management and finance. My graduate degree is in education with a clinical focus on psychological service. This combination along with my diverse professional experience has enabled me to work with individuals from different backgrounds and across industries. It also permits me to recognize the human element of decisions in addition to the business or financial impact."
What advice would you give someone who is pursuing a career in your field?
"Coaching/consulting is not a career for a new professional - work and life experience matter. Also, take advantage of the diversity of classes available - don't limit yourself to studying more and more about a single topic or a single field. It is the diversity of knowledge and experience that provides the ability to see things others might have missed, and take advantage of opportunities outside of the common ones. Finally, don't be so risk averse that you ever only go for the sure win. Risk and return are directly related; no risk, no return, just know how much risk you can afford."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as: Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at http://firstsendmedia.com/