Jen W. Johnson

What coaching isn’t:
- therapy
- mentoring
- consulting
- fixing
- problem-solving
- training
- cheerleading

What coaching is:
- intention
- accountability
- possibility
- creation
- transformation
- teaching your goals with speed and power

The international coach federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.” I do this by helping women shed the expectations that keep them small and living life as their full selves, in all their greatness.

What would this make possible for you?

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but there is a lot going on right now.

And you’re doing great.

Take that deep breath you so desperately need. Hug someone you’re COVID-allowed to hug. Cry if and when you need to.

We’re all in this together and you’re perfect, exactly where you are.

“I’m Speaking”

The vice presidential debate was in the middle of the night in my time zone and normally I watch clips or read transcripts. But yesterday, I had the chance to watch the majority of the debate in a waiting room.

Every time was interrupted, I cringed. I cringed because I know that feeling, and you probably do too. While scrolling some stories, I saw that Kat Harris at did an instagram poll during the debate asking how many of us [women] had been interrupted or spoken over by a man during a meeting and, at the time I took, part 89% of the respondents (including me!) were a resounding yes. EIGHTY-NINE PERCENT.

What I love about how Kamala Harris responded is that she didn’t ask permission to speak. How many times do we as women ask permission when IT IS ALREADY OURS?!

Kamala Harris didn’t ask, “May I please speak?” She stood for her time, her voice, and her expertise and countered the interruptions with a firm “I’m speaking.”

And in doing so she created a clearing for the rest of us to do the same.

Seeing women in power stand in power opens the possibility for each and every one of us, disrupting generations of how many of us have traditionally been socialised:

What if they think I’m mean?
What if I come across angry?
What if they think I’m rude?
Would it be disrespectful?
What if it creates a bigger conflict?

We worry so much about the other person (who is likely being mean, rude, and disrespectful to us) that we don’t protect ourselves, our voice, our expertise, our space. In our concerns to respect others, we disrespect ourselves.

And you, dear one, are worth being protected. You are worthy of respect. Your voice is meant to be heard. You have permission to take up all the space you need.

Social media is resounding with presidential candidate Joe Biden’s statement to President Trump: “Will you shut up man?”

“Said every woman in America, ever” is what many of the feminist social media replies echo.

Can I get an amen?!

How many times have you wanted to say the same to someone who was encroaching on your time and space, interrupting, mansplaining, speaking violently to you, making fun of you, or being relentless in some unwelcome way? How many times have you smiled and politely turned away, or maybe laughed it off instead?

We see jokes about how women were to behave in the olden days (finishing schools in movies comes to mind) but the reality that *many* of us live is that there are certain roles and ways of being that we have been socialised to understand as the *right* way to be and behave as women... and that the world expects us to comport accordingly. If we don’t, we are doing it wrong. And there’s a whole lot of judgment there!

When we step outside of that, and it can create a lot of tension. Internal tension as we step outside the comfort zone of what we know to be “right”, and external tension as we interact with others in our “new” (or, perhaps more accurately, “true) way.

But, living within that comfort zone keeps us small.

In some ways it creates harm, since we learn that strongly standing up for ourselves and our needs may be wrong. Instead, we should do it with a smile and charm, or laugh it off. (Better than starting a conflict or hurting someone else’s feelings, my comfort zone says!)

And, in some ways our comfort zone keeps us safe, since we live without the tension of the dissonance.

But at what cost?

It keeps our voice silent.

It keeps us complicit in possible harm done to ourselves and others.

It keeps us colouring inside the lines that other people have drawn for us instead of creating our own bold, beautiful masterpieces.

Life is too short and you are too precious.

If you’re ready to start living outside the box of how you are “supposed” to be, DM me!

Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out? ✨ The movie this quote is from may be nearly 20 years old 🙀 but the question is timeless....

I work with so many women who are caught up in fitting in. It may not be as obvious as it was when we were younger; as we age, I find it becomes more subtle.

Fitting in often takes the role of fitting into others’ expectations, whether they be societal, religious, familial, or maybe what your company culture, investors, or boss demands of you.

The more the truth of who we are is distanced from this expectation, the greater tension we experience. The less we feel like ourselves. The more stuck we find ourselves. The less voice we feel we are allowed to have.

Guess what? I say there’s another way. Life’s too short for anything else.

I’m putting together a group of awesome women who are ready to live fully, brightly, loudly.

Will you be one of them?

DM me!

Perfection is not just about control. It’s also about letting go.

Thomas LeRoy // Black Swan

What is your relationship with trust?

In my years living and coaching I have found that so many things come down to trust - in ourselves, in others, and in the higher power you believe in.

As high achievers we often learn that the easiest way to get something done is to do it ourselves.

Maybe we’ve learned that we are in charge of our own destiny.

Maybe we were raised to be strong and independent.

By no means is any of this wrong.

AND, I challenge you to consider: What could be possible if we opened ourselves to a little less self-reliance and a little more trust?

“We have been so conditioned to think of power as male that a powerful woman is an abberation. And so she is policed.” ( in “Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions”

I am SO committed to creating a world where a powerful woman is not an abberation; she is the norm.

This starts to change when we stop policing powerful women, and begins only when we examine our relationship with our own power.

Policing may come across as a strong term; if it’s a trigger, consider the word “stop”, instead.

How often do we stop ourselves in what could possibly be our most powerful moments?

We tell ourself that we are being too much, too harsh, too direct. Or maybe we tell ourself we are not enough, or our self-expression will rub people the right way, rock the boat, create conflict. We mute our success because it may make others uncomfortable. We follow what we think we “should” do instead of what our hearts and minds are crying out for. We doubt our ability, capacity, we compare ourselves with others. We let our fears of failure and the judgment of others stop us before we have even begun.

What stops you from showing up in this world as the powerful woman that you truly are?

Swipe right to join me this week in learning about voter suppression in the US - both historically and today.
You might have a reaction (or hear others’ reactions) that say something like “But this is America! That kind of thing doesn’t happen here!” I’ve had that reaction, too, and hear it from others often. But the truth is voter suppression is all too real in the USA, and some of the votes that are suppressed most often are those of Black people and people of color. Voting is EVERY American’s sacred right and if we declared back in May that black lives matter, making sure everyone can cast a ballot that counts is a very clear way we can make good on our declaration. That and learning how to vote against racist policies, which I am excited to explore with you in the weeks to come!
I’ve linked to several resources in the link in my profile. If you have resources about how to fight voter suppression please share them in the comments! AND, don’t forget to register to vote! @ Minneapolis, Minnesota

What’s your relationship with perfection? After watching two dance movies this weekend and getting ready for some branding photos with .vonschulman this week, I’ve been staring perfection straight in the eyes.

More in my stories today!

(Ps regardless, at least we can all agree that my perfect hair is absolutely on fire thanks to .minna 💗🤩🙌🏼 )

in solidarity with the Turkish campaign calling for justice for Pinar Gültekin and standing against femicide and violence against women.

Turkey is one of the top counties when it comes to femicide, with little to no consequence for the murderers. The images of murdered women are shared in black and white on Turkish media, and the Instagram campaign started to provide women an opportunity to share their voice and show that one day, it could be their picture on TV.

In the US we are still calling for and now we join our Turkish sisters in calling for justice for Pinar Gültekin.

If you have posted a BW photo, please add this message to your post. Use and (the original hashtags of the Turkish campaign) to show your solidarity. And say Pinar’s name.

If we can post millions of images in support of an encouraging post, let’s use our images, words, and the power of numbers to really truly stand for and support women.

Thanks to the many who “nominated” me and to for also sharing post with the origins of the campaign , which led me to do more research.

I nominate and