Authentic Leadership: Dr. Nancy Arduengo’s Approach to Career Coaching

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Pedro sits down with organizational development consultant Dr. Nancy Arduengo, principal of Ardland Group LLC.

Nancy shares her powerful journey into coaching, including the personal experiences that shaped her mission to help organizations support their employees better. She explains how leadership, collaboration, and authentic communication can transform workplace culture and help teams navigate complex change.

The conversation also explores coaching philosophy, networking through “net-giving,” overcoming rejection in business, and why authenticity is one of the most powerful tools a leader can have.

If you're a coach, entrepreneur, or leader, this episode offers valuable insights on building meaningful relationships, leading teams through change, and creating a career that truly makes an impact.


Connect with

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nancy-arduengo/
Website: https://ardlengroup.com/

Transcript

Nancy Arduengo 0:00

I think what it would look like for you is that that I would be curious about where you're at. I would want to know where you see yourself going. And it's more of a, I'm not going to solve your problems, right? But I'm going to help you to figure out how to solve your problems by yourself. Because one of the things I know about people is that, you know, I mean, I've raised five sons and uh and I have lots of things to tell them. You know, I can give them all kinds of advice. But when I tell them what to do, then I own it, right? Whereas if we can talk about the pathway and how you're going to get to the next step and what are the things you need to do and what, you know, similar to what the questions you were asking me, you know, like, you know, who are the people that are going to help you?

Davis Nguyen 0:44

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets, the podcast where we talk with successful career coaches on how they built their success and the hard lessons they learned along the way. My name is Davis Wynne, and I'm the founder of Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, and even $100,000 weeks. Before Purple Circle, I've grown several seven and eight-figure career coaching businesses myself, and have been a consultant at two career coaching businesses that are doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or building your practice for the first time, go discover the secrets to elevating your coaching business.

Pedro 1:15

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. I'm Pedro, and today's guest is Dr. Nancy Arduengo, an organization development consultant and principal at the Ardland Group LLC, specializing in strategic change management and workforce alignment. She partners with leaders across industries to help teams navigate complex transitions, resolve conflict, and build collaborative cultures that support organizational goals. With extensive experience designing high impact organizational interventions, Dr. Arduengo helps companies maintain productivity and morale during periods of change by aligning leadership, teams, and mission critical objectives to drive sustainable results. Welcome to the show, Nancy.

Nancy Arduengo 2:11

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Pedro 2:13

Yeah, it's great to have you. And I know we were talking about the origin story in the pre-podcast session we were just having. And I like to rewind a bit, always, you know, get back to that. Because every coach has that moment where they look at their life and say, Yeah, I guess this is what I'm doing now. Right. So when was that for you?

Nancy Arduengo 2:33

Well, I think it falls into like two categories because my younger s my younger sister passed away very sadly at a young age. She was only 45. And she was one of the, you know, I would say any employer would be happy to have her, you know, working for them. Because she always she was so curious and learning and, you know, just made everything really wonderful. And unfortunately, she had changed her hours. And she, when she passed away, she didn't have any life insurance, which she thought she, we all thought she had. And it's not really about the money as much as it is about, I felt that her organization failed her. And I wanted to be an advocate for employees, help them to find their voice and help the organizations that they work for to really understand what employees need, you know, to listen to them, to understand, but also to make it more of a that it should be a collaboration, right? You know, that they should want to people should want to work for the people they work for, right? And the employers should be happy to have them. So val feel valued. So that was kind of the start of my it got me into my master's program in organization development. And the specific individual coaching came later because that was, I was working for NASA on a contract. And when that contract ended, actually one of the groups I had worked for there liked what I had done so much, they hired me on a contract for another seven years. And I really got to flex my my consulting and coaching muscles because, you know, I just got to do the things that I want to say the things that I wanted to do, but also the things that they needed. So I did a lot of individual coaching with particularly the civil servants that worked for the organization, the federal employees and others crew, and the other contractors. And one of the things that happened since that contract, that contract ended, was that I realized that coaching is not just one-on-one. It's not just one person. Coaching can be team coaching. So I feel like most of what I've done, you know, my career has been coaching of a form. So that's that's my backstory.

Pedro 5:01

Okay. You know, I'm sorry to hear about your loss and thank you. In a way, how that hardship eventually put you into a path of impacting more people in a way that she shouldn't be impacted like she was out in the cold without the life insurance, right? And I think that's very powerful, and I appreciate you sharing that. Okay. And how that eventually drove you to help people out there, right? That's the mission side. Now, I want to understand like you you you that happened, and then you went to NASA, and then NASA eventually wanted to hire in a contract base for another team, okay? But when did it shift from I'm helping people to I'm building a real business around this? Is that tied to the contract with NASA or is that like something that happens down the road?

Nancy Arduengo 5:46

Yeah, when I think I think that that shift happened, the shift you're talking about, where it was really like building my own, well, my own business. I I mean I have to take one step back because before I had the contract at NASA, I did have my I had my business then. And uh and I, you know, I did a lot, I did a lot of training with uh local organizations and nonprofits and and so I had the business. When I took the contract at NASA, I couldn't do my business, you know, because you that was full time. And only after that contract ended, I realized that I really needed to refocus, you know, to really look at um I what I let be really honest. I wasn't really happy about those contracts ending, you know, because you can, you know, when you're when you have a nice contract and you're working and you're enjoying what you're doing, you really don't want that to end. But things happen. And one of the things that recently I was telling people is that like I I really have made so many shifts in my life. I reinvented myself so many times because I was a stay-at-home mom, then I went back to school, and then I started my own business, and I went to work on these wonderful contracts. And I've worked for IBM, for the IRS, for ATT, NASA. So big organizations. And there were times when something would happen and it would be like, wow, you know, this is really, you know, I don't want to say devastating, but you know, a real huge pothole in the road of life, right? And and now what do you do? Right. But one of the things that I I realized was that I've always been able to find the the the flowers in whatever's happening. You know, I've always been able to say that there's I was trying to avoid the cliche of making lemonade from limits, but you know, you just have to. You just can't. What are you going to do otherwise?

Pedro 7:57

Yeah. Sometimes cliches they exist for a reason, right? Well, yeah, they kind of explain it. Like, I see where you're coming from. And I want to understand one thing, right? After you got rolling and you had those contracts, so and also your practice, and sometimes like you've lost a contract, and then you're gonna focus on your practice to an extent until it got a new contract, something like that. So what I'm trying to understand is who are the people that kept showing up, you know, for the R Lend group? The ones you realize, okay, these are my people, my tribe. I can help most, you know?

Nancy Arduengo 8:34

Well, uh a lot of it has to do with, you know, just looking at the people that I went to school with, you know, the people that I was in my master's program. I recently just met with one of one of those people, and uh, you know, just talking to them about how they have shifted their own life and how they've moved into different, I can't think of what the word is, but just, you know, moving into a different era. We all have to do that. There's a funny story I like to tell is that when I was when I was at NASA, they used to have all kinds of programs for us all the time, you know, even as contractors, they would put us through all kinds of training and certifications. And one of the programs they had was called Power and Privilege. And it was Power and Privilege Generations. So it was two-day, two-day workshop, and they divided you up by your generation, you know, and you talked about what were the advantages and the disadvantages, how do people view your generation in the workplace, and and and then we would hear the stories from the other generations from Gen X and from because I'm a baby boomer, so Gen X and Gen Z. And at the end of the two days, the facilitator said, Show, what's one takeaway you have from these two days that we've been together? And of course I raised my hand because I'm an extrovert and I like to talk. So I said, Wow, I said the one thing I learned over these two days is that I'm actually a millennial stuck in this baby boomer body. And uh, you know, and I do have grandchildren, and uh when I and they're older, they're adults, and when I tell them that story, they're like, oh nanny, that's so you. That's just, you know, because I've never, you know, it just wouldn't occur to me to just stay stuck in the way things are, you know, I'm always looking for innovation, and you know, I uh I'm I'm gonna say one of the things I love about other people is when they're very curious. And uh it was one of the great things about working at NASA because when you work with scientists and you're not one, you know, you just see like they they're not uh put off by something that didn't work out the way they expected it to. You know, they're like, okay, that wasn't what we were looking for. That, oh, but that's something else. That's something new now. We found something new that we weren't expecting, you know, and I try to take that into everything I do is that like life gives me things I wasn't expecting, but that's a new path, that's a new way to to look at things, that's a different way that you can, you know, change your not necessarily change yourself, but just adapt and adjust to what the world's giving you, right?

Pedro 11:26

Yeah. I can resonate with that. Like I work at a city hall, okay? So imagine flipping a switch as a political stance, okay? It's like turning the uh AC uh heat down or up. It's like you can all you need to always be careful what you're talking about or who you're saying stuff to, and that's exhausting, at least for me. And I have do have a brother who's a PhD, and uh we are with a scientist. I and when I talk with him, sometimes we're just talking about the stuff we're talking about. There's no layers to it. It's like we want to solve X, Y, and Z. It's not about Am I going to affect Rebecca? Am I going to affect John? And all of those layers. And and I understand where you're coming from. I mean, it at least depends on the person, but for me, that's exhausting. You know, having to to to peel off and be so very careful whenever you're just trying to to solve stuff. I would say like that, you know. Now that's the coaching side, right? We're talking about people um and how they re- in and eventually the the your ideal client profile, right? And you talk with your you networked uh with uh past uh colleagues and and the masters you mentioned. Now, I want to understand the marketing aspect, right? So how do people usually find you, Nancy?

Nancy Arduengo 12:44

Yeah, um people usually find it's usually word of mouth. Like people know me and they will, you know, recommend me or refer me or refer me to a client. And then, you know, I do some, I do have a website that, you know, a coaching website, and and that, you know, people can they go there. So when you talk about marketing, it's the only reason I'm hesitating is because it's definitely not the thing that I love to do. I don't love doing the marketing piece. But I love networking with people and I love being with people. So some of the things I've done is just, you know, doing presentations at a Sherm conference or going out and uh, you know, just talking to people about how I might be able to help them and offering like a, you know, a free coaching session so they get some sense of who I am and you know, and we and and just talk about, you know, the things that are bothering them. And I try to, you know, I've I've I've been working on LinkedIn. So like when I see people that I'm connected to on LinkedIn and they're they just got promoted or they just got a new job or they've been in a job, I'll actually message them and just say, you know, hey, I congratulations on the promotion or the new job. Would you like to talk about what the challenges you're gonna face? You can come and have a complimentary coaching session just to get started, just to have a conversation. And um that's that's the kind of marketing I like to do. I guess I would call it like um it's tactile. Do you know what I mean? It's touch marketing. It's not massive marketing. And there was recently I I was there was a uh uh I I heard this person on the radio talking about it, was talking about small businesses doing marketing. And they said, Don't don't send out a lot of ads. What you need to do is tell a story, tell your story that that's how you attract people to want to work with you because you show them, yeah, you know, I can show people how I've overcome things and and I'm curious about where they're at and where they see themselves going.

Pedro 15:05

Hmm. Especially in the AI era, right? We're talking about sometimes of trying to pinpoint, hey, am I talking to a bot? You know, is that is this a bot? And you're like, yeah, I think this is a bot. I'm gonna so so when you you show off your your background, your story, and you and you really own it, like you you you like been there, done that, I think people connect with that easier, you know? That's just my experience. I think that that guy in the radio or or gal, she she nailed it, or he, you know, I think that's true. It's not just about putting content out there, it's like meaningful content that is not being perceived as AI or or bland, right? Now, I want to talk business for a second, Nancy. So pick imagine I'm one of the guys that's getting that tactile approach, okay, on LinkedIn, let's say. And I resonate with what you told me. I resonate with your work, and eventually I want to know what working with you actually looks like, right? So when someone actually becomes a client, let's pretend it's me. What does that experience look like right now from my perspective?

Nancy Arduengo 16:09

Wow, that's such a great question. So I think what it would look like for you is that that I would be curious about where you're at, and I would want to know where you see yourself going. And it's more of a how to so I'm not going to solve your problems, right? But I'm going to help you to figure out how to solve your problems by yourself. Because one of the things I know about people is that uh, you know, I mean, I've raised five sons and uh and I have lots of things to tell them, you know, I can give them all kinds of advice, but when I tell them what to do, then I own it, right? Whereas if we can talk about the pathway and how you're going to get to the next step, and what are the things you need to do, and what, you know, similar to what the questions you were asking me, you know, like, you know, who are the people that are going to help you? Like who do you need in your circle of influence in order to achieve what you're trying to achieve, you know, uh at that next level. And also I think, you know, the other question, one of the questions I always ask people too is, you know, what brings you joy? And, you know, because you're not going to you're not going to work diligently and hard at something if it's not bringing you joy. Right. So how can I help you to find where that joy is and where you can tap into it?

Pedro 17:46

Okay. I got it. Joy. I love that. Now, Nancy, your work seems pretty hands-on, right? We're talking about tactile marketing, we talk about the coaching and the coaching practice. You're also a business owner. So how do you think about capacity? So you don't stretch yourself too thin, you know?

Nancy Arduengo 18:02

How do I think about what I miss the word?

Pedro 18:05

Capac capacity. So you don't stretch your yeah, so don't stretch yourself too thin. Because I see a lot of coaches out there, they're they're like, they're first of all, sometimes they're wearing all the hats, right? And they're trying to do everything, the admin side, the sales, the marketing. So that's always a challenge in the space that I like to address. So how do you think about that for other coaches listening?

Nancy Arduengo 18:26

Yeah, I um it it's interesting because um, you know, one of the uh one of the things I've been trying to do is to actually be with other coaches. And you think like like there was this networking group that I joined. At first I thought, wow, you know, I need to talk to people, you know, I'm networking with people, I need to talk to people who are going to hire me, right? You know, I need some, I need, I need to, you know, bring in some revenue here. But then I realized that talking to the people who do the same work that I do is even more important because, you know, and I said that there's plenty of work for everyone. But if, for instance, when you talked about capacity, it may, you know, it's something I say all the time. I was like, look, if I if I found a client that had, you know, a hundred employees that needed to have executive coaching, I can't coach a hundred people. You know, I mean, like I would never, I would never sleep at me 24-7. Or I mean, I don't even think it would be that. It would be, it's impossible. So I would want other people to be part of that, you know, consortium collective. You know, I love the idea of being in a collective of people who are doing the same work and saying, look, you know, I'm I'm up against my up against my capacity. You know, I've got three other clients who are looking for a coach, you know. Let me refer you to them or refer them to you. So that that's how I would handle that.

Pedro 19:54

So collaboration instead of competition, at the end of the day, I see it like scarcity mindset versus abundancy. It's like, well, I'm gonna lose a client for Joe, who's uh also a coach, or I'm gonna get a client that is so big that I might end up needing him, you know, to help me on the contract side. Right.

Nancy Arduengo 20:13

Or Joe might do that and then want to bring me, you know. It should be a yeah, it was a number of years ago there was this uh person who did a presentation. And before that, when whenever I would create something, when I would create some workshop or I would create something, I was very protective of it. Like, oh, that's my intellectual property. I've got to hold on to that, you know. And then I went to this uh workshop, and this person was just so generous and just like and he's like, Oh, here, you know, here's go online, download these slides, the everything is, you know, take all the and I and I thought, wow, that changed Pedro. That changed my thinking about it because it's like you have to give it away to get it back.

Pedro 21:02

Yeah, so it's not so transactional, it's the mindset, it's like, oh, the people are gonna steal my stuff. It's no, it's like I'm gonna help them eventually gonna have a chat. This might you know be fruitful for both for the both of us. I love that. Now, Nancy, yeah, let's talk about future, okay? Okay, I'm curious where you're taking all this, okay? Looking at where do you where do you see the business going? Are you thinking about scaling, hiring, or is there a next step you're excited about?

Nancy Arduengo 21:28

Yes. Um, I'm my my next step is that I I see myself in another, no, in the next year, being able to be at that place that I just talked about, being at that place where I have I have work that keeps me busy. I have work that now I could share with other people, have, or vice versa, that those people are working with me. And because one of the best things, I always keep going back to NASA because it was my favorite job, right? One of the best things about working there were the people that I worked with because we, you know, we collaborated so well and we would brainstorm ideas about how we were going to approach a certain client in the organization or a certain issue that was happening, and we developed it together, you know, and it was never like, oh, well, Nancy designed this piece of it, or oh, Denise designed that piece. No, it was always we were there together and we knew when the when what were where our strengths were and where our challenges were, and we worked towards those.

Pedro 22:41

So that's when the magic happens.

Nancy Arduengo 22:44

Yeah. What?

Pedro 22:45

That's when the magic happens. Like everyone's working towards the world.

Nancy Arduengo 22:50

It was kind of magical.

Pedro 22:52

Okay. And you know, whenever we're aiming towards the next chapter, always something we're refining in the present. So what are you currently trying to improve or tighten up in your business right now?

Nancy Arduengo 23:02

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm just trying to reach out to more people, you know, and there's a number of like networking groups. There's one that's called Wine and Dine, but Wine is spelled W-H-I-N-E. You know, it's networking. And then yesterday I was speaking to a colleague and she and I were talking about, you know, because she's kind of in a similar situation to me, and she wants to network more too. And we talked about how to do that. But and she gave me this new word. She said, you know, instead of networking, let's call it net giving. And I was like, I love that idea. I love the idea of like, you know, you're not going there to find work. I'm not going to this networking to find work, to get people to hire me. I'm going there to find people that I can connect with, that I can build more connections with. That's what I've been doing. You know, there's a number of groups that I belong to that are really all about relationships and connecting. And you know what? Those are the things that bring me joy.

Pedro 24:07

Back to alignment, right? We're talking about going to an event without the intention of turning into a transactional uh situation. You're turn you want to surf. And when you have that mentality, good things will happen, right? It's like, yeah, oh, I'm there, I'm there to connect. If this turns out to be a business, great. But if it's not, oh, good either way. Because if you if you go with that mentality, it's like a closing mentality. I'm gonna sell this person. And whenever, and sometimes that happens, that doesn't even make sense. And you're you're making judgments based on what you want, and not exactly what's the best for that person. Did that make sense?

Nancy Arduengo 24:46

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, kind of going back to when we were talking about, you know, that I can't coach a hundred people, well, at all at you know, all at the same time, right? But the uh um the other thing is is that I'm not a fit for everybody. Do you know what I mean? Like people, it I don't take it personally, you know. It's like if someone's looking for, you know, they're looking for someone that they can build a rapport with. So it has to be someone that can hear them, can understand them, can be in the place where they are, can have a maybe even a similar situation. I can't be that for everybody. I can only be that for the for, you know, some of the people.

Pedro 25:27

Yes. Okay. Advice time. I want to hear some advice. You've been in the game long enough, right? Wow. For all types of advice, good and bad, on the business side. Okay. Now, what's one piece of business advice you hear all the time that you think that's overrated, you know, or maybe misunderstood?

Nancy Arduengo 25:45

Wow. The first thing that came to my mind was don't take yourself so seriously. But there are things that you do need to take seriously. Just don't take yourself so seriously. And and I would I would also say what, you know, kind of reiterating what I just said, don't take rejection personally.

Pedro 26:05

Yeah.

Nancy Arduengo 26:06

Because you're going to have a lot of rejection.

Pedro 26:08

It's just part of the business, right? Yes.

Nancy Arduengo 26:10

You know? And you say, well, and you know, and learn from it. It's the, you know, the the there's an it's Eastern philosophy that says that there really are no mistakes. In Eastern philosophy, there's no word for mistake, right? Because everything is a learning opportunity. So regardless of what happens, you know, that's why I say don't take yourself so seriously. You know, whatever happens, just learn from it.

Pedro 26:37

I like that. Okay. And on the flip side, you know, what's a piece of advice you wish more people actually took seriously?

Nancy Arduengo 26:45

Just be just be you. I wish people would just be themselves and not try to be something that they're not, because you know, when that authenticity comes out, it's so powerful, right? It's just, you know, that's who you are. You know, don't try to be somebody that you're not. And I say that to my I have to say that to myself, Pedro.

Pedro 27:07

That's true. That's beautiful. Okay, Nancy. And if someone listening wants to connect with you or follow your work, right? Where can people find you and connect with you?

Nancy Arduengo 27:16

Oh, where can they connect with me? Well, um, they can uh the best way to reach me really is through my email. If somebody emailed me, right? And then and maybe even like close to that is call me. Call me, text me, email me.

Pedro 27:34

Here's the boomer, right? The boomer is always there, okay? It's old school, old school way of doing things, shaking hands, talking to people. I love that. Okay. Yeah. Nancy, some stuff you mentioned really resonated with me. I'm gonna highlight them, okay? I would say, first of all, how the organization failed your sister, how that put you in a track to help others, and how you owned it, you know, like you, you, you breeze through it like it was nothing, and at the same par same time, it's part of who you are. You know, is you're not ignoring it's part of who you are and how you want to help people in the future that fail your younger sister. So I commend you on that because I think that's a key asset for true coaches, being vulnerable. Okay. More often than not, we ask a lot from the coaches, right? Uh making the hard questions and all of that. And it's only fair you do the same. So we do the same as coaches, right? Right. Um, I thought it was wild that you're a millennial in a baby boomer body, right? I think that is so funny, but at the same time, so true, Nancy. I mean, you're so curious, right? And uh non-judgmental, uh, keep moving forwards. And I I want to highlight the fact that you mentioned about don't take rejection personally, because I think that's such powerful advice. Because I worked in sales also, you know, and um I've talked with a lot of coaches, and then more often than not, they're like, Yeah, it's just the sales part. I think it's I know it sometimes I'm salesy, I'm not sure if I'm doing and people reject me. Well, first of all, rejection is just part of the business. If your true intention is to help, you need to go back to the root cause, which is the true intention, right? I want to help people. So rejection is uh what a smile bump in the road to actually help someone, you know? Because eventually you will. Out of those, I don't know how many calls, eventually you're gonna find someone that you can actually help, and that will have a big payoff, okay? And also it's the framing, right? If you're sales, of course you're not gonna feel right about it. It's just about you need to serve people on the sales aspect. Don't try to close them, try to help them. Like you're you're telling me how you you connect with people, right? On that given idea you gave. That's that's uh an interesting word. Also, when you told them you didn't join for marketing, well, I'm gonna break it down for you, uh Nancy. You're not the first coach that didn't join for the marketing aspect. You're here to help people. It's to an end, right? Means to an end. Marketing is part of the gig. I know it. Everyone knows it, but I get it. You don't have to love it. Sometimes we have to outsource it, sometimes we need to get creative. But, well, that's just my long-witted way of saying that I appreciate what you do. And I appreciate you being here and sharing so well with them today, Nancy. It was great having you on.

Nancy Arduengo 30:25

Thank you, Pedro.

Davis Nguyen 30:27

That's it for this episode of Career Coaching Secrets. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to this episode to catch future episodes. This podcast was brought to you by Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, or even $100,000 weeks, all without burning out and making sure that you're making the impact and having the life that you want. To learn more about our community and how we can help you, visit join purplecircle.com, and