Chris Neilands, CPCC, PCC, is a leadership coach and consultant with more than 20 years of experience supporting the personal and professional growth of others. Her focus is on working with individuals and teams committed to expanding their personal and collective leadership potential.
Chris has experience with a wide range of organizational clients; Fortune 500 companies, small to mid-sized companies, educational institutions and non-profits. She enjoys working with a diverse range of clients; from full-time MBA students to entry level supervisors to senior level executives. Chris’ approach to development is oriented around increasing self-awareness, crafting a leadership vision, developing a plan with concrete action steps and deliverables, and holding clients accountable to bring the plan to fruition. She is known for her personalized service and her passionate commitment to her client’s growth.
Chris’ transition to leadership coaching and consulting was born out of her own leadership experience in university settings where she spent 16 years in marketing, career management and leadership development; first for the MBA program at Purdue and then for the MBA program at the University of Georgia. In those positions she was responsible to lead teams and manage projects that required building and maintaining relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. Chris currently manages the leadership coaching component for the MBA programs at the Terry College of Business and has served in a coaching capacity at that institution for the past six years.
Chris also spent five years as a human resource consultant with Lincoln Financial Corporation where she provided human resource expertise to line managers on a range of issues; recruiting, staffing, training, performance management and employee relations.
She has designed and delivered workshops, training programs and distance learning content on a variety of topics related to leadership and talent development.
Chris earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management and Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from Purdue University. She completed a rigorous coach training program through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). She is also certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Chris is a certified practitioner in a number of assessment tools including: The Leadership Circle Profile, The Leadership Circle Culture Survey, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory.
When she isn’t working, Chris enjoys rowing her boat on the Chattahoochee, hiking and climbing in beautiful parks and discovering new places off the beaten path. She resides in Atlanta, GA.
