Phyllis Sarkaria

Phyllis Sarkaria, MCEC
CEO

When Phyllis Sarkaria was growing up in West Texas, she dreamed of being a cow wrangler, world traveler, or writer. Instead, she pursued degrees in Finance and worked in banking, consulting, and the energy industry early in her career. She spent a decade as a regulatory lobbyist before a developmental rotation through human resources sparked a passion for bringing enterprise-wide thinking to HR practices in order to achieve better results. This led to a rewarding career as an HR executive in the energy and life science sectors, as well as teaching at the university level.

For almost two decades, both in-house and as a consultant, Phyllis has worked with corporate leadership teams to measurably improve their leadership and team effectiveness. As a certified Master Corporate Executive Coach (MCEC), Phyllis applies experience earned in senior executive roles to her work as a certified coach, facilitator, and trusted advisor. She balances a willingness to push executives to be the best leaders they can be while demonstrating care and respect for their professional fulfillment and success. Clients consistently commend their results, achieved with the help of Phyllis’ clear, thoughtful, and relatable style. A good listener, thought partner, and problem solver with in-depth business knowledge, she has been recognized for her strategic thinking and clear communication.

Phyllis currently guides leadership teams and individual leaders in organizations of all sizes to achieve more effective leadership practices. Clients benefit from her knowledge of corporate dynamics and past responsibilities for functions as diverse as strategic planning, merger integration, and team effectiveness; leadership of multimillion-dollar system implementation and integration initiatives; and support for commercial and technical leaders to build capability in their functions and improve individual and organizational outcomes. Phyllis has coached leaders of companies ranging from start-up and growth phases of the corporate life cycle to those with established, 100+ year old histories. A frequent contributor on LinkedIn, she is the author of the bestselling Courageous Clarity: Navigating the Way Forward on Your Leadership Journey.

Phyllis holds BBA and MBA degrees from Texas Tech University and an MA, Organizational Leadership – Ethics from Claremont Lincoln University. Her coaching certifications include the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute at the Haas School of Business, Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder-Centered Coaching, and Systemic Team Coaching. She uses a range of assessment tools to meet specific client needs including: DISC, Hartman Value Profile (Acumen & Judgment Index), MBTI, Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), EQi 2.0/EQ360 and Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA) 360.

For more on coaching, leadership development, and keynote services, please visit our Services page.