Mike Friedmann is a Columbia University-trained executive coach, organizational psychologist and management consultant with over a decade of experience working with:
• C-level executives, fund managers, investment bankers, consultants, engineers, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and other professionals in finance, tech, healthcare, media, entertainment, and hospitality
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10 customer reviews
AS
I had a great experience working with Mike for the past 6 months. I did not know what to expect from coaching, but I came in with a lack of confidence around my career and struggling with dissatisfaction with my current job. He took his time to understand me as a person, dig into the psychology behind my thoughts and actions, and helped me work through any feelings or roadblocks I was facing at the time. He is a great listener and encouraging to speak to. He provided great resources, whether that be book recommendations, a meditation app to help deal with my anxiety, or business/psychology models that fit with my current situations. Overall, I feel like I got a lot of valuable information and support out of my sessions with him, and would recommend him to anyone needing any sort of career/general life support. More...
GE
I highly recommend Mike for his career and professional development coaching. He is forthright and effective while being approachable, sensible and encouraging.
Over the last few months Mike has helped me identify and actualize career growth opportunities. He listens intently; providing guidance, explanations and resources in a comprehendible but fruitful way. I leave each session with a new thought or skill that allows me to think and act more competently in real workplace scenarios.
I came to Mike as a relatively recent college graduate with the aspirations of a successful career but without a clear image of the “dream job”. Now, I am very excited for the career ahead of me, motivated to work toward the big goals. I will always be grateful to Mike for his large part in that.
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Alex Laplaza
Mike is phenomenal. I came to Mike hoping to better elecit and evaluate my habits, values, strengths, and weaknesses. I aimed to understand where I'm at professionally and personally, where I want to go, and the frameworks and goals needed to get me there.
Mike helped me reach these objectives and more. He's excellent at listening intently and reflecting on what he hears in a productive and thought-provoking way. He guides you to get there yourself rather than merely telling you what he thinks you should do.
I highly recommend Mike to anyone looking to better reflect and improve their personal and professional paths.
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Kojo
Business & Career Coaching
Mike has been an invaluable asset in my professional journey. He listens attentively, understands my concerns, and offers tailored resources. His empathetic approach fosters trust and collaboration, making it easy to discuss delicate issues. I highly recommend Mike for expert guidance and tangible results in your career. More...
Dalton
Life Coaching
I highly recommend Mike Friedman to anyone looking for a career coach due to the invaluable guidance he has provided me by helping me to set clear goals, identifying my ideal career path, and providing consistent support to ensure accountability. His expertise has empowered me to make significant strides toward achieving my professional aspirations, with tangible progress made after every meeting. His dedication and personalized approach has been instrumental in steering my career journey towards success in my own personalized way. More...
Josh
Mike is an excellent coach across a variety of areas. He was extremely helpful as a tutor for subjects ranging from finance and economics to accounting. Additionally, Mike provides tremendous value for career development. Mike is thoughtful, understanding, and patient. He has a genuine interest in seeing his clients succeed. I highly recommend any potential candidate to work with Mike! More...
Nick J
Mike tutored me in accounting, finance, and Excel. Major life events abruptly shifted my career direction and Mike prepared me to meet this challenge head on. He's a truly gifted teacher - patient, considerate, and diligent. To this day, I consider my work with him to be one of he most rewarding educational experiences of my life. For those considering working with Mike, you won't be disappointed. More...
Jenny
Business & Career Coaching
If you are struggling with self-doubt after being laid off, I highly recommend Mike. I was in the same boat and felt hopeless when it came to interviews. But after a few sessions with Mike, I immediately felt better about myself. He helped me process what had happened, identify my feelings, and showed me how to manage them effectively. The breakthrough conversations I had with Mike allowed me to regain my confidence and land a job with great pay. If you want to regain your confidence and succeed in your job search, I would definitely recommend Mike to anyone. More...
Sean
Mike continues to exceed my expectations as a performance coach. Mike offers extensive knowledge and insight that has allowed me to better understand myself and my business. I had been thinking of getting a performance coach for a very long time and I am beyond grateful that I ultimately decided to sign up for sessions with Mike. After several sessions I can say that my management skills, confidence in my day to day roles, understanding of myself and how I operate most effectively have all improved significantly. More...
Rebecca
Mike is approachable, generous with knowledge, and an active contributor. I highly recommend Mike as a coach and can’t speak more highly of his thoughtful and kind approach.
I have been working with Mike for over two years. He has helped me navigate many topics from organizational management to financial modeling/budgeting to career changes. His understanding of many topic areas makes him a dynamic coach and has been beneficial in our work together and in my development. Mike seems to endlessly have a reference (book, podcast, applied theory, etc.) to support our discussions. These not only illustrate the topic but also provide further learning outside of our sessions. His workbooks are well thought out and have helped me define values and set goals to continue to reflect on.
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What do you love most about your job?
I coach because I love helping others get more out of their work and their lives. I want to provide a safe space for clients to share their thoughts, feelings, and even their confusion so that we can work through it together. Whether that's setting career direction, navigating social dynamics, reorganizing habits, or working toward a strategic goal, I'm here to both support and challenge my clients.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I used to work as a financial analyst and consultant and realized that, while I was very good at analytical work, what I really wanted to do was work with people.
It so happened that in that job, I was tasked with training other financial analysts and when I did, I realized that I enjoyed teaching finance more than I enjoyed `doing` finance. So my plan was to actually get a PhD in economics and become a professor. So I went and worked in research at MIT and Harvard Business School and realized I didn't actually want to be an economist, per se, but during that time I was tutoring Harvard students in economics, accounting, and finance, and really, really loved the teaching part.
Before long, I was getting approached by MBA students and working professionals and was teaching and training them in finance.
At some point, though I knew something was lacking and I had had really positive experiences in my own therapy and was doing a lot of reading in psychology, philosophy, and self-development, and at one point one of my finance clients asked me if I had ever considered coaching. At the time, I didn`t know much about coaching, but my client referred me to her coach, who had gone to Columbia for a graduate degree in something called social-organizational psychology—essentially, the study of people and how we show up at work.
I was immediately fascinated and actually applied for that same graduate degree. I got accepted and learned more than I ever thought about leadership skills, motivation, emotional intelligence, group dynamics, negotiation, conflict resolution, career development, and coaching.
Why should our clients choose you?
My experience uniquely draws from both the business, consulting and finance world, as well as the world of psychology.
In the early part of my career, I worked as a financial analyst at IBM and as a consultant to the MBA program at Harvard Business School. For 11 years I taught finance, accounting, and economics to MBA students and have trained dozens, if not hundreds of working professionals.
But in the last four years, I've transitioned into the human side of things, beginning with my MA studies in organizational psychology at Columbia University, and then continuing on into the PhD program there.
So I like to think I can offer coaching in both the hard and soft skills of business.
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
I absolutely provide services remotely. I give my clients the choice of meeting via Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
I'm happy to meet clients at locations of their choosing, and to do social distancing and masking, as well as remote coaching.
Leadership and Executive Coaching
Mike Friedmann is a social-organizational psychologist and coach from Columbia University, with previous experience at Harvard Business School, MIT's Sloan School of Management and IBM.
Mike works with people and organizations on issues including:
-Mission and Strategy Alignment
-Organizational Culture
-Leadership Skills — motivation, communication, performance management
-Emotional Intelligence — self-awareness, listening, feedback
-Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Across two decades, he has worked with:
-C-level executives, fund managers, investment bankers, attorneys, doctors, software engineers, salespeople, private investors, and entrepreneurs
-Professionals from Google, Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Johnson, Estée Lauder, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and other organizations in finance, technology, healthcare, hospitality, education, consumer goods, nonprofits, education, government and the U.S. military
-MBA students from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU/Stern, The Wharton School, Oxford, Cambridge, and some 40 others across the U.S. and Europe
Mike has a B.A. in Economics and Finance and a graduate degree in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University in New York, where he is a Roy and Deborah Lewicki Fellow. He also completed Columbia's Coaching Certification Program, co-sponsored by Columbia Business School.
Career Coaching
As an experienced coach from MIT, Harvard Business School, IBM, and Columbia University, Mike has worked with some 300 clients. They include:
• Students, recent graduates, and young professionals
• Mid-career professionals, managers, and MBAs
• Advanced professionals and executives
• Those launching second and third acts, and those in transition
Mike works with clients at any stage, for support with:
• Self-Discovery—using assessments and interviews to identify your personal and professional VISAs (values, interests, skills, and abilities).
• Career Target Formation—identifying target job-types, organization-types, and industries that match your values,
• Job and Internship Hunting—including job searching, resume writing, cover-letter writing, interview prep, and negotiation
• Job Coaching—including support with transitions, adjustment, social dynamics, interpersonal and team effectiveness, motivation, strategic thinking, conflict resolution, and other skills
For those interested, Mike is happy to offer a free consultation call.
Life and Personal Development Coaching
Mike`s approach to personal development begins with the premise that we sometimes get stuck in life, often not knowing what we don`t know.
Put differently, the set of things that we know is always smaller than the set of things that we would want know if we`re to achieve our goals. As the neuroscientist Sam Harris has said, ``We really spend our lives learning how to live.``
Often, this process begins by clarifying what we really want out of life. Then, we can start identifying the best strategies for attaining it.
As a Columbia University-trained social and organizational psychologist, Mike has worked with clients on:
• Clarifying Values
• Self-Awareness
• Motivation
• Goal Setting and Accountability
• Organization and Time Management
• Social and Emotional Intelligence
• Group Dynamics
• Conflict Resolution
Coaching for Young People
Mike believes that young adults often don`t know what they don`t know. (And who can blame them!)
Providing a coach can help high-school and college students prepare for some of life`s biggest decisions as they navigate:
• Academics
• Motivation
• Life Transitions
• Social and Group Dynamics
• Emotional Intelligence Maturity
• College Readiness
• Career Preparation and Development
To this end, Mike has worked with dozens of young adults at high schools and colleges across the U.S., including:
• Horace Mann School
• Trinity School
• The United Nations International School (UNIS)
• The Harvard-Westlake School
• Harvard University
• Columbia University
• New York University
• Brown University
• Boston College
• University of Oxford
...and some 40 others.
For those interested, Mike is happy to set up a free consultation call, to discuss specific services, fees, schedules, and policies.
Goal and Accountability Coaching
Designed for clients looking to launch ambitious new projects or businesses, goal and strategy coaching draws on organizational-psychology research to help clients:
• Clarify what`s truly important
• Formulate concrete goals around these priorities
• Build in milestones, timetables, and other measures to ensure motivation, accountability, and completion.
We`ll hold regular check-in meetings, where I`ll help you diagnose obstacles, identify root causes, and talk you through problem-solving strategies—all in a safe, supportive, and confidential environment, so you`ll have support from ideation to completion.
For those interested, Mike is happy to set up a free consultation call, to discuss specific services, fees, schedules, and policies.
