Kathleen O’Connor is an independent consultant and coach specializing in the identification and development of leadership talent. Kathleen has over 20 years of experience in executive development and organizational change. Prior to starting her own consulting practice in 2003, Kathleen was an internal HR consultant at Hewitt Associates and Motorola.

Kathleen’s high level of client service and expertise often results in repeat projects with numerous clients, especially in the pharmaceutical, medical device and professional service industries. She is also an adjunct faculty member of Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change program and a leadership coach with the Executive MBA program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Kathleen has personally coached hundreds of leaders representing a variety of functions, nationalities and roles. Given her network of coaching colleagues, Kathleen can also source and manage a pool of highly competent coaches for large client projects. Kathleen’s leadership coaching experience has occurred at both the individual level, especially related to 360 and personality assessment data, and at the group level, as part of action learning team coaching. Kathleen guides leaders in identifying strengths and development opportunities, while continuously acknowledging organizational realities facing each leader. She believes in the value of continuously improving self-awareness while harnessing individual strengths and interests.

In addition to her work as an executive coach, Kathleen advises organizations on broad strategies for identifying, developing and onboarding key talent, as well as designs and facilitates talent management meetings, change management projects, leadership forums and management development programs. Clients frequently use Kathleen’s services facilitating leadership workshops, team meetings, and leadership events. In addition, she often conducts research for clients on strategic workforce planning and talent development trends, resources and suppliers.

Kathleen earned a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and holds a M.S. in Education (Organization Development and Workplace Learning) from Northwestern University. She is also certified in assessment instruments from Personnel Decisions International, the Center for Creative Leadership, Hogan Assessments and Korn Ferry (Lominger).