Barbara
Koenig
Founder & CEO · Executive Coach · Organizational Development
An Insightful Coach.
A Proven Partner.
Barbara Koenig brings over twenty-five years of experience as an organizational development consultant and executive coach, working across leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and career transition.
With a technical background and firsthand experience in manufacturing, engineering, and higher education, Barbara brings a perspective that is both grounded and expansive. She is known for quickly establishing genuine rapport with clients, and co-creating strategies that align internal motivations with external goals.
The result isn’t just short-term performance. It’s sustainable growth that sticks.
From the Factory Floor
to the Executive Suite
Where it Started
Barbara began her career in production management and advanced manufacturing engineering — building a technical foundation that still informs how she thinks about organizational systems and human performance.
Building the Practice
After founding her own consulting firm in Ann Arbor, Barbara partnered with organizations from scrappy startups to global giants — Toyota, Stryker, ProQuest, Borg Warner, Ford, and dozens more across manufacturing, finance, legal, and technology.
Academia & Innovation
Barbara consulted with MBA students at Michigan’s Ross School of Business in entrepreneurship and venture capital, and now identifies talent and engagement strategies for the UM Office of Tech Transfer — where leadership meets invention.
Ideas Worth
Saying Out Loud
Barbara is a frequent speaker at professional, business, and educational organizations. She brings the same directness to the stage that she brings to coaching — practical, grounded, and genuinely useful.
- Career Transition & Reinvention
- How to Leverage Your Strengths
- Communication Preferences & Style
- Generational Differences in the Workplace
- Successful Behaviors of Women Leaders
- Executive Talent for Startups
Areas of Expertise
Decades of work distilled into the domains where Barbara creates the most impact.
Coaching
- C-Suite & Senior Executive
- High Potential Development
- Executive Presence
- Role Transition Acceleration
- Succession Planning
- Retirement Transition
- Global & Virtual Coaching
Organization
- Leadership Development Programs
- Team Development & Alignment
- Culture Transformation
- Organizational Change
- Learning Design & Facilitation
- Workshop Design
Coaching Approach
- Strengths-based strategy
- Stakeholder interviews & 360s
- Core values exploration
- Gap identification & bridging
- Executive presence development
- Cross-cultural communication
Education
- B.S. Chemistry (Liberal Arts) — Centre College of Kentucky
- M.S. Human Resource Management & Organizational Development — Eastern Michigan University (2006)
- Member, Management Research Group consultant network
- Member, Organizational Development Network
- Board Member, Ann Arbor ASTD
Certifications
- LEA 360 for Leaders
- LEA for Strategic Directions
- Individual Directions Inventory (IDI)
- Denison Culture Survey
- Denison Leadership 360
- DiSC Work of Leaders, DiSC Workplace Solutions, DiSC 363
- Management Research Group (MRG)
Trusted By
A representative sample of the organizations Barbara has partnered with over twenty-five years.
Ready to have a
real conversation?
Whether you’re navigating a leadership transition, building a stronger team, or simply asking harder questions — Barbara is worth a call.
Start a Conversation
Empowering leaders.
Improving impact.