About Me
Hi, I’m Sharon Olbeter.
I’m a retired Air Force colonel and certified career and executive coach, who helps military veterans, members and spouses shape their careers to move toward what they want. I had a very varied career with lots of ups and downs along the way - which gave me insights into what works and doesn’t.
I served about 11 years on active duty, first enlisted as a medical laboratory technician and then as a civil engineering officer before I separated from the Regular Air Force. At the time I felt terribly unhappy, which I blamed on my career choice. Fortunately, I had joined the Reserves to keep a foot in the military.
Falling into the Abyss
What I didn't expect was that I would feel adrift when I left the Regular Air Force. I didn't know who I was or what I cared about, so I had no connection to anything. My life was the Air Force and then there was nothing. I hadn’t built a bridge to a new life.
Getting Back Up Again
By paying attention to what interested me, I eventually I discovered what I wanted. I went to graduate school and developed an interest in motivation psychology. At the same time, I volunteered to do career counseling at nonprofits, and volunteered for Reserve active duty assignments that seemed appealing.
I felt like a trapeze artist figuratively - one military assignment would end and another would appear. I gravitated toward people-oriented work because that's where my passions lay and earned an active duty retirement out of SAF/MR (Air Force Manpower and Reserve Affairs) as an O-6 at the Pentagon.
Hitting Another Obstacle
When I retired, I thought: now I’m free to do anything. I felt excited to embark upon an entrepreneurial career as an educator and professional coach.
Hard reality struck again: I wasn't prepared for the challenge. I finally had time and money to do whatever I wanted, but I simply couldn't envision myself as an entrepreneur - my work identity was as an individual contributor in a large, established organization. I was stuck. Time was passing me by and I wasn’t making any progress.
My Epiphany
I conceived The Doable System, a motivation-based framework, to make sense of what I had experienced. I've learned that wanting something is not enough; Wanting something is only a starting point. You must identify relevant opportunities, believe your efforts will payoff without unacceptable costs, and engage with effective strategies and actions to be able to go all-in to get what you want. Without that alignment, you may keep looking for new opportunities or resources, or take little to no action because you won’t expect a positive payoff.
Craft Your Career Solution
I learned you become the person you want to be by taking small actions to experiment with what you want both on- and off-duty and learn as you go.
So how can you go all-in to get what you want? You can do it by optimizing what naturally motivates you. I can help you:
- Uncover your desires to envision an ideal work life
- Identify opportunities to grow and contribute the way you want to in the way you want to do it to ignite your motivation
- Assess your current situation and how you will get what you need to commit to act to fuel your motivation
- Create a structure for learning and taking action to make progress to stoke your motivation, and
- Learn from what you’ve done to expand on your career growth and development.
I know I already wrote a lot, but you might want to know about my qualifications for why I can help you - so here's a bit more about myself:
Coaching: Certifications as a Firework Career Coach, Career Transition Coach, Certified Hidden Job Market Coach, Certified Personal Branding Strategist, ICF Associate Certified Coach, Board Certified Coach, Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach, and Government Coach; Career Coach Entrepreneur Certification in-progress.
Assessment Certifications:
Certified in EQi-2.0 and 360 to assess emotional intelligence. I'm also certified in the DRiV, What Drives You, What Drains You?, What Motivates Me? and the 360 Degree Reach Certified Personal Branding assessment.
University Education: Master of Education with an emphasis in Adult Education & Development; Master of Arts in Educational Psychological Studies; Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
I welcome you to the journey! If you like to reach out, I'd love to hear from you. Please click here to book a discovery call or email me at: [email protected] .
To your happiness and success!
Sharon
Be Unstoppable: be enthused, empowered, engaged
Testimonials:
"Sharon is a fascinating coach, her career in US military made me really sit up and listen. She is wise and very laid back. She has a very subtle way of getting me to complete tasks while at the same time seeming to have all the time in the world to listen to me talking away. I got finished products from working with Sharon... and thank you for that." Tom Butler, Tom Butler Coaching.
“Sharon was invested in helping me to move forward toward my goals and supportive as I explored possible routes to get there. She helped me to hone my business message and gain important insights in a short period of time.” Sonya Fields, Sonya Fields Coaching.
"Sharon’s coaching style is very warm and inquisitive. Besides being fully engaged in each coaching session, she is a great accountability partner. I was able to make measurable progress toward my goals while working with Sharon". Shelene Perriard, Shelene Perriard Career Coaching Services
