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President

Athena Adkins

Athena is a values-driven leader adept at utilizing co-creation, coaching, and mentorship tools. With almost two decades of experience, she and her team are the "secret sauce" for their clients, crafting processes to enhance organizational and individual capacity.

About Athena

Who do we Choose to Be?
This is the question that drives Athena and her work. Throughout her 20+ year career in the non-profit and philanthropic sector, her effort to leverage her experience and expertise and align her personal values with mission-driven organizations has led her to engage in deep, meaningful work at the intersection of organizational development and capacity building—where those ideas intersect with authentic leadership, intercultural organizational development, and emotional intelligence. Essentially, she champions the idea that it is not just “what we do” but also “how we do it.”

As president of a woman-owned, minority-owned business and an executive coach, she brings extensive leadership experience. From her days rowing at the University of Miami to her role as a True North Leadership Fellow, she excels in leading teams, coaching executives and diverse, high-performing teams.

Athena is a values-driven leader adept at utilizing co-creation, coaching, and mentorship tools. With almost two decades of experience, she and her team are the "secret sauce" for their clients, crafting processes to enhance organizational and individual capacity. They specialize in intercultural organizational development, authentic leadership and storytelling for public and private support. Athena's strengths lie in asking tough questions, seeking clarity, and fostering understanding.

Her favorite part of the work is the opportunity to co-conspire with smart, accomplished, fiercely principled people to create environments that let us all thrive.

Coaching

Work with Athena

Specialties:
  • Conflict
    Coaching focused on conflict equips individuals with the tools and strategies to navigate and resolve conflicts effectively in various settings. Whether addressing interpersonal tensions, managing team dynamics, or mitigating workplace disputes, this coaching provides support, guidance, and practical techniques to foster constructive communication, find mutually beneficial solutions, and promote positive relationships.
  • Equity
    Equity coaching focuses on fostering equitable practices and outcomes within organizations by addressing systemic biases and promoting inclusion. Through tailored guidance and support, coaches help leaders and teams identify and dismantle barriers to equity, develop inclusive policies and practices, and cultivate a culture of belonging where all individuals can thrive and contribute to their full potential.
  • Intercultural Development
    Intercultural coaching offers personalized support and guidance to individuals navigating diverse cultural contexts. By fostering cultural humility, awareness, and communication skills, coaches help clients navigate cultural differences,* build inclusive communities, and succeed in multicultural environments. Through practical strategies, cultural insights, and empathy, intercultural coaching enables individuals to thrive in a globalized world by embracing diversity and leveraging one's own cultural strengths. *Differences come in many categories, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age/generation, socioeconomic status, geography, education level, positionality/power differential, caretaking status, and any difference that affects how you experience your life.
  • Confidence
    Confidence coaching is focused on empowering individuals to build self-belief, assertiveness, and resilience. Through tailored strategies, support, and encouragement, coaches help clients overcome self-doubt, fear of failure, and limiting beliefs. By cultivating a positive self-image, mindset shifts, and skill development, coaching for confidence enables individuals to step into their power, pursue their goals with courage, and thrive in all aspects of life.
  • Equity
    Equity coaching focuses on fostering equitable practices and outcomes within organizations by addressing systemic biases and promoting inclusion. Through tailored guidance and support, coaches help leaders and teams identify and dismantle barriers to equity, develop inclusive policies and practices, and cultivate a culture of belonging where all individuals can thrive and contribute to their full potential.
  • Grant Writing
    Provides targeted support and guidance to individuals seeking to improve their grant writing skills and increase their success in securing funding. Coaches help writers enhance their proposal development, storytelling, and project planning abilities through personalized feedback, training, and resources. By refining techniques, overcoming common pitfalls, and staying abreast of funding trends, coaching for grant writers empowers individuals to craft compelling grant applications and secure vital resources for their organizations or projects.
  • Leadership
    Leadership coaching is a personalized development service empowering individuals to maximize their leadership potential. Whether you are a seasoned executive or an emerging leader, coaches provide tailored support, feedback, and strategies to enhance your leadership skills, inspire your team, navigate challenges, and achieve professional goals confidently and effectively.

Athena thrives on challenging the status quo and crafting spaces where people genuinely feel they belong. Her journey, rich with personal experiences and driven by her passions, has shaped her identity, inspired the founding of BetterWorld Partners, and defined her unique coaching approach. Growing up in an unconventional household, Athena often felt like she lived in the in-between, navigating the intersections of generations, ethnicities, and geographies. This upbringing nurtured her quest for both self-sufficiency and community.

As a curious seeker unafraid to question norms, Athena dedicated herself to envisioning and building a community where she felt at home and others could too. A vibrant, inclusive space that empowers individuals to embrace their authentic selves, learn from one another and celebrate the joys of their shared humanity including all of its complexities. It is from this perspective that Athena helps others discover their place in a connected, supportive world.

Her coaching practice encourages partners to self-reflect, align their lives with their purpose, develop a personal set of core values, and practice being their best selves daily.

Athena uses two main frameworks to guide her coaching:

  • True North Leadership: A book, workbook, and fellowship developed by Bill George, providing a compass for personal and leadership development.
  • Mitch Hammer’s Intercultural Development Continuum (IDC): Offering a map and tools to navigate personal growth.

She strongly believes in the idea that when you have a goal, “the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it,” as Paulo Coelho writes in The Alchemist. Athena sees herself as a co-conspirator in her clients’ journeys, helping them remember forgotten truths, discover unrecognized knowledge, and reconnect with their life paths.

Working with Athena
Athena meets her clients where they are — figuratively because even with her years of training and experience, she, too, is learning and evolving, and working together is a collaborative process. Literally, in the Twin Cities, she connects over coffee or on walks. For those farther away, Zoom meetings and phone calls are both options.

They start by exploring the client’s immediate goals and pressing concerns. Once these are addressed, they delve into leadership concepts, personal life stories, purpose, and values, identifying challenges to maintaining authenticity.

Athena also guides clients through handling tough situations, such as interpersonal conflicts, and engaging with different communication styles. Together, they practice and work through challenges in real time, fostering continuous growth and support.

Ready to book a session?

Select a service from the menu and pick a date / time. Not sure where to start? Email me! I look forward to connecting with you.

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