Pistachio-Cassis Coaching - Resources
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Jan. 15, 2024 - Ellevate Toronto - Member Spotlight
Well, my name is Christelle Soto-Suarez, and I’m an “eclectic, non-conforming, introvert” human being…
Eclectic, because I’ve always wanted to have multiple experiences – leading me to a 25- year international career in the construction industry, working in different countries, languages, positions, types of projects… and then to setting up my own life coaching practice, Pistachio-Cassis Coaching - empowering professional women to design, build and then lead THEIR life and career in their own terms.
Dec. 14, 2023 - Instant Coaching-infused Conversations – an “Out of the box” Approach to Coaching for Busy Professionals!
In this article, I’m comparing my ideal coffee experience to the long-term one-on-one (1:1) coaching experience, and my “instant” experience (when life doesn’t allow me to enjoy my ideal experience!) to “instant coaching-infused conversations”… Getting some of the benefits of the ideal experience, but via a method that is more suited to the “real life” of hard-working, busy professionals!
Nov. 16, 2023 - Rewrite the stories you tell yourself… and lead a more intentional life and career!
A big part of my new career is about conversations in which clients take center stage, telling their stories to their audience (me)…
And you probably know about the power of the stories we tell ourselves, the power of storytelling and the power of images…
But what if we combine the power of “images” with the power of “storytelling”? What if we use metaphors (not just images) to storytell our life:
Oct. 17, 2023 - Close Up Radio Spotlights Christelle Soto-Suarez of Pistachio-Cassis Coaching
Christelle Soto-Suarez, founder of Pistachio-Cassis Coaching, is a Self-leadership Awakener and an Executive and Leadership Coach. She empowers hard-working, busy female professionals, including women in STEM / construction, to rediscover and develop their self-awareness and to overcome their personal and professional challenges.
Oct. 12, 2023 - Want to Lead your Life and Career more Intentionally? – How to Choose your Development Approach
In this final article, I discuss the questions to ask yourself before investing in the better known expert-based and self-based approaches… and then maybe consider whether the partner-based approach wouldn’t be more suitable…
I also suggest some questions and steps to consider while choosing your development approach… knowing that may switch to another approach along the way, or look into options integrating several of these development approaches…
Sep. 21, 2023 Want to Lead Your Life and Career more Intentionally? - The Partner-based Development Approach… (part 2)
In this third article on this partner-based approach, I look into:
- What it is that I do with this partner-based approach;
- How I’m considering providing this development approach;
- The benefits; and
- What it isn’t.
Aug. 31, 2023 - Want to Lead Your Life and Career more Intentionally? - The Partner-based Development Approach… (part 1)
This is a follow-up to my previous article discussing the 3 development approaches to consider to lead a more intentional life and career: the “Expert-based” approach, the “Self-based” approach and the “Partner-based” approach. And it is this “Partner-based” development approach that I’m developing further in this article!
- It’s all about YOU!
- But you’re not on your own!
- You’re having a “true” 2-way interactive conversation
Aug. 3, 2023 - Want to Lead your Life and Career more Intentionally? Here Are 3 Development Approaches to Consider!
Are you content with being a leaf floating along the flow of the river of life?
Or would you be more satisfied and fulfilled if you could be more intentional and be the ONE Leading the Flow of your River of Life, being able to Design the path ahead, and then Build it so that it takes you to the Destination of your choice?
Wondering how? Well, there is a quote that I just love:
Chance is when preparation meets opportunity – Oprah Winfrey
July 6, 2023 - Exasperated by your Brain’s Protective Mechanism? Have a “Conversation” with It… and Here Is How!
Have you ever thought of, and got excited about, doing something different – to your day-to-day life, to your work, to what people around you (both at work and in your social circle) normally did? – Something that would take you into the unknown, uncertain, uncomfortable, without any role model around you, maybe even without any roadmaps and guardrails? Most of us have… even if it wasn’t a “grandiose” idea!
June 15, 2023 - Another Perspective On Leadership – Being Led And Self-Leadership Before Leading Others
Leadership. To lead. To be a leader.
Those words are pretty much everywhere at the moment: at work, when volunteering, at school, on social media… They are overused, sometimes referred to in the wrong context, and not always given the appropriate meaning.
May 11, 2023 - How to Benefit from your “Uniqueness”? Check out these 5 Advantages and Privileges… and Take Action!
Do you feel “different” to most of the people in your team, department, or company… whether because of your gender, appearance, accent, background, or because of your unconventional past experiences, or way of thinking?
Do you feel that this “being different” makes it harder for you to feel integrated, to feel like you belong… and may also impact how often you’re getting opportunities to demonstrate your abilities, and therefore your opportunities for promotions?
April 20, 2023 - How to empower yourself to become the role model you never had - in 4 simple steps!
In my previous article, I wrote about how to empower yourself despite the lack of role models.
Now, let's imagine you've gone for this "something" you wanted, and you've achieved it (or on your way to achieving it)…
And you’d like to see others “like you” going for this “something” too… But you remember the challenges you faced and how you felt when you decided to go for this “something”, and how much the lack of role models affected you…
March 30, 2023 - No Role Models? And So What! Here Are 8 Steps To Empower Yourself Anyway!
Have you ever wanted to do “something” (joining a specific industry, reaching a senior position, becoming an expert, etc.)…
And then realized there was no one “looking like you” (appearance, accents, backgrounds, etc.) doing this “something”?
March 8, 2023 - My 5 Regrets About Empowering Myself As A Young Professional
This is the 3rd installment of my 3-part series on the topic of "Do you ever look back at the early stage of your professional life?”. Having looked back at the “5 Steps I’m Glad I Took to Empower Myself as a Young Professional” and at the “5 Actions I Wish I Had Done Better or Earlier”, I’m now looking back at the “things” I didn’t do, but now wished I had done!
Why the regrets?
Feb. 15, 2023 - 5 Actions I Wish I Had Done Better Or Earlier To Empower Myself Even More As A Young Professional
This is the 2nd installment of my 3-part series on the topic of "Do you ever look back at the early stage of your professional life?”. Having looked back at the “5 Steps I’m Glad I Took to Empower Myself as a Young Professional”, I’m now looking back at the “things” I did, but wished I had done them in a better way, or earlier, or both!
Jan. 27, 2023 - 5 Steps I’m Glad I Took to Empower Myself as a Young Professional
Do you ever look back at the early stage of your professional life, and think about the “things” you should have done, about the things you could have done better, or earlier? Well, I do… and I’m looking forward to writing a couple of articles on these topics which, I hope, will empower (even if only a little) young professionals to consider these actions and to see how they can adapt them to their own situation – and I’m especially thinking of young women at the beginning of a career in STEM/construction…
Jan. 12, 2023 - Life Coaching: To Be or Not To Be in “Flow”?
Feeling unhappy, unsatisfied, unfilled with where we are in our life?
But can we remember past experiences where we actually were happy, fulfilled, satisfied… to the point of losing track of time, of what was around us? These past experiences were “Flow” moments… and this “Flow” concept is what I’m discussing in this article.
Dec. 13, 2022 - Life Coaching: Goal Set… and Now What? (Part 2)
This is a follow up to “Life Coaching: Goal Set… and Now What? (Part 1)”, where I provided some tips on how to proceed once we had set a goal for ourselves, starting with reflecting on:
- What’s important about that goal?
- What does Success look like? and
- Checking with ourselves.
In this article, I continue to provide tips on how to proceed from there:
Nov. 8, 2022 - Life Coaching: Goal Set… and Now What? (Part 1)
Whether we have a specific goal in mind or we’ve identified a facet of our life to work on following the “wheel of life” exercise, the question that comes next is “Now what?”. This article provides some tips on how to proceed from there… I’d suggest that the best way to proceed is to go through this self-reflecting and brainstorming process several times, on our own as well as with someone else, such as a life coach, or someone on our “personal board of directors”.
Oct. 20, 2022 - Which Career Path To Follow ‒ The One In Front of You, The One Shown By Others, Or Your Own?
Do you ever reflect on how you’ve been leading your career path to date?
If so, what does that career path look like?
- Have you been mostly following the path that opens right in front of you – such as taking the first job that presents itself to you?
- Have you been mostly following the path of guidance and advice from others “who know better what’s good for you” – such as investing time and money in further education to get the “right” letters after your name?
- Have you been mostly clearing out your very own path based on what you really want for yourself, on your own perspective of what success is – such as exploring different “specialties”?
Oct. 4, 2022 - Life Coaching: Not Satisfied with Our Life? Think “Wheel of Life”…
So, now that:
- We have a better understanding of who we really are; and
- We’ve found inspiration, explored and expanded our view of the possibilities that are “out there”;
- It’s time to look at our whole life: how satisfied are we with where we are now compared to where we would like to be, in the different facets of our life? In the life coaching world, this exercise is called the “Wheel of Life” exercise.
Sep. 27, 2022 - Want To Be The CEO Of Your Own Life? Here Are 4 Steps To Set Up Your Very Own Board Of Directors
Who hasn’t heard the expression “Be the CEO of your own life”? As professional women, whether we learned on the job, followed a trade training, or went to college/university, whether we work full time, part-time, or took a few years "off" to look after dependents, we’re all entitled to “be the CEO of our own life”…
Sep. 20, 2022 - Bringing International Construction Career To Life Coaching – Interview With Christelle Soto-Suarez
Christelle Soto-Suarez is the founder of Pistachio-Cassis Coaching and a Personal Leadership & Development Coach who empowers Women in STEM/Construction to create the Life and Career they want.
She believes that:
- Everybody is entitled to follow their own path, creating the life and career they want;
- Everyone is entitled to lead their life based on their own perspectives; and
- Life coaching is a great practice to discover what every person wants to achieve in life, who they really want to be, and how to achieve this in their own ways!
Sep. 6, 2022 - Women in STEM: To Stay or to Leave? Remember Your “Why”, and Don’t Forget Your “What Else”
Are you a woman in STEM/construction feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, unsatisfied with where you are in your life? Are you wondering if you made the right choice getting into that field and if you should not rather consider leaving and starting over in a different field? Are you wondering if your interest in the STEM/construction fields is worth all the stress you’re feeling due to being a “minority”, not quite “fitting in” with the majority of your peers, managers, clients, or suppliers?
Aug. 25, 2022 - 3 Steps To Empower Yourself – Explore, Experiment And Expand
Empowering ourselves, feeling empowered, feeling we have THE POWER within us… feeling that we have the confidence, the strength, the courage, the bravery, the guts… to act as we want to act, to say what we want to say, to be who we want to be…
Aug. 3, 2022 - Coacharya, Being a Coach Series - Challenging the Status Quo: The Coaching Way
Challenging the status quo is difficult and we as human beings are set in our ways. This week Christelle Soto-Suarez and Bill Hanson discuss how coaching has empowered them to change their way of thinking and doing things enabling them to challenge the status quo which helps them support the unique need of their clients.
June 7, 2022 - Life Coaching: Inspiration, Exploration, Expansion… and our Goals
This is a follow-up on my previous article “Life Coaching: Let’s Start With Discovering Who We Really Are”.
Now that we have a better understanding of who we really are, right now, it would be tempting to immediately look into who we want to be, where we want to get to, work on setting-up goals and on how to achieve them.
May 17, 2022 - Life Coaching: Let’s Start With Discovering Who We Really Are
Feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, unsatisfied, with our life (personal and/or professional)?
I think most of us feel like this from time to time. Sometimes these feelings go away on their own after a little while, sometimes we manage to “twist” something in our life that makes these feelings disappear or pushes them away… But sometimes we just have no idea what we can do to make these feelings go away, and even less where to start!
May 3, 2022 - Life Coaching: “Forget” the Goal, Focus on the Person!
So, we have a specific goal we want to achieve, but we don’t know how to.
We know that we want to identify our own steps to move forward, so that they are adapted to our own circumstances, values, strengths, and not simply based on others’ perspectives and opinions.
We know enough about the differences between life coaching, mentoring, counselling, therapy, and consulting to decide that life coaching is the best way to move forward with our goal.
But is life coaching really about just helping us identify steps to reach our specific goal?
April 19, 2022 - Life Coaching, Mentoring, Therapy, Etc.: Which Is Right For Me, Right Now?
Life coaching, mentoring, counselling, therapy, consulting… Most of us have heard these words, have heard that we ought to try one or the other when we’re in a negative frame of mind, when things go bad in our personal or professional lives. But what’s the difference between each of these services? When should we look for one or the other?
April 5, 2022 - Professional Life Coach for Construction Professionals
“Professional Life coach for construction professionals”… What do I mean by that?
Well, in this article, I’m highlighting the importance of the life coach’s overall experience being relatable to the client – in particular when the client is a women in construction (as this is my background prior to entering the field of life coaching…).
March 22, 2022 - From Construction To Life Coaching – My Exploration Journey
From a very young age, I dreamed of living and working in different countries, of travelling the world, of being a “knowledgeable” person, of earning a living in multiple ways, of knowing people from different backgrounds and with different life experiences… I can’t say that I had similar role models around me that I could relate to, but I remember “picking” these traits from what I could see around me, whether from real people or fictional characters – yes, I spent a lot of my childhood reading and daydreaming!
Nov. 4, 2021 - I’m a Woman in Construction – No Role Models? And So What?
Lack of role models… A few simple words often used to explain why there are so few women, and other minority groups, in some industries – such as in construction and other STEM related industries. Yet, we are present in these industries - at different management and leadership levels, in more or less technical positions, in large and small businesses, in cities and in the country… and many of us didn’t have anyone looking like us, or coming from the same socio-economics, to show us what could be done…
Oct. 20, 2021 - I’m a Woman in Construction – 4 Simple Ways to Start Addressing the Lack of Role Models
In a previous article, I stated the lack of role models as one of the reasons there were so few women entering, and then staying, in the construction industry – and I assume this is the same for any other minority groups. Yet, there are already many diverse people involved throughout the whole construction industry.
So, how do we “promote” ourselves as “role models”, or at least as some “examples” of what we, women and other minority groups, have already achieved to the younger generations?
Sep. 7, 2021 - I’m a Woman in Construction – Reflecting on some of my Privileges
The construction industry is well known for being a male-dominated industry, with still a low percentage of gender diversity – although the percentages vary widely depending on the type of work, the management level, and the countries. However, I believe that many of us who are part of the gender minority have careers in the construction industry that we, overall, enjoy. In this article, I’d like to start to reflect on what I see as some of my privileges that have allowed me to have such career – and I acknowledge that not everyone has the same opinion than me…
Aug. 3, 2021 - I’m a Woman in Construction – Here Is How I Decided to Become One
When I introduce myself as working in the construction industry, it is not uncommon that I’m asked what attracted me to the industry: Was I following my parents’ footsteps? Is that something I always wanted to do?
None of these apply to me, as my reasons for choosing the construction industry were much more down to earth…
July 13, 2021 - Want a Fulfilling Career? Ever Thought of Creating Your Own Unique Non-traditional Profile?
In a previous article, I discussed the importance of identifying what our “values” were, and what “success” meant to us. But identifying what it is we really like to do as a mean of earning a living, where we spend a large portion of our time, is also critical to leading a fulfilling career.
For some, becoming more and more experienced in a chosen field, progressing along the hierarchy ladder to a more senior position, is what matters the most. And that is fine.
But for many others, we want a career that allows us to:
June 29, 201 - Want a Fulfilling Career? Start with “Success” and “Values”
Have you ever felt like having lost interest in your work, getting bored more and more often, wondering if you were on the “right” career path for this period of your life… and thinking that, maybe, it was time to make some changes? I certainly did, several times - and I expect that this will happen a few more times in the future…
June 15, 2021 - Want a Fulfilling Career? Think Networking, Transferrable Skills and Education
I once heard Oprah Winfrey say “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” (paraphrased). Considering this article is about having a fulfilling career in the construction industry, you probably wonder why I’m referencing Oprah… Oprah’s statement struck me when I first heard it, a few years ago. And it came back to my mind when thinking about how to build up a fulfilling career. This is because, in my opinion, to have a fulfilling career, you first need to be prepared so that you can get hold of opportunities when they “pass by”, including when you’ve actively put yourself on the path of the opportunity…
June 1, 2021 - The Construction Industry – a Land of Many Career Opportunities?
In this article, I explain why I think the construction industry offers a wide range of opportunities for multiples experiences and for adapting to personal changed circumstances – although these may not be easy to identify nor access.
May 18, 2021 - Want an International Construction Career? Here Are 4 Tactics that Worked for Me
This is a follow up on the article I published on May 4, 2021, where I discussed my immigration journey to Canada. In that previous article, I concluded that it was my fairly unique combination of experiences and skills, together with putting myself at the right place at the right time, that allowed me to immigrate to Canada. I’m now looking at the tactics I used to build up my international experience prior to that move. I hope this new article will inspire some of you to consider an international career, and others to get some ideas on how to proceed…
May 4, 2021 - Want an International Construction Career? Here Is my 4-step Journey to Canada…
Earlier this year, the AACE Toronto section invited me to be a panelist at their March 18, 2021 event “Women in Project Controls – Reflection on Career Development”. At the event, I was asked about my journey into immigrating to Canada and breaking into the job market as a construction professional. For me, the opportunity to immigrate to Canada arose from having the profile that a Canadian company was looking for but couldn’t find in Canada. In this article, I reflect further on my answer... and hope to inspire some of you to look at the experiences and skills you already have, or need to work on, if you’re interested in an international career.
Feb. 16, 2021 - 6 Reasons Why Women Should Consider the Construction Industry
Why are so few women entering, and then staying, in the construction industry? One reason is that it’s a male-dominated industry; another is the lack of role models to look up to. But I have a third reason in mind: the lack of awareness of how interesting, challenging, multidisciplinary, and sometimes unexpected, this industry is! In this article, I briefly discuss 6 reason why women should consider entering the construction industry, based on my own experience… because what started for me as a mean to earn a living became much more than that throughout the years I spent working on or around construction projects!
Read more here...March 18, 2021 - AACE Panel "Women in Project Controls Panel Discussion - Reflection on Career Development"
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