Why I became a coach:

Coaching wonderfully combines my interests in psychology and positive change. It is priviledge to work in the field.

Why I care about the Institute of Coaching:

We're a community of passionate coaches who work at the intersection of science and practice to positively impact the world. 

About:

Susan David, a Co-founder and Co-director of the Institute of Coaching is an internationally recognized thought leader operating at the nexus of business and psychology. Her focus is on defining and executing effective people strategies, particularly in the areas of employee engagement, high-performance leadership, and organizational culture change. 

Susan is a sought-after keynote speaker, and a highly experienced coach and consultant to C-suite executives. Her unique combination of pragmatic business experience and extensive scientific knowledge allows her to help leaders meet the most pressing business challenges without losing sight of their most important asset: their people. Susan has been a coach and strategic advisor to executives at the helm of mergers, acquisitions, leadership transitions, and people strategy revisions. She routinely consults internationally at the most senior levels of large organizations and has extensive experience in industries as perse as financial services, information technology, healthcare, utilities, pharmaceuticals, and mining. Her client list includes Ernst and Young Global, the World Economic Forum, BHP Billiton, United Nations Development Program, JP Morgan Chase, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nestlé, among many other multinational firms. A lifelong learner, Susan has completed BA, MA, MPsych, and Ph.D. degrees, as well as postdoctoral studies (Yale). She is CEO of Evidence Based Psychology, a management consultancy and an Instructor in Psychology (Department of Psychiatry) at Harvard Medical School. 

Susan is author of the definitive Oxford Handbook of Happiness (OUP, 2013), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring (Gower, 2013), and the top rated Harvard Business Review article “Emotional Agility: How effective leaders manage their negative thoughts and feelings”. She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and her work has been featured in many publications including TIME, Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal.

A lover of travel, Susan has lived in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA. She is now based in Boston, where she lives with her husband and two small children.

Books:

• David, S.A., Boniwell, I. and Conley Ayers, A. (Eds.) (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Happiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• David, S.A., Clutterbuck, D.A. and Megginson, D. (Eds.) (2013). Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies in Coaching and Mentoring. Surrey: Gower.
• David, S.A. (2016). Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life. Penguin Random House.

Representative Articles and Chapters:

• David, S. & Ebrahimi, N. (2008). Emotionally Intelligent Living. In S. Lopez (Ed.), Positive Psychology: Exploring the best in people, Westport, CT, Greenwood Publishing Company.
• David, S. & Congleton, C.  (2013). Emotional agility: How effective leaders manage their negative thoughts and feelings.  Harvard Business Review, 91 (11), 125-128.
• David, S.A., Clutterbuck, D., Megginson, D., & Congleton, C.  (2013). Goals: A long-term view.  In S.A. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies in Coaching and Mentoring (1-20).  Surrey: Gower. 
• Kegan, R., Congleton, C. & David, S. A. (2013). The goals behind the goals: Pursuing adult development i nthe coaching interprise. In n S.A. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies in Coaching and Mentoring (229-243).  Surrey: Gower.
• Kram, K.E., David, S.A. & Congleton, C.  (2013.)  Goals in mentoring relationships and developmental networks.  in S.A. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies in Coaching and Mentoring (261-274).  Surrey: Gower.
• Whitmore, J., Kauffman, C., & David, S.A.  (2013). GROW grows up: From winning the game to pursuing transpersonal goals.  in S.A. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies in Coaching and Mentoring (245-260).  Surrey: Gower.
• David, S. & Congleton, C.  (2014). Emotional agility: How effective leaders manage their negative thoughts and feelings.  Harvard Business Review: OnPoint, Summer 2014, 88-92.
• David, S., Clutterbuck, D., and Megginson, D. (2014). Advances in Project Management Series: Insights from Beyond Goals.  PMWorld Journal, 3 (4), 1-7.
• David, S., Clutterbuck, D., and Megginson, D. (2014). Goal orientation in coaching differs according to region, experience, and education.  International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 12 (2), 134-145.
• David, S. & Congleton, C.  (2015). Emotional Agility: How effective leaders manage their negative thoughts and feelings.  Harvard Business Review: 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence, May 2015, 119-126.

Recent Presentations:

• Microsoft: Successful You Conference, Invited Speaker, 3rd Annual Microsoft’s Successful You Women’s Leadership Forum, Boston, MA, United States
• Emotional Agility, Invited Speaker, Virgin Pulse Thrive Summit, Boston, MA, United States
• Breakthrough Ideas Forum, Invited Speaker, Harvard Business Review and World Economic Forum, New York City, NY, United States
• Future-Proofing:  Critical Skills for Today’s Leaders, Invited Keynote, United Nations Development Program, Tarrytown, NY, United States
• The Emotionally Intelligent Team, Invited Keynote, IAG Executive Committee Conference, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
• CRF: The Resilient Organization, Invited Keynote, Corporate Research Forum, London, United Kingdom
• World Class Engagement, Invited Keynote, EMEIA Partners Conference, Ernst & Young, Paris, France
• Engagement = Success: Insights from Ernst & Young's Best-in-Class Study, Invited Keynote, Ernst & Young, Karlstad, Sweden
• Future-Proofing! The Critical Psychology Skills for Tomorrow's Leaders, Invited Keynote, Human Resources, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland
• Samplify: Emotional Agility, Invited Speaker, AMP Bank, Sydney, Australia

Blogs (as featured in Harvard Business Review):

• Make Sure Your Employee’s Emotional Needs Are Met
• Manage a Difficult Conversation with Emotional Intelligence
• Inclusiveness Means Giving Every Employee Personal Attention
• Evaluate Your Emotional Agility
• Disengaged Employees? Do Something About It
• How Happy Is Your Organization?
• Are Your Goals Impossible and Counterproductive?
• How to Manage Your Inner Critic
• The Biases You Don't KNow You Have
• Don't Sabotage Yourself

Videos:

• Official Montage
• The Value of IOC Membership (Institute of Coaching)
• Build Your Emotional Agility (Harvard Business Review, Management TIPs)
• Emotional Intelligence in Tough Conversations (Harvard Business Review, Management TIPs)
• Value Your Employees as Inpiduals (Harvard Business School Press, HBR Channel)
• Process Emotions Effectively to Manage Culture (Harvard Business School Press, HBR Channel)

Recent Press:

• Interviewed for Harvard Business Review:  Overcoming the Toughest Common Coaching Challenges
• Interviewed for Harvard Business Review:  How to Help Your Team Bounce Back from Failure
• Quoted in Inc.com article:  Deconstructing the Pyramid Theory of Motivation
• Interviewed for APA Monitor article:  Wanted: Coaching Researchers
• Interviewed for Inc.com article:  The Flip Side of Negative Emotions
• Quoted in Forbes.com article:  How Positive Thinking Creates More Problems Than It Solves
• Quoted in Fast Company article:  4 Important Things About Mindfulness You Didn’t Realize
• Quoted in Inc.com article:  Give Your Team a Motivation Boost
• Quoted in WSJ.com blog:  On Our Radar:  Drivers Wanted
• Quoted in Time.com article:  Create a Happier Tea