“It is not always one big step, but a few steps forward.”
~ Denise Junqueiro
This week we have the pleasure of sharing parts of the transformational story of one of our original clients – Denise Junqueiro. Denise and Tess met in 2014 when she was a fellow attending the California Agriculture Leadership Foundation program. Tess was a part of restructuring the Ag Leadership learning and seminars and provided the Leadership Coaching for the program. In fact, Denise was a great support when Tess Cox & Associates was just beginning to launch the business.
Over the years, Tess and Denise continued to work together within the Leadership Coaching context. The experience brought to light the power of transformation with consistent learning, growing and developing within situational leadership. The empowerment to choose who she wants to be and creating the outcomes with tools and resources that are meaningful to her has created an incredible personal and professional story.
We will be sharing Denise’s experience with coaching and more of her story in next week’s video newsletter. In the meantime, we wanted to give you a few highlights from her experience in working with TC&A over the years. As one of our 2025 commitments – we want to share more of our client stories with our ‘Your Choice’ newsletter community.
Our intention is that you feel encouraged by Denise’s growth, empowered by her ability to keep paving her own path forward and curious about what you can learn about yourself from her personal / professional story.
We asked Denise to share three of her key take-aways from Leadership Coaching that support her having a positive mindset, positive energy, and experiencing positive outcomes.
“First, I am an extrovert and an outward processor. Leadership Coaching gives me the space and time to process what is transpiring internally within me. I am able to look at all areas of my life, my career, my behaviors and my relationships from a professional and objective way.”
“Second, one of the most significant and fundamental ‘ah-ha’ moments is learning the four quadrant leadership styles. Tess taught me, as a leader, I need to discern when my team needs me to be telling them what to do, participating with them, coaching them along or collaborating to find the best of outcomes. No matter how seasoned an individual is, the leader will end up in one of these four quadrants. As, a leader, it is my job to meet my team where they are and bring them along to support the them as a whole for the best of outcomes. A leader should never expect that just because they are a certain age or position, they will not need support in one of these key four styles of leadership.”
“Third, so much of business and other people’s actions or behaviors are not personal The minute you can look at those things objectively and let go of your emotions, the quicker you will spend your energy on gaining results for the business rather than on how you feel.”
We imagine you will resonate with one, if not all of the highlights Denise mentioned from her coaching experience above.
Denise went on to share, “I used to get extremely frustrated and would want to give up, if people were not ready to move forward on a project. Now, I give it space and stay prepared to move forward. I trust my intuition and expertise in what needs to be done. I say that humbly and knowing, any knowledge I’ve learned is due to many years of gaining in my expertise and through trials, trying new mindsets that work best for me and my team. This process can be cumbersome, frustrating, and challenging. In these moments, I will take my own space to get my mind and energy right to keep leading effectively and stay resilient.”
Denise’s commitment to her own energy, growth, learning and unlearning has led her to create the work and life that she is meant to be living today. She is a conscious leader, she is intuitive and she is able to use her “hard and soft skills,” along with her strengths and expertise, to experience great outcomes in every area of her life.
We look forward to sharing more of her energy and her transformation story. Until then, start to think about your own story. Do you have the support you need for your mindset, your growth and development? We are here for you and always want the best for you.