Spiral Circles Design Element

Amber KInser

consulting & coaching

Leadership, Communication, and Conflict Resolution Support

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for Higher Ed LEADERS & OTHER Professionals

Spiral Circles Design Element

Amber KInser

consulting & coaching

COMMUNICATION FOR TRANSFORMATION

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Communication skill and savvy are key to professional and personal success.

Human interaction can be complicated, and even messy, for anyone—from senior executives to academic leaders who battle "impostor syndrome."


Communication expert Amber Kinser cultivates clients' communication skill, savvy, and confidence, transforming the way they lead, manage, and collaborate.

mY PROGRAMS

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Amber Kinser Consulting & Coaching programs

foster lasting, self-propelled change.

They are customized to organizational needs and

objectives, and adapted to individual styles,

strengths, challenges, and goals.

I work with organizations and teams to provide leadership training & assessment, and conflict resolution & mediation services.

I work one-on-one or in small groups to provide transformative professional coaching. I specialize in academic leadership, executive communication, and managing "impostor” feelings

consulting progRams

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In my consulting practice, I combine knowledge and expertise drawn from

my doctorate in human communication, 23 years of administrative leadership, and professional training in coaching, conflict resolution, and mediation/ arbitration. Using the Energy Leadership system, I conduct thorough assessments and offer insight-driven recommendations and training for positive, measurable outcomes.


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Today's leaders need to learn and develop a wide range of skills and qualities
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Leadership Development

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Content knowledge and technical skill are only useful if a leader can earn the trust and confidence of the people.

Business leadership

This confidence is earned through leader presence, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal communication skill & savvy. Amber Kinser Consulting & Coaching customizes and targets growth areas for each organization and leadership team, fostering keen awareness of their “soft skill” strengths and challenges. Through my leadership development training, leaders craft greater emotional intelligence; learn to influence others in authentically powerful ways, mindfully curate their time and energy, and foster cultures of belonging and psychological safety.

conflict resolution

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Conflict is an inevitable and important part of human communication. It can provide opportunities for growth, stronger relationships, clearer goals, and more productive work environments.

Leadership techniques

Unresolved, conflict can threaten team cohesion, employee well-being and morale, and organizational effectiveness. Skilled at working across a broad array of dispositions, temperaments, and conflicts styles, I collaborate with organizations to analyze, diagnose, and resolve conflicts, so organizational members can move forward and optimize pursuit of their goals.


I teach proactive conflict resolution and difficult dialogue skills, and steps in to mediate or collaboratively resolve conflicts already in play.

MEDIATION

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Asian women mediating disagreement

When conflicts become especially intense and parties cannot find a path forward, a skilled mediator can help move them to resolution.

As a mediator or facilitator, I use the 3-phase InAccord model, which recognizes the central role of emotions in conflict. I guide disputants toward handling emotions productively, without reactive posturing or bargaining, and opens up space for new insights, mutual understanding, and satisfactory agreements.


I work with individuals both separately and in tandem, with the aim to conclude each conversation facilitation or mediation with a clearly articulated and mutually agreeable path forward.

coaching progRams

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In my coaching practice, I draw from advanced communication training, 23 years of leadership experience, and certifications in professional coaching. I help build better leaders by cultivating client awareness of leadership presence, and guiding them in building communication skill & savvy and managing “impostor” feelings


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Impostor

Feelings


Academic LEADERSHIP

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Academic leaders are challenged with creating cohesion among a complex mix of personalities, temperaments, and sensibilities. Communicating skillfully and strategically is central to this work.

Female Leadership

A leader's listening habits, word language, body language—and even the language of organizational symbols and events—work together to foster particular subcultures within the larger culture of the university, college, or other work environment. Given the significant impact that culture has on all human behavior, effective leaders need to be aware of, and strategic about, what kind their own communication choices are helping to create. Through compassionate, client-centered coaching, I guide leaders in executing reflective and conscious communication choices.


I also offer critical insights and experiential knowledge about multiple aspects of leadership, including: strategic planning; articulating vision, mission, values, and goals; writing annual faculty and staff reviews; conducting meetings; curating leader time and energy; and resolving conflicts.


See David Bertrand's 2019 study "The Practice of Executive Coaching to Improve Leadership

Capacity in Academic Deans in American Higher Ed


See Stefan Kalt's 2019 "How Deans Can Use an Executive Coach" in Dean and Provost.


EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Successful leadership

Executives and senior leaders in any industry carry a pronounced responsibility for ensuring—through pointed self-awareness—that communication with their teams

is clear, inclusive, credible, & adaptive.

Executive coaching with me will cultivate a comprehensive understanding of how each facet of a leader’s communication style work, and how they can be improved and best utilized for optimal interpersonal and organizational outcomes.


As a certified Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Master Practitioner, I begin with the ELI. The ELI is a transformational assessment tool that illuminates the client's current performance and serves as a foundation for co-developing insights with clients about where and how to direct improvements. Areas of focus include: emotional intelligence, time management, speaking and listening, conflict resolution, and growth mindset, among other areas.



See Forbes on the ELI as one of the "Best Tests To Help You Understand Your

Strengths and Weaknesses.“


See Candace Goodwin's 2022 article on "Why Executive Coaching Works in

Higher Ed."


Feeling like an impostor

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Facial Expressions of Young Beard Man on Brick Wall

Impostorism is the limiting belief that one is neither as competent nor as deserving of their accomplishments as they seem and, any minute, someone is going to call them out on it.

As an academic and higher ed professional who learned to manage her own lifelong experience with impostor self-concept, I provide coaching based on experiential knowledge, research findings, professional experience, and effective management strategies to help other professionals embrace their achievements and move forward with even more rewarding careers.



See Valerie Young's Ted Talk on "Impostor Syndrome"


See Divasmita Chakraverty's 2022 study on the origins, contributing factors, and impacts of

Impostor Phenomenon Faculty Experiences of the Impostor Phenomenon in STEM

Fields” in CBE-Life Sciences Education


Testimonials

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"She is

spectacular!"

"100%, yes I would recommend Amber. She listened and provided clear and relevant feedback. In particular, her visualization tools had an immediate positive impact on my life. “

Felix, Marketing



"A privilege and

a pleasure"

“The essence of effective coaching is to develop a coach/client relationship based on wholeness, partnering, and competence. It is a privilege and pleasure to work with such an

effective coach as Amber!”

R.T. Ewing, retired director of prominent independent schools in the U.S. and Europe.



"Amazingly

compassionate listener"

"Amber Kinser helped me to examine my professional goals and piece together the direction I would like to take my career. Working with her has been a most beneficial experience for

my career development. “


CREDENTIALS

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Purdue University

PhD in Communication

Studied Interpersonal Communication, Family Relationships, Women's Lives

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Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching

Certified Professional Coach

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East Tennessee State

University

Communication Professor

Program Director, 10 years

Department Chair, 13 years

Faculty Ombuds, currently

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University of Tennessee & Mediators Without Borders Institute

Professional InAccord

Mediator & Arbitrator


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Cornell University

Conflict Resolution

Professional Certificate