Marion Biglan, Tide Risers Coach
Marion Biglan is a Tide Risers Coach who brings a racial equity lens to her coaching practice. She will co-facilitate our Spring 2021 session focusing on the inner critic, and she is available for one-to-one and small group coaching.
“I bring a racial equity lens to my coaching.
I am aware of the power dynamics that play out in the world and in the workplace across race, gender, etc. which helps me when coaching women of any background.”
What's your area of expertise?
Leadership, with specific focus areas as follows:
Uncovering limiting mindsets and creating powerful new ways of being
Aligning management and team development practices with a values-based personal management philosophy - Navigating challenging conversations with clarity and purpose
Leading with a racial equity lens
I bring more than twenty years of experience leading teams and partnering with managers and organizations to be more effective in fulfilling their missions.
After graduating with a history degree from Southern Methodist University, I started my career as a 5th grade teacher through Teach For America in rural Louisiana, then became the founding executive director of Teach For America’s Chicago site. I went on to help found Teach For America’s Human Assets team, where I spent almost ten years building and ultimately leading the Business Partner team. In 2015 I launched my business, MHBiglan Consulting, now called Illuminate Coaching, and has partnered as a coach and consultant to leaders and organizations such as national non-profits, arts organizations and school districts.
I am a professionally certified coach through the International Coach Federation accredited program, Coach Diversity Institute. I am a trained facilitator of the Immunity to Change program, and led the Philadelphia cohort of Tide Risers in 2019 and 2020.
What makes your practice unique?
Like many coaches - I am a huge champion of people! People feel affirmed with me while also safe to courageously explore what is tough to see that may be holding them back.
Also, I bring a racial equity lens to my coaching. I am aware of the power dynamics that play out in the world and in the workplace across race, gender, etc. which helps me when coaching women of any background. With white women, given my own background and my training over the years as a diversity practitioner, I can help them see how their own whiteness may be playing out in their leadership so that they can shift how they are showing up and leading.
What can our members expect from a working relationship with you?
You'll have fun and while being challenged to grow, and uncover powerful insights that will help you get unstuck and show up with new, powerful ways of being.
You'll experience and feel these values in our work together:
Connection: Each engagement begins and continues with true connection, anchored in trust and partnership
Curiosity: Curiosity is the foundation of learning and growth. By staying curious, we shine our light in new spaces and discover new insights.
Courage: Coaching is a space where you bravely and vulnerably explore what may be hard or uncomfortable to see, leaning into discomfort so that you can release fear's hold on you
Compassion: Learning and growing requires compassion for ourselves and for others, showing up with deep listening, non-judgement, and care.
Celebration: We're going to celebrate together the big and small wins! Laughter is part of the process.
Which of our leadership principles resonates with you most right now, and why?
Abundance. It was my word for 2020 and when the pandemic hit I wondered - is this the right word? It turns out it was exactly the right word. An abundance mindset is the opposite of scarcity mindset. Abundance is rooted in possibility, generosity, and the knowing that we have the infinite capacity in our collective community to do hard things, to support each other, to make the world more just and to honor each person's humanity. Scarcity is rooted in fear and drives us to hoard and exclude. As we move into 2021 when it can be tempting to give into the fear around us, I choose abundance every day.
Which of our leadership principles do you generally struggle with the most, and why?
Abundance and authenticity challenged me for a moment last year when I was tempted to give into fear, but they both ultimately helped me regain the courage to be with the uncertainty of this moment and still live purposefully.
Tell us about your experience with Tide Risers.
I was attracted to Tide Risers because I love the mission of women supporting women, and I love working in community and in collaboration with other amazing women. It has been a joy to both get to know and collaborate with the Tide Risers leadership team over the past two years as the Philadelphia facilitator, and to get to know the incredible women who make up the Tide Risers cohorts. I am so grateful for the community and the connections I've made and am excited to continue to be part of the team in 2021!