Keely was last person to arrive at office Monday morning and when she walked in, she could feel tension in air. As she walked back to her office, others looked up and rolled their eyes or shook their heads, and she knew what was going on. Their boss, alpha-male type was on one of his tirades. Five minutes later it was her turn. Away from office and feeling helpless, he was calling in and shouting at his staff, wanting this and that paper or information he didn’t have.

Kelly had a knot in her stomach and her head started to spin. Checking back in with her EQ competencies she did exercises to calm herself and get static out of her brain. She knew it had nothing to do with her, but as barrage from boss’ cell phone continued, soon accompanied by emails from his laptop, others were cratering, and "it" started to run downhill.

In a small office, things like this are especially infecting. Tension can be contagious. Even if you manage it well, there will be some affect on you, because you're human and we're designed to notice and tune in to emotions of others around us.

THE BALM OF GILEAD

Keely sat in her office trying to play small while "it" flew around office. Colby, office manager appeared at her door with a big smile on his face, turned corner and took chair across from her desk.

"How was your weekend?' he asked in a normal tone of voice, just as if nothing untoward were going on. "Did you get up to your brother's?"

Keely recognized it for what it was, and gladly took opportunity to relax into a normal conversation. Colby's reassuring demeanor and calm, matter-of-fact slash kind tone of voice were like a balm to her nerves frazzled by proxy.

As she related details of her weekend visit with family, Keely was soon feeling quite normal again, realizing that everything was fine despite boss' tantrums.

After downsizing wiped out her $80K salary, Jane was having trouble finding work. Just released from jail, 22-year old Marie didn't know how she was going to provide for her four kids. Frustrated and frightened, both women needed "a hand up" to help them take charge of their lives and move forward.

Luckily, for Jane, Marie, and countless others from all walks of life, Taylor Hunt's dream had come true. She had dreamed of creating a nonprofit organization to bring power of coaching to low-income women. And when she mentioned she had started A Hand UPCoaching during a teleclass. It sparked interest of Michelle Payne. "I called Taylor and asked to be part of that dream," says Payne. "It all started from there." Started in February of 2001, Michelle jumped on board in April of that same year. A Hand UPCoaching is a non-profit program designed to help women establish and reach their own professional goals.

Gail Nape volunteered to coach for A Hand UPCoaching after hearing about it through her own coach. "I liked idea of championing women," she says. "There were times in my life when I couldn't have afforded a coach, so I know how valuable a gift like this is. It would have eliminated my having to do it hard way."

Nape says challenges of working with participants in program depend on where they are and what their experiences have been. "The most important point is initially, clients don't know what to expect," she says. "They think I'm just going to give them a set of goals. I try to give us a chance to get to know and trust each other. I get them to trust me so they can learn what coaching is all about."

It didn't take long for Claudia McNeil to find that out herself. She was hoping to gain some insight into how to successfully switch jobs, when she signed up for A Hand UPCoaching. It became much more than that. "I was at a crossroad, and Gail asked me for my story," says McNeil. "I had dated a superior at work, and relationship didn't work out. Soon afterwards, I was fired. I had to sell my house, and only job I could find paid about a third of what I had made before. I began to ask myself a lot of questions about what I would do for rest of my life.

"Gail showed me how to take responsibility for my own behavior and set boundaries with people. She taught me about envisioning what you want. Instead of just getting career coaching, I ended up learning life skills."

Nape says reason they were successful was because McNeil put ideas they talked about into practice. "It was a joyful experience to support her," says Nape. "She was willing to do everything we talked about. That made all difference. We could have come up with all kinds of ideas, but without her follow through, nothing would have happened."

Commitment like McNeil's is key, says Payne. A Hand UPCoaching is serious about that personal investment. After potential clients fill out applications, a team of coaches reviews their materials to determine which candidates seem most likely to make that kind of commitment. Any participant who misses two sessions is dropped from program. A Hand UPCoaching only accepts women who not only sincerely want to change their lives but who are also ready to do work necessary to make that happen.

According to Payne, more than 80% of those clients who sign up with A Hand UPCoaching complete program.