By Jonathan Palombo
Marketing Manager, TLGMeet Darren Jones, one of TLG’s newest consultants and an accomplished Certified Professional Coach. Darren strives to help his clients challenge their paradigms, helping them to understand who they are and how their natural talents can manifest into increased productivity. Throughout his career, Darren has always championed others, evidenced by his roles and his love for leadership development.
Finding his Purpose in Coaching
Darren’s journey in leadership development began during his time in higher education, where he designed and developed learning programs, leadership curricula, facilitated leadership training, and provided leadership, personal, and academic coaching to college students. “Higher education will always be close to my heart,” said Darren. “It was a space where I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.” After becoming a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Darren began to expand his work outside of his institution. As Darren’s knowledge of executive and leadership coaching grew, so did his certainty that it’s what he wanted to do. “I knew that creating a path for myself in the coaching space was my way of walking into my purpose,” said Darren.
As a certified professional coach, Darren currently facilitates cohort-based leadership development programs and workshops. He also provides executive coaching to his clients. To Darren, transformation is not about becoming someone new, but better understanding who you truly are. “We all have our unique greatness; it can sometimes be challenging to understand and see it in ourselves,” explained Darren. “I love helping clients to shift their perspectives, explore the possibilities and commit to the vision they have for themselves. It’s my way of making the world a better place. “
Representation and Diversity Matter
Darren understands the importance of representation and the impact that it can have. As a coach, he creates spaces where others feel safe to be vulnerable and open to being their true selves. One of Darren’s areas of specialization is supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and those in the LGBTQ+ community. When reflecting on one of his more memorable coaching experiences, Darren highlighted the need for representation in the coaching space.
“Recently, I was doing a completion session with a coaching client,” said Darren. I had been coaching him for about six months. He mentioned not having connected with someone with his shared identities and how much it had meant to him. It made me think about how much representation is needed in coaching and the impact it can have on underrepresented and marginalized communities.”
When presented with the opportunity to join TLG, Darren knew that it was a good fit. “I learned about TLG through a friend who worked with them,” said Darren. I was excited at the thought of having a leadership company based in my backyard.” Darren brings an extensive background and a diverse set of skills to TLG’s growing team of consultants, which now features over 30 active consultants.