Sharmin Banu coaches senior leaders in tech with diverse backgrounds to develop their emotional intelligence (EQ) and Executive Presence, resulting in leadership excellence, team collaboration, and desired career transitions. In 2009, as a hardcore software engineering manager at Microsoft, Sharmin, discovered her passion for helping people grow, leading to a courageous leap into coaching. As a fierce champion of the coach approach, Sharmin has served as the President of the ICF Washington Chapter, spoken at events, and has written numerous articles and white papers. At Amazon, her sweet spot is L7-L8 leaders helping them prepare for the next level.
Sharmin’s firsthand experience with people from different cultural backgrounds puts her in a unique position of coaching the diverse workforce in today’s corporate world. She is on a mission to create a meaningful connection with her audience, no matter how different they are. She has managed and coached people from various countries (in Asia, Europe, North and South America), diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds, and sexual orientations. Her clientele comes from reputed high-tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and Salesforce.
Sharmin’s warm personality, direct, jargon-free style, and systems approach have been key to her client’s success. Her understanding of tech and corporate culture helps her relate and build a trusting relationship with her clients with analytical minds. Sharmin lets them tap into their intrinsic motivation, leading them to a deeper engagement level resulting in sustainable excellence.
Success Stories
- Director, Amazon – Coached for higher emotional intelligence, better conflict management, and executive presence. It resulted in a promotion, smoother relationship with the stakeholders, and more holistic work-life integration.
- Vice President/CTO, Fortune 500 (Tech) – Coached for personal branding resulting in a promotion. Later helped him transition to the new role where he received a renewed commitment from the team he inherited.
- VP Technical Sales, Fortune 100 (Tech) – Helped develop her leadership acumen using coaching skills as a tool. She became more confident and discerning using a coaching approach to develop her team members.
Credentials/Affiliations
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from the International Coach Federation (ICF), BS and MS in Computer Science
- EQ in Action, Team Coaching, Leading Inclusively, Leadership Circle 360, Stakeholder Interviews, Mentor Coaching, TILT365, CCL assessment suite.
- 2018 President of International Coach Federation (ICF) Washington State Chapter
