My Coaching Journey with Luanne

We believe the best way to understand the ACT/Brown Leadership & Performance Coaching Certification Program is through the voices of our graduates. This month, we’re honored to feature Dr. Luanne Thorndyke, a physician-turned-coach whose remarkable “encore career” reflects the power of curiosity, purpose, and lifelong learning. After nearly 40 years in academic medicine and leadership, Luanne chose to explore coaching more intentionally, discovering a new professional path that blends her wisdom, humility, and passion for developing others. Her story reveals what becomes possible when a seasoned leader embraces a beginner’s mindset and channels decades of experience into helping physicians and scientists grow, lead, and thrive.

What brought you into the world of coaching?

I am a physician by disciplinary training and have practiced medicine for almost 40 years (yes, I'm OLD!!!). Over the course of my career, I have held major leadership positions in 3 different medical schools, focused on faculty development/leadership development and faculty affairs. In 2023, seeking a change but not ready to retire, I decided to step off the 'full time employed' treadmill and explore coaching and consulting as an "encore career". I had been mentoring and coaching faculty in my leadership roles, but I felt that I needed specific training and certification in coaching to be fully qualified in the work I was thinking about doing in a more formalized fashion. I enrolled in, and completed the ACT LPCC course, became ICF certified, and now have a busy practice that fills me with professional satisfaction, intellectual stimulation, and an overarching sense of purpose and fulfillment.

What inspires your passion for coaching?

After a successful 40-year career in academic medicine, I felt a strong desire to continue to apply my accumulated knowledge, experience, and wisdom to help others, specifically physicians and scientists in academic medicine, be/become the best leaders they can be. I had the energy, interest, and yes, the passion for this work, having been deeply involved in professional development and mentoring during my career. I have been gratified to see the progress and growth that individuals make during the time that we are working together. These individuals (I dislike the term 'client') go on to lead, inspire, and influence others, thus creating a ripple effect from the work we have done together. It is immensely gratifying to see both the individual transformations as well as the downstream effects. I am energized by the 'lightbulb' moments that happen with individuals during our coaching sessions. It is these moments that fuel my passion for coaching.

What skills that you learned from the LPCC program have you found most useful in your professional life? Do you have any advice on how to cultivate those skills?

I took to heart the urging of our teachers in the first session of the LPCC program to "come with a beginner's mindset." This was no easy task for me, having trained and practiced with a 'physician mindset' for many years. The medical mindset of ‘problem, assessment, diagnosis, treatment’ was deeply ingrained in me, and I needed to consciously and deliberately work to genuinely accept the Coaching Mindset, which begins with seeing the client as creative, resourceful, and whole. The variety of skills and techniques covered in the program have been extremely useful, to include values clarification, inner voice/inner guide, reactive/creative, to name a few. I am very glad and appreciative that the program required us, as students/learners, to engage personally in the techniques and skills even as we were learning how to utilize these tools with individuals in our coaching practices.

My advice on cultivating new skills:

1. Be honest and self-aware of your learning gaps

2. Come with a growth mindset: be open to change (in yourself and your techniques)

3. Recognize that, when learning any new skill, one needs to practice, be self-critical, accept feedback, and view mistakes as opportunities for improvement

4. Strive to continuously improve your skills as a coach.

What are the current or upcoming challenges you're facing in the coaching field? How have you been meeting those challenges?

Many of the challenges that I have encountered have been in the area of the "business of coaching." As my practice grew, I began to have questions around contracting, marketing, social media visibility, billing, and other logistical issues in managing a coaching practice. I was delighted when Mike Hutchins and ACT offered a program called Accelerate Your Practice. This multi-session program has been very helpful in addressing all the essential questions that new coaches may have as they begin their coaching practices. I encourage you, if you have similar challenges, to take a look at this offering in the future. Thank you, Mike!

Do you have any special projects that you're working on? Could you share any details?

In addition to coaching, I also am actively involved in teaching and conducting workshops on a variety of topics related to leadership skills development. I continue to be invited to speak at medical schools and medical societies across the country. Presentations are both virtual and in-person, though I particularly enjoy being 'in the room' with participants. I am currently working with one organization to create a series of modules for their on-line Leadership Academy. This is the first on-line educational program that I have created, and I am grateful for the assistance of an instructional designer to make this course come alive!

Where do you hope your coaching journey will take you next? Or 5 years from now?

I have found the coaching journey to be incredibly interesting, intellectually stimulating, and most of all, deeply fulfilling. There are many parallels between coaching and practicing medicine (I was a primary care physician). The parallels include the drive to help others be/become the best version of themselves, developing meaningful relationships, and longitudinal follow-up. Over the next 5 years, I plan to continue my coaching practice as long as I feel that I am making a difference in the lives of those I am working with.

One of my values is lifelong learning. I am currently enrolled in the Massachusetts Medical Society physician leadership series, Leading with Impact. I enrolled in this program to further enhance my knowledge so that I could utilize this learning in my coaching relationships. I anticipate that I will continue to enroll in a variety of additional courses and/or certifications to expand and deepen my coaching skills.

How has ACT helped shape the path you've taken (or plan to take) in your coaching journey?

After I finished the LPCC course and became ICF certified, I completed the Next Level Coaching course with Michelle Goss and Jeanine Mancusi. This course was extremely helpful in bringing additional perspectives and techniques to my coaching repertoire.

In addition, I have been active in a variety of ACT Alumni programs, which I find to be stimulating and rewarding. I currently participate in the ACT Healthcare Coaching Community, volunteer pro bono coaching for LPCC participants, and attend various activities as available (webinars, book club discussions [really enjoyed the books ‘Golden,’ and ‘The Mountain is You’). I deeply appreciate the offerings that ACT sponsors to nurture a vibrant alumni community that is highly skilled and connected with each other and with the ACT faculty. Thank you!

Please share some of your recent accomplishments (since completing the LPCC program).

Once upon a time, when I was employed full-time in administrative leadership positions at several medical schools, I would have answered this question by citing various awards and recognitions that I was honored to receive for my work in leadership development, mentoring, and faculty affairs. Now, in my encore career of coaching/consulting/teaching, I consider my major accomplishments to be the progress, growth, and accomplishments of my clients. Before, I measured success in programs developed and number of attendees at conferences I organized; now my focus is on the individual, on 1:1 impact. Quite different from my role as a leader of an organization, but equally if not more rewarding, and in fact, much like a physician might consider their accomplishments to be revealed in their patients.

When I finished the LPCC program, I was not sure what direction my coaching practice would take, or whether and how my practice might grow. At the time, I was coaching a couple of individuals that I knew from my previous academic life. During the past 18 months since completing the LPCC program, I have developed a thriving coaching practice focused on mid-level and senior faculty (physicians and scientists) in academic medicine. Most of these individuals are leaders or emerging leaders in their fields or transitioning into a new leadership position. Many have been referred to me from other clients and/or colleagues in academic medicine. I feel confident that this new venture, my encore career in coaching, is well on its way to success.

Luanne Thorndyke on Linked In.

About ACT

A Leadership and Performance Coaching company focused on developing exceptional leaders, helping leaders become Aware of their impact so they can make better Choices leading to Transformative results.

Our commitment to transformative learning, innovation and diverse thinking, and making an impact in the world is at the core of what we do. We are a family-owned, service-driven company who partners with the Brown University School of Professional Studies, organizations and government agencies to deliver our life changing programs.

ACT, in partnership with Brown University School of Professional Studies, an international leader in executive education, is excited to offer ACT’s ICF accredited Leadership and Performance Coaching Certification Program. ACT shares Brown University’s mission to develop reflective leaders, to effect change in the world, and to improve human welfare. https://actleader.com/

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