O’Neill has coached a range of leaders, from CEOs to senior vice presidents, vice presidents, and directors. She works with executives and their teams as well as one-to-one with leaders. Her specialty is live team coaching, encouraging individual initiative and leadership from a systemic perspective. The outcome of team coaching is the creation of clearly defined stretch goals and business results that are achieved through the executive’s and leadership team’s development. Some of her clients have included Premera Blue Cross, Nike, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, REI, Simon Fraser Health Region, Catalyst Paper, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Harborstone Credit Union, and TransAlta Utilities Corporation.

The Executive Coach Training Seminar Series in Seattle, Washington, is sponsored by the Leadership Institute of Seattle/ Bastyr University. As lead trainer for two of the three seminars, O’Neill uses the approach and methodology from this book, particularly in how to create a synergy between the client’s leadership development and the production of bottom-line business results. The three seminars specifically cover the skills required to use the book’s four phases of executive coaching (registration is online at www.mboExecutiveCoaching.com).

For eleven years O’Neill was a graduate faculty member in the master’s program at the Leadership Institute of Seattle/Bastyr University, which offers degrees with an emphasis in organization consultation and coaching, or systems counseling. She taught courses in executive coaching, managing organizational change, change agent and consulting skills, action research, creating business goals and measures, and systemic intervening in organizations. She continues to teach the executive coaching class in the master’s program.

Previously she was the director of training and development at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers. She received the 1988 President’s Award for her contributions to productivity and quality at the Sheraton.

O’Neill has a master’s degree from Whitworth College in applied behavioral science, with an emphasis in organizational development. She also holds a master’s degree in theology from Vanderbilt University.

She has been the cochair of Human Systems Development Professionals, an association of organizational development practitioners in the northwestern United States and Canada. She is a member of the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations as well as the Organization Development Network.