About MMS

Shoshin combines the depth and legacy of the MMS transformational coaching philosophy with extensive, current experience inside complex organizations.

We bring coaching out of theory and into the realities leaders and coaches face every day: competing priorities, cultural differences, organizational change, difficult conversations, interpersonal conflict, ambiguity, resistance, and the human impact of business decisions.

Our distinction is not based on a single tool or methodology. It is found in how we integrate:

• The 50-year legacy and transformational philosophy of MMS
• ICF-aligned professional coaching standards
• Executive and organizational leadership experience
• Emotional intelligence and neuroscience-informed practices
• Change management and behavior-change expertise
• Adult learning and curriculum-design principles
• Cultural humility and global perspective
• Strengths-based development
• Personal transformation and reflective practice
• A beginner’s mindset grounded in curiosity and possibility

We meet students where they are while holding a high standard for who they are capable of becoming.

We teach the MMS transformational coaching philosophy and the ICF Core Competencies through an experiential, human-centered, and culturally responsive approach.

At the heart of our teaching is the MMS principle:

Ask. Listen. Empower.

We teach students how to:

• Adopt a curious, open, flexible, and client-centered coaching mindset
• Listen beyond words for values, beliefs, emotions, patterns, and possibilities
• Ask questions that evoke awareness rather than direct the client
• Establish clear coaching agreements
• Create emotional safety, trust, and genuine partnership
• Remain fully present without rushing to solve, advise, or judge
• Recognize the distinction between coaching, consulting, mentoring, and therapy
• Navigate ethical considerations and professional boundaries
• Coach people through change, uncertainty, transition, and complexity
• Convert awareness into aligned action and accountability
• Honor cultural identity, individual experience, and different ways of knowing
• Build a coaching practice grounded in integrity and service

Most importantly, we teach students that coaching is not simply something a person does. It is a way of being with another human being.

We do this work because we have witnessed what becomes possible when people feel fully seen, heard, valued, and supported.

Too many talented people have learned to doubt themselves, silence their inner wisdom, or measure their lives by expectations that do not reflect who they truly are. Coaching creates a space where people can reconnect with what matters, examine the beliefs influencing their choices, and author a more authentic path forward.

We believe that developing one thoughtful, ethical, and courageous coach creates a ripple effect. That coach goes on to influence clients, families, teams, organizations, and communities.

We teach coaching because the world needs leaders who can listen before reacting, remain curious in the presence of difference, create safety during uncertainty, and help others recognize their own capacity. For us, coaching is both a profession and a contribution to a more conscious, compassionate, and connected world.

Our individual strengths are complementary, and students benefit from experiencing more than one expression of excellent coaching and leadership.

Dr. Brenda Thompson-El, MCC brings nearly two decades of coaching experience, more than 2,500 coaching hours, and leadership experience spanning higher education, healthcare, telecommunications, entertainment, human resources, talent management, diversity and inclusion, employee relations, and organizational development.

She brings strategic insight, warmth, positive energy, intellectual depth, and a gift for getting to the essence of what matters. Dr. Brenda understands the personal and organizational realities faced by executives and emerging leaders. She helps students connect coaching competencies to complex leadership situations while challenging them to recognize their potential and raise their standard of excellence.

Kiyomi Griess, MEd brings more than 15 years of experience in executive coaching, leadership development, talent strategy, behavior-change facilitation, curriculum design, educational technology, and virtual learning.

She brings cultural sensitivity, clarity of purpose, inclusion, technological fluency, and an exceptional ability to design learning experiences that engage people across different backgrounds and learning styles. Kiyomi helps students turn complex concepts into practical behaviors while creating a learning environment characterized by abundance, possibility, and belonging.

Together, we model the partnership we ask students to create with their clients. We demonstrate that people can lead differently, bring distinct strengths, and still build something coherent, trusting, and powerful.

Students choose us because we combine credibility with accessibility, high standards with genuine care, and structure with room for discovery.

We do not teach from a pedestal. We teach in partnership with our students.

We are willing to share our experiences, acknowledge our own learning, and model the vulnerability and reflective practice required of an effective coach. Students experience us as prepared, candid, encouraging, culturally aware, and invested in their growth.

We notice the individual behind the performance. We recognize when a student needs challenge, when they need reassurance, and when they need space to discover the answer for themselves.

Our students do not get lost in the classroom. They are seen, known, supported, and expected to participate fully in their own development.

Accreditation establishes an essential professional standard. What distinguishes a learning experience, however, is the quality of the transformation that occurs within it.

Our students learn ICF coaching competencies while also developing the self-awareness and personal discipline required to embody those competencies authentically.

We do not produce coaches who merely know what questions to ask. We develop coaches who understand:

• Who they are when they enter the coaching relationship
• How their experiences and assumptions influence what they hear
• When ego or expertise may be taking over
• How to remain grounded in uncertainty
• How to build trust across cultural and personal differences
• How to help clients discover their own answers
• How to continue learning long after certification

Our differentiator is the integration of coaching mastery, leadership experience, cultural responsiveness, personal transformation, and beginner’s mind.

Students leave with more than a certificate. They leave with a deeper relationship with themselves and a new way of being with others.

We want students to experience leadership that is courageous, compassionate, inclusive, accountable, and grounded in service.

Through our leadership, we want students to learn that:

• You can be confident without pretending to know everything.
• You can hold high expectations while honoring each person’s humanity.
• Curiosity is a leadership strength.
• Listening is an act of respect.
• Vulnerability and credibility can coexist.
• Difference can become a source of learning rather than division.
• Feedback can be both direct and caring.
• Leadership is not about having power over people; it is about helping people access their own power.
• Excellence is not perfection. It is a commitment to awareness, practice, integrity, and continuous growth.

We want students to leave our classroom trusting themselves more deeply—not because we gave them all the answers, but because they learned how to listen, discover, practice, and grow.

We bring our full selves to the learning experience: our professional expertise, lived experiences, cultural perspectives, curiosity, humor, warmth, candor, and belief in human potential.

We bring the ability to see both the person and the system surrounding the person. We understand that individual transformation does not happen in isolation; people are influenced by organizational cultures, relationships, identities, expectations, and lived realities.

We also bring community. Students become part of an environment in which they can practice courageously, make mistakes safely, receive meaningful feedback, celebrate their growth, and develop relationships that continue beyond the formal training.

Our promise is not that students will leave knowing everything. Our promise is that they will leave better equipped to remain curious, to trust the coaching process, to honor the wisdom of their clients, and to continue developing throughout their careers.

What you need is already inside of you.

Our responsibility as coaches, trainers, and leaders is to help create the safety, permission, curiosity, and partnership that allow that inner knowing to emerge.

That is the essence of Shoshin.
That is the heart of the MMS coaching philosophy.
And that is the experience we strive to create for every student.