My Story
I started working when I was 8 years old in my father’s drugstore, on the gritty west side of Cleveland. As a stockboy starting out at 50 cents an hour, I loved working in that store with a cast of colorful characters as well as the diverse customers who came into the store each day. It was in my father’s drugstore that I first learned the value of a solid work ethic, connecting with others, and the importance of cultivating strong relationships.
As I got older, I felt some internal pressure to follow in my father’s footsteps. However, one of the gifts my parents gave to me was the Gift of Choice. They never pressured me to take over the business. When it was time for me to go to college, I chose to major in psychology and minor in business with the goal to impact people’s lives in a positive way.
My sophomore year of college was a low point for me. I was in a Philosophy 101 class in a huge lecture hall filled with 200 students. I came home from class one day incredibly frustrated because I hadn’t been able to hear the professor very well. My notes were filled with holes of missing information.
You see, I was born with a significant hearing loss growing up (40% in each ear). I had a hearing aid yet rarely wore it because I didn’t want to look different and stand out. I wanted to fit in with everyone. In an effort to convince me of the merits of wearing hearing aids, I remember my audiologist telling me that wearing hearing aids would actually help me fit in more because I’d be able to better hear and fully participate in conversations around me. However, I resisted and wouldn’t listen to him.
Meanwhile, I knew that I wanted to teach others someday. The day I came home from that Philosophy 101 class was a turning point in my life. I realized that I had chosen to struggle and suffer all those years by not wearing hearing aids. I had also volunteered to be a victim! Ironically, I had resources available to improve my quality of life all along, yet I dismissed them. At this point, the pain and frustration of not being able to hear well overwhelmed my well-entrenched sense of vanity and fear of standing out. I mustered up some courage and the $4000 I needed to purchase a couple of hearing aids. I committed to wearing them each day…no matter what. It was the BEST decision I made in my life. No longer did I needlessly need to suffer and be a victim of my own limiting beliefs.
One of my fondest memories - playing in my backyard sandbox with neighborhood friends in Cleveland when I was 6 years old.
I’d be lying if I told you things were easy for me from that point on. There were many ups and downs over the ensuing years. When I was offered an assistant teaching opportunity during graduate school, I was plagued by fear and self-doubt. What if I couldn’t hear questions students were asking me in class? What if I couldn’t hear their answers to my questions? In the end, I took charge and identified different strategies to overcome the challenges I encountered along the way.
Today, I have succeeded well beyond my wildest dreams I had envisioned while growing up. I’ve become a coach, trainer, teacher, speaker, author, and a proud Dad!
What I have in common with the clients I see is that we all have blind spots and limiting beliefs that hold us back from realizing our true potential. We can be our own worst enemies when we look to others to bail us out or blame for our misfortunes.
I endeavor to help you achieve your career dreams and goals. My aim is to offer you a solid system of support that you can count on and continually explore options for moving forward as your best self. At the end of the day, my individual and organizational clients walk away with increased clarity about themselves, confidence about their direction, and feel empowered to more effectively manage their careers and effect positive change within organizations.
I look forward to connecting with you!
Sincerely,
Mike Gellman,
Founder & Coach
High Five Career Coaching
My son Jonas and I on a recent awe-inspiring trip, hiking through Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks.
My Philosophy
My experience in business started from the time I began working in my father’s drugstore since I was eight years old. The core principles of my approach to business is to understand customer needs, play fair, be transparent, pay attention to quality, customize solutions, own up to mistakes, collaborate, utilize a holistic systems approach, incorporate sustainable practices, and facilitate client self-sufficiency.
My approach to teaching students is facilitative and incorporates adult learning principles, fosters a high degree of peer interaction and seeks to tap into the “wisdom in the room.” I am fascinated by the diverse experiences, thought process, and opinions that students contribute in class. It’s truly enriching and could not have been achieved through a traditional lecturing approach. This interactive and engaging approach has been one of my core tenets over the years and has informed the approach I’ve utilized in the corporate training arena.
My approach to training employees over the years is built upon my initial teaching experience as well as newer understandings of how adults learn and apply what they learn after they leave the classroom (or virtual classroom) and are back on the job. I believe that learning is a process rather than an “event.” Most learning actually occurs outside the classroom – i.e. it begins before employees enter the classroom and continues after they leave and return to work.
To this end, a key approach I’ve adopted to maximize learning is that I typically provide pre-work in advance of the class to prime and prepare students for what they are about to learn as well as post-class assignments in order to increase the probability that learning will transfer successfully with the application of new knowledge, habits, and skills. During the class, I utilize a mix of lecture, personal stories and examples to illustrate concepts, small and large group discussions and exercises, videos, student teach-backs and report-outs, and debriefs to facilitate understanding on a meta-learning level.
Using my humanics and business background, I use a holistic approach to coaching that incorporates “mind, body, and spirit” principles. Practically speaking, this takes the form of “teach to fish” approach and facilitates a process of client self-discovery and commitment to action. While I possess career development expertise and offer my insights as necessary, I believe true power and wisdom resides within each of my clients.
As a professional coach, I see my duty as being fully present in order to embrace each client's unique nature, actively listen and build trust, ask powerful questions, and challenge assumptions. I also help clients to define success, plan, set goals, and support them in holding themselves accountable to their commitments.
In graduate school, I was introduced to many thought leaders in the field of business and psychology. Three individuals in particular, Edgar Schein (author of Process Consultation), Peter Block (author of Flawless Consulting), and Roger Schwartz (author of The Skilled Facilitator) most influenced my consulting and facilitation style that has remained a guiding force over the years.
The essence of their approaches to consulting is that the greatest value one can provide is to understand the client’s underlying needs vs. presenting needs, focus on process vs. content, enable the client to own the problem vs. the consultant taking it on, and a key use oneself as a tool for change by reflecting back what he observes via candid feedback. In fact, most of the leaders I’ve consulted with over the years have indicated that they truly value being able to get honest feedback about their blind spots.
My newest endeavor has been conducting public speaking. Inspirational, funny, warm, personable, relatable, and helpful are some common phrases audiences have used to describe some of my keynote presentations, radio interviews, and live streaming broadcasts. It’s important to me to relay messages that are relevant to my audience, insightful, interactive, and actionable.
