What people are saying.

  • A Lifeline in Challenging Times

    By Dr. Anatalia Labilloy, MD, PhD

    I had the privilege of working with James Castleberry during a particularly challenging period in my professional life. As a physician scientist that had to juggle patient care, research and academic responsibilities, then later transitioning from the academic medicine to the research side of the pharmaceutical industry, I faced numerous obstacles and uncertainties. James was instrumental in guiding me through this transition with unparalleled expertise and empathy.

    From our very first session, and while with no direct medical or scientific background, James demonstrated a profound understanding of the complexities inherent in my field. He provided me with tailored strategies to navigate the demanding work environment I was in, offering practical tools and actionable advice that made a tangible difference. His approach is both systematic and personalized, ensuring that each session is aligned with my specific needs and goals.

    What sets James apart is his ability to blend professional acumen with genuine care and support. He not only equipped me with the resilience needed at the time in my academic job and also with the necessary skills to excel in my new role, bolstering my confidence and resilience. His insights into leadership, emotional intelligence, strategic planning, and effective communication were particularly valuable, allowing me to seamlessly integrate into my new position and make meaningful contributions from the outset.

    Jamesā€™s coaching has been a transformative experience for me. His guidance has not only facilitated my career transition but has also enhanced my overall professional development. I wholeheartedly recommend James Castleberry to anyone seeking a coach who can deliver exceptional results and provide unwavering support through every step of their professional journey.

    Thank you, James, for being a beacon of guidance and support during a pivotal time in my career.

  • World-class

    By Nicole Hamm, Director, Blue Zones Project - Jacksonville

    Thank you so much for your leadership and guidance today. Because of you, our team is better equipped to understand our strengths and opportunities for improvement in management, leadership, and emotional intelligence. 

    From our first conversation about the support that our leadership team could benefit from to today, you have been world-class, as my good friend Marlo Zarka would say.

    Thank you for sharing your skills and expertise with us. We are inspired and looking forward to continuing on this journey. 

  • exceptional service and unwavering dedication to client success

    By Ms Cindy Palmer, Director of Finance and Administrtion

    From the initial consultation, it was clear that James is deeply committed to understanding the individual needs of his clients. He took the time to thoroughly assess my strengths and areas for improvement, crafting a personalized development plan that was both comprehensive and actionable.

    One of the standout aspects of his services is his innovative approach to leadership growth. His strategies are not only based on proven methodologies but also infused with fresh, cutting-edge insights that have helped me navigate complex leadership challenges with confidence and agility. The practical tools and techniques he has provided have been instrumental in enhancing my decision-making skills, strategic thinking, and overall leadership effectiveness.

    One of the strategies that I found both intriguing and effective was his EQ-i services. Through his expert guidance, I have developed a deeper awareness and learned how to manage emotions more effectively in both personal and professional settings. It also helped me to better understand my emotions and how they are affected situations outside of my control so that I can work out a more effective approach. This has not only improved my relationships for a more harmonious and productive work environment, but has also enhanced my personal relationships.

    James is exceptionally knowledgeable, supportive, and genuinely invested in his clients' success. His ability to deliver profound insights with empathy and clarity sets him apart from many other coaching and consulting services.

    I highly recommend James' services to anyone seeking to enhance their leadership capabilities and emotional intelligence. His unique and effective advice and services have made a tangible difference in my life, and I am confident it will lead to growth in both personal and professional environments for others as well.

    Thank you James, for your exceptional service and unwavering dedication to client success!

  • I highly recommend working with James!

    By Lindsay Schaack Rothstein, PharmD, DABAT

    I worked with James for about 2 years while in a leadership position. I started working with him during a time when I felt a lot of burnout in my position. He helped me fine tune and hone in on my emotional intelligence which allowed me to better my leadership skills. He also helped me recognize my stressors and we worked together on how to handle this in the workplace. He is very knowledgeable, open-minded, and optimistic. I highly recommend working with James!

  • The Most Memorable Experience in my Personal Development

    By Dr. Smruti Kinariwala, MD

    I was an assistant professor at the University of Florida when I came across STEP Leadership Development Program that was lead by Mr. James Castleberry. He had impressed me with his exceptional ability to coach our cohort of 30 professionals of University of Florida in the various roles working at different departments. He coached us by didactic lectures, short assignments, in class activities and in class presentations to develop different aspects of leadership to be successful leader while addressing personal development. This was timely for many of us as we were coming out of COVID pandemic, fighting burnout, developing self awareness and improve leadership skills.

    I believed that I was working as a physician for almost 30 years and I can not be coached or improve in my ability to be an effective communicator, presenter or a great leader. Mr. Castleberry worked with me individually every 2 wks for almost 6 months. During this period, I was impressed by his ability to coach, his cultural sensitivity and wisdom to point out several ways I can improve. This was the most memorable experience I have in my personal development. As a part of this leadership training, he also offered coaching individually.

    Every session was led by me and we talked what I wanted to discuss that session. What are my strengths and weakness in dealing the issue, what I want to improve on and they ended with ā€œrecap what we discussed that session and what I am going to implement over up coming weeks.ā€ At the next session I will talk what my personal evaluation to reach my goals.

    When we ended the coaching, I was able to see my growth in many aspects of my personal and professional life. I became an effective communicator talking to my superior and team members. I am able to evaluate the situations and take the actions to mitigate to get effective results. I will strongly recommend Castelberryā€™s Coaching to anyone who is looking for personal or group coaching.

Testimonials continuedā€¦

Stuck

Coaching has been most helpful by getting me ā€œunstuckā€. Iā€™ve been able to work through frustrations and roadblocks by using tools suggested by my coach. Even when I didnā€™t know what goals I wanted to achieve, having someone to talk through things has made a world of difference for me personally and professionally.

Self-Awareness

Coaching has helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses and helped me to utilize this information to work on my triggers. Coaching has helped me both on professional and personal aspect of my life. I learnt the importance of emotional intelligence. It has helped me improve my understanding of emotional intelligence for myself and individuals around me. I have improved upon my communication skills. I feel more confident about managing conflict and challenging situations, and being a communicator as a leader. I have been able to get individualized guidance on matters related to conflict and communication. It has helped me understand my strength and weakness, both as an individual and a leader. Also, I have learnt the strategies that I can utilize to help my weakness. I have been able to focus on mindfulness, work life balance and job satisfaction. Overall, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be able to work with my coach, as it has opened up an arena of boundless opportunities where I can further enhance my career goals.

Skeptical

Ever find your career playing like the Groundhog Day Movie? Where you are clocking in every day and justgoing through the motion? And you ask yourself, ā€œDoes this even make sense?ā€

Well, thatā€™s happened to me, after being in the medical field for 30 years and working the same profession for so long. Itā€™s almost as if I could take a nap while Iā€™m doing my job. Work has been busy and family life has not stopped a beat and slowlyā€¦ Iā€™ve been burning out. Then COVID19 happened and that was just the straw that broke the camelā€™s back. There were other issues besides, like a BIG misunderstanding at work. And if youā€™ve been there, then you know what Iā€™m talking aboutā€¦all of a sudden, you are questioning your sense of self, your identity, your knowledge, your core beliefs and yesā€¦you feel lostā€¦at seaā€¦discouraged.

Your supervisor just happens to know what you need and got you to sign up for coaching. At first, I asked myself, ā€œAt my age, what would coaching do for me? How can this help me? How much time will this take from my work schedule?ā€

Suffice to say, that coaching brought me back. It was a time to rediscover myself, my strengths and to work on my deficiencies. It gave me ways to recapture the happiness that I experienced when I did my work, when I exercised, when I sang. There is a new spring to my step and energy to think and be creative. There is a renewed purpose in all the things I do. Coaching gave me pause to stop and be grateful and to see life not thru rose colored glasses but with more clarity. That somehow after the storm, after the clouds break, the sun will once more shine again and life is goodā€¦ life will be good.

The question isā€¦ā€Are you ready to be coached?ā€ā€

Goal Setting

Coaching has helped me in looking at my goals positively, in knowing that I am not alone in this, being able to discuss my ideas and goals in a judgment free zone, getting feedback and encouragement and at the same time very practical ideas on approaching my goals, not getting overwhelmed with goals, working on time management and knowing that this is an investment in self. There is accountability and that keeps me on track. Goal setting and prioritization along with setting timelines for achieving those goals creates a sense of purpose and healthy urgency in decreasing waste and optimizing time utilization. Each session leaves me happy, feeling positive and inspired.

Communication

Coaching has helped me build on my communication skills, executive presence, and taught me how to emotionally unhook from trying work situations. Having a weekly session helps me practice new skills and then ask for feedback in real time.

Work-LIfe Balance

Coaching, and specifically James, has taught me how to detach personally from work so I am able to have a healthy work/life balance. I was too emotionally involved when it came to work life and he has taught me how to appropriately detach. He has taught me that I do not have to burn myself out to ensure work is taken care of. I can trust in my team and my peers to do their part and let go of the control I may feel I need to have. This has crossed over to my personal life and has greatly helped me with communication with my in-laws.

Goal Setting

I found my coaching experience to be rewarding because I was able to establish a basic foundation of what all my personal and professional goals should focus on. This helped me also realize that some of my current professional goals were compartmentalized and fit into someone elseā€™s idea of progression, not mine. With the information I gained during my coaching sessions, I was able to narrow aspects that were most important to me, and realigned my goals. And I have to say, 6 months in I WAS ON FI-RE!!! Everything just seemed to fall intoplace. Now Iā€™m just pushing on to the next items on my list.

Goal Setting

Coaching has helped me personally to push myself beyond what I expected. I developed more accountability skills and increased my capability of recognizing barriers to goals. In recognizing these barriers, I have been able to find realistic expectations and tasks to forge through those barriers into success. Professionally coaching has helped me to recognize I own my ownbehaviors. Additionally, I am able to have those difficult conversations while controlling how I respond in those situations.