Hi, I’m Megan.

I help executives, co-founders, and leadership teams navigate uncertainty, change, and conflict with clarity and confidence.

Profile photo of Megan Karsh

About Me

I've spent twenty years helping leaders navigate the situations where there's no playbook, first leading organizations in conflict-affected areas like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Cambodia, and now coaching executives and senior leaders through complexity, change, and conflict across sectors.

I work as an executive coach, organizational consultant, and leadership development program designer. My clients have included senior leaders at Apple, the UN, GoFundMe, CDC, and Netflix, and I continue to design and facilitate programs for the UN's Women Leadership for Peace Program and teach leadership and negotiation in UN Masters Degree programs.

I hold a JD from Stanford Law School, where I later directed the Rule of Law Program and taught negotiation and interpersonal influence to MBAs and JDs. I am a certified mediator and Fulbright Specialist in organizational development and experiential learning.

My Services

Executive Coaching

I help senior leaders develop the mindsets and skills needed to navigate change, increase their influence, become systems thinkers, make aligned decisions, prevent or address burnout, and fully realize their potential.

Coaching & Mediation for Partners and Leadership Teams

I help co-founders, partners, and leadership teams get aligned, clarify roles, improve communication, and manage conflict constructively. I also provide mediation for active disputes requiring expert support.

Organizational Advising & Facilitation

I help executive leadership and HR teams strategize their toughest people and culture challenges and develop and facilitate live and digital trainings and off-sites.

My Approach

What My Clients Say

  • "Megan is brilliant enough to quickly understand the complex and unique challenges of our team and diagnose underlying dynamics so we spent our time finding answers and solving problems rather than figuring out the situation."

    Alex, Chief Strategy Officer

  • “Megan brings immense insight, wisdom, intelligence, and empathy. She creates clarity in difficult, nebulous situations and is a fantastic partner in problem solving. She has a deep well of knowledge and resources that can help transform your thinking and make you a better person and leader.”

    Chief People Officer at Series E Startup

  • "I was really blown away by our training program. It was so densely informative. Megan knows her stuff inside and out but delivers it in a way that is accessible and super practical. Not only is Megan an incredible facilitator, she is also brilliant at building community among participants."

    Nidhi, Senior Manager at Google

  • “After over a year of working with Megan, it was absolutely mind-blowing to see how far I came as a leader, reaching my goals and taking my abilities to a next level. I received so much feedback from key people in my professional and personal life about the impact they were seeing from our work. Most importantly, my belief in myself is now at an all-time high. You will be so grateful to work with Megan if presented with the opportunity!”

    Jake Krupski, COO & Co-Founder, Maestro

  • "Megan has truly changed my work life. She is unique among coaches as a result of her extensive background in negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution work. As a result of working with Megan, I am a happier, more confident and effective leader."

    Alexa, Executive Director, MacArthur Justice Center

  • "Megan's training program on navigating conflict is the most worthwhile I've done because the skills you work on are so applicable to both personal and professional interactions. I was able to immediately apply what I learned after each session and see the positive impact on my relationships and goals. A couple people, including my significant other and a colleague, even commented on how much better I was handling conflict and tension."

    Manager at Google

Who I’ve Worked With

United Nations emblem
GoFundMe logo
Center for Disease Control logo
Marshall+Sterling logo
Stanford University logo
Wellesley University logo
Linktree logo
Microverse logo
Google logo
YouTube logo
University of California Los Angeles logo
Fiddler logo
Notion logo
The Albright Institute logo
Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center logo
UN Women logo

FAQs

Megan Karsh facilitating an experiential leadership development program for the United Nations in 2022
  • We'll start with a free consultation. We'll get to know each other, talk about what you're looking for, and see if it makes sense to work together.

  • It depends on the service and your goals. Generally:

    Individual coaching engagements typically run three to nine months or a year, with sessions twice per month.

    Co-founder, partner, and team coaching usually involves three to nine months of intensive work, followed by another three to six months of lighter-touch support. Once we get the partnership to a productive place, I'm often asked to expand the work to the larger team or broader organizational development.

    Organizational advising depends on the complexity of the situation and the degree of transformation you're seeking. Engagements typically last six months to a year or two.

    Programs, off-sites, and retreats vary based on the scope and preparation required.

  • I work with senior leaders across industries who are navigating complexity at work and in life, leading through change, dealing with high-stakes organizational challenges or conflict, and/or concerned about burnout.

    My best-suited clients genuinely care about people and are committed to leading with integrity. They're often high achievers who want to stay aligned with their values even when the pressure is intense and have a tendency to be hard on themselves. What makes our work together powerful is their openness to examining their assumptions and beliefs, exploring new perspectives and approaches, and taking incremental steps to transform their lives.

    Many of my clients are women in leadership roles who want support finding an authentic leadership style and navigating gendered expectations and dynamics in the workplace. That said, I work with leaders of all genders and backgrounds who are principled, thoughtful, and committed to personal and professional growth.

  • I work primarily with values-driven small to medium companies, startups, and nonprofits across sectors like professional services, social impact, tech, and international development. I’ve worked with Fortune 100s and large enterprise organizations, but find that I can be the greatest help where decisions about leadership, culture, and learning & development are still largely centralized.

    What I do for organizations varies based on need, and includes:

    • Co-developing and facilitating leadership summits and off-sites

    • Reviewing, advising on, and providing training solutions

    • Coaching and facilitating dialogue with leadership teams or Boards struggling with conflict and decision-making

  • Most coaching sessions are 75 minutes and can be held virtually or in-person, depending on your location and preference.

    For individual coaching, we typically meet twice per month.

    For co-founder, partner, and team coaching, we meet more frequently during the initial intensive phase, and then once or twice per month.

    Between sessions, you'll have time to reflect, practice new approaches, and apply what we've discussed to real situations.

  • That's completely normal. During our free consultation, we'll talk through what you're dealing with and I'll help you figure out what makes the most sense. Sometimes what you think you need evolves as we talk, and that's fine. The goal is to find the right approach for your situation.

Ready to get started?

Schedule a free initial consultation to discuss how I can support you.

Have questions?

I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch!