• Skip to content

Successful Generations Coaching

  • About
  • Services
    • Peer Groups
    • The Confident Family Business Leader MasterMind
    • SG Coaching
    • Speaking
  • Work With Me
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

Episode 040: My Journey to Coaching with Ellie Frey Zagel

August 22, 2018

The newest pillar of service offered by Successful Generations is Executive Coaching. In this week’s episode, Ellie talks about the journey that led her to become a certified coach. She candidly shares issues she’s encountered as the next generation of her family’s business, and describes how her experiences have been validated by friends and peers from the family business world who are working to fill the shoes of the leaders who came before them, while simultaneously figuring out how to be their own person. As Ellie said, “We often feel like our goals and vision are set out for us by family or the family business. It can sometimes feel like your living someone else’s life.” 

Through coaching, Ellie aims to help rising generation leaders set their own path for success. What’s your vision for your life? What are your goals? Are you the one standing in your own way of achieving them? How can you change this? The model Ellie uses in coaching helps you identify the roadblocks between you and your  goals, and takes you through a process to retrain your brain to help you get what you want.

Here’s a testimonial from one of Ellie’s recent coaching clients:

“Ellie had this natural ability to easily draw me into conversation, parse out the opportunities to work on and then start coaching based on those opportunities. I found that being able to recognize and then interrupt my well-worn thought patterns with new thoughts required significant effort, but Ellie led me through a new mental model, walked beside me with encouragement, and is helping me become a confident and formidable force within my company.” —Ryan, Michigan

If you’re a high achieving executive or community leader who’s ready to reclaim your life and achieve big audacious goals, check out SG Executive Coaching and sign up for a free 30-minute session to see if coaching is right for you.

Notable & Quotable:

Many of us in the rising generation feel the need to be perfect; to be a chip off the old block. This pressure can lead to stress, overwhelm, burnout, poor work-life balance, and even panic attacks and other health issues. —Ellie Frey Zagel #successfulgenerations #SGexecutivecoaching


I’m excited to be growing into the person that I was meant to be. It can be a little messy and painful, but any good leadership development program is, especially when you are getting to the core of who you are. It’s awesome! —Ellie Frey Zagel #successfulgenerations #SGexecutivecoaching


Being my own person has made me more effective at the boardroom table.  —Ellie Frey Zagel #successfulgenerations #SGexecutivecoaching


We often feel like our goals and vision are set out for us by our family or the family business. It can sometimes feel like your living someone else’s life. —Ellie Frey Zagel #successfulgenerations #SGexecutivecoaching


Resources mentioned in this episode:

SG Episode 003: Leadership, Wellness, and Concierge Medicine with Dr. Bill Baer

SG Episode 009: Stress Management and Holistic Health with Cynthia Damaskos

SG Episode 016: Power20—Reframing Limiting Beliefs

SG Episode 023: Leadership Development and Agility with Greg McCann

SG Episode 030: Holisitic Weight Management with Cynthia Damaskos

SG Episode 033: Trapped in the Family Business with Dr. Michael Klein, part 1

SG Episode 034: Trapped in the Family Business with Dr. Michael Klein, part 2

SG Episode 037: Making Your Mark on the Family Business with Cara Mackay, 2nd Generation

Brooke Castillo – The Life Coach School

Family Business Consulting Group

Family Office Exchange

 

Right-click and “Save As” to download this episode to your computer.

Subscribe Now!Successful Generations

Don’t risk missing out on any of the fun that is to come.

www.successfulgenerations.com/itunes
www.successfulgenerations.com/stitcher
www.successfulgenerations.com/googleplay

Want more of Successful Generations? Check out our other episodes: 

Episode 039: Selecting the Right Trustee with Attorney Mark Harder
Episode 038: Standing Up in a Male-Dominated Industry with René Banglesdorf
Replay: Answering the Question I’m Always Asked About Philanthropy
Replay: How My Parents Raised Us to Be Business Smart with Paige Cornetet
Episode 037: Making Your Mark on the Family Business with Cara Mackay
Episode 036: Financial Literacy, Leadership and Entrepreneurship for Teens with Whitney Webb
Bonus Episode: Power20—My Reflect and Connect Challenge
Episode 035: Great Governance for Your Investment Committee with Becky Wood
Episode 034: Trapped in the Family Business with Dr. Michael Klein, Part 2
Episode 033: Trapped in the Family Business with Dr. Michael Klein, Part 1
Episode 032: Spendthrift or Tightwad with Dr. Scott Rick
Episode 031: Impact Investing with Jennifer Oertel
Episode 030: Holistic Weight Management with Cynthia Damaskos
Episode 029: Giving Back Through Giving Circles with Dr. Jason Franklin
Episode 028: The Family Business Podcast with Russ Haworth
Episode 027: The Power of Mindset with Dr. Nancy Jonker
Episode 026: Reflections from Four Decades in Philanthropy with Rob Collier
Episode 025: Power20—10 Ways to Set Your NextGen Up for Success in the Family Enterprise
Episode 024: Pump it Up! Strength Training and Leadership Development
Episode 023: Leadership Development and Agility with Greg McCann
Episode 022: Getting Started in Philanthropy with Colleen Mitchell
Episode 021: Taking Over the Family Business with Mitchell Kaneff
Episode 020: Women and Wealth w/ Adrienne Penta
Episode 019: The Allyn Family 2.0, Part 2
Episode 018: The Welch Allyn Family Business Story with Eric Allyn (4th Gen), Part 1
Episode 017: Achieving Your Goals through MasterMind and Peer Groups
Episode 016: Reframing Limiting Beliefs with Ellie Frey Zagel
Episode 015: Beyond the Piggy Bank with Father, Author, and Entrepreneur Clint Greenleaf
Episode 014: More Awareness and Less Stress through Yoga
Episode 013: Raising Children to be Amazing Business Owners with Paige Cornetet
Episode 012: Generous Genes with Susan Crites Price
Episode 011: Digging into the Family Business Landscape with Daniel Van Der Vliet
Episode 010: 10 Things My Family Did to Engage us in Family Philanthropy
Episode 009: Stress Management and Holistic Health with Cynthia Damaskos
Episode 008: Family, Fights and Ferry Tales with Chris Shepler
Episode 007: Raising Financially Responsible Kids Through the Holidays (and Beyond)
Episode 006: Join the Philanthropic Revolution with Michael Moody
Episode 005: Estate Planning 101 aka Estate Planning is Not Optional with Susan Gell Meyers 
Episode 004: Ginny Esposito – Engaging your Family in Family Philanthropy
Episode 003: Leadership, Wellness, and Concierge Medicine with Dr. Bill Baer
Episode 002: Douglas D Box, Texas Patriarch – A Legacy Lost
Episode 001: About Your Host Ellie Frey Zagel

Learn more about Successful Generations:

FB: @SuccessfulGenerations
Twitter: @EllieFreyZagel
Email: ellie@successfulgenerations.com
Instagram: SuccessfulGenerations


Have a topic suggestion?

If you are the next generation of family business, philanthropy and wealth, and have a topic you think we should discuss, let us know at Ellie@successfulgenerations.com.

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on google
Google
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Back to Blog

Leadership Development

Ellie Frey Zagel

Ellie Frey Zagel is 3rd Generation, Vice Chair and Trustee of her family’s foundation the Frey Foundation based in Grand Rapids, MI. For nearly a decade she has been deeply involved in working with the next generation of family business, family philanthropy, and family wealth, first as Director of the Family Business Alliance and now as President of Successful Generations, a company she recently founded.

Copyright © 2025 Successful Generations