Laura Belsten has coached executives, managers and professionals since 1990, and has over 20 years experience in leadership and executive development, facilitation, change management, organizational and interpersonal communication, conflict management, and building high-performance teams. She is experienced in coaching executives and leaders from mid- to top-level management in a variety of settings. Laura is also skilled in providing a wide range of assessment services, including 360 feedback, Myers Briggs, FIRO-B, Emotional Intelligence, Watson-Glaser (critical thinking), DISC, PIAV, several conflict and communication styles assessments, values and more. She also facilitates performance appraisals for local government managers, conducts executive and board retreats, leads energizing, customized team-building sessions, and designs and carries out comprehensive organizational assessments. Her primary objective is to help leaders create feedback-rich, team-based, high-performance organizations.
Laura previously has served as an internal management consultant in the Colorado Governor’s Office and as a City Manager for Superior, Colorado. She was part of Governor Roy Romer’s project team responsible for introducing and implementing large-scale organizational change, including Total Quality Management (TQM) programs, in Colorado’s 20 state agencies. As part of that effort she also facilitated long-range strategic planning sessions and engaged in research and program evaluation.
Laura holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Ph.D. in Human Communication from the University of Denver. She is at the top of her field in the development, use and interpretation of assessment instruments and has pursued specialized post-doctoral training in executive and organizational coaching through three national coaching institutions. She has coached over 300 executives, managers and professionals, and is a trained mediator. She teaches leadership and communication courses at the University of Denver and has also taught in the MBA programs at the University of Colorado and the University of Maryland. She writes a regular column on leadership for Zenith magazine.
