Hidden Gems: Meet Rebeka Garcia Cook of Green Boat Executive Coaching and Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebeka Garcia Cook.

Hi Rebeka, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up on the Texas-Mexico border- you could see the flag waving in Mexico from my front porch. I grew up with a front-row seat to international business, public health, economics, pedagogy, human growth and development, community organization, policy, and the impacts of those interactions. My father owned his own business, and my mother was a nurse. They worked hard for their business, family, and community and involved their kids in all they did. In college, I thought I’d follow my mother’s medical direction, and I studied biology. However, I soon learned that my interest in the human body waned compared to my interest in how animals and plants fit into their ecological systems.

Further, I discovered an interest in social studies and the behavioral sciences. Trying to bridge these interests in graduate school, I opted to study public health, and I combined two major fields of study: Epidemiology and Behavioral Science & Health Education. I was awarded a joint master’s in these fields and continued to do doctoral work in Epidemiology. Public Health was like a giant puzzle, and I delighted in learning where all the pieces fit. Mathematically, the world was a giant logistic regression model, and outcomes were predictable. The program was challenging and interesting. I completed my coursework, my dissertation was outlined, and I also had an unsettled feeling that Epidemiology was not a good fit for me.

I took some time to sit with that discomfort and ultimately decided a Ph.D. in Epidemiology was a good- but not an excellent -fit for me. I moved to Texas, did public health consulting, and took a job with strong community involvement and an education component. Work was a delight. When I became a mother, the first time and then the second, I realized there were important choices I needed to make. I focused on my values and my vision for myself and my family. I realized that for a season, I would need to live differently than I did when it was just my husband and me. At the same time I was wrestling with these personal issues, I was drawn in by the leadership choices made at work. Looking back on my life and education, I realized the connecting threads were systems and leadership. The core direction – the vision- was set almost 40 years prior and continually worked toward. In my consulting projects, the leadership of self and organizational leadership kept surfacing as the key component in whether a person, a community, an organization, or a business flourished or languished.

As a consultant, I knew that telling people what to do was typically ineffective and often wrong. Leaders know their systems best, and I learned that if I drew their path forward from them and coupled it with my background in organizational change, good things happen! Systems got better. Leaders got better. Leaders didn’t burn out. They had fun. People in the systems (communities, businesses, organizations, families, etc.) had better lives. The world was better. I launched Green Boat Coaching and Consulting in November 2019 to help business and organization leaders create and navigate change without falling on their faces. The tool to accomplish leadership support was coaching, specifically executive coaching. I decided to add formal graduate-level training in executive coaching to serve clients better. I’ve been coaching senior leaders since 2019 but recently was tapped by an organization to pull a team of coaches together to support their staff in 30 different countries. This business growth is something I have had my eye on since I launched my company. Having a vision and working towards it is not just something I coach leaders to do; it is something I do.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would be lying and doing a disservice if I told you it had been a smooth, easy road. Challenges are both internal and external. My greatest internal challenge has been integrating the reality that I have to make choices, and a choice for one thing often negates or delays the opportunity of the other choice. Having a clear vision has been helpful with discernment. I have also learned to identify and grieve a lost hope or dream. A clear vision has also helped me know when and what to celebrate. My vision for myself, my family, my business, and my life has become my scorecard on this entrepreneurial journey. The most significant external obstacle I have encountered is the many misconceptions about what coaching is, what it accomplishes, and who it is for. Some think coaches are unlicensed therapists, mentors, drill sergeants, consultants/trainers, or that coaching is only for poor performers. I draw out the path forward from the leader of a business or organization. Most often, these leaders are exceptionally high performers and lead well. However, they desire excellence. I help them clarify opportunities, weigh them, and form an action plan faster than they would alone. I magnify the leaders’ effectiveness in the systems that matter to them. They are better, and life is much more gratifying.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I help leaders make things different: with me, it happens easier, faster, confidently, more enjoyable, and without falling flat on their faces.

Most often, I help leaders:
– Formulate, articulate, and implement a strategic vision.
– Maximize strengths to meet the demands of their role.
– Motivate and energize the systems they lead.
– Work in a state of flow regularly.
– Understand and deal effectively with others’ perspectives.
– Inspire deep trust and commitment in those they lead.
– Adopt behaviors that convey a confident executive presence.
– Live sustainable, significant, and enjoyable lives.
– I do this through coaching, training, or consulting.

I make the world a better place by helping leaders do- and keep doing- the things they do best. My clients are typically senior leaders of a system- a business or organization- because their decisions are impactful and often magnified throughout the establishment. I especially enjoy supporting female leaders who work cross-culturally or internationally. I coach both in-person and virtually. Green Boat also can put together a coaching team for more profound organizational change.

We love to hear about your fond memories of growing up.
A favorite childhood memory is swimming in the Nueces and the Frio Rivers in South Texas. Both rivers were lined with white, smooth stones. The flowing water was crystal clear and cool on scorching Texas summer days. Rock jumping from the river bluffs or swinging from rope swings tethered to immense cypress trees were early challenges where I learned to push myself past discomfort and uncertainty and face my fears. I was immediately rewarded with the joy and excitement of flying through the air and descending into the cool, welcoming waters. Long term, I was rewarded with a love for nature, appreciation for my body, a love for play, self-confidence, and a curiosity for what is possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.GreenboatCoaching.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenboatCoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/RebekaGarciaCook/

Image Credits
Jennifer Thibault Mikayla Garrett Brian Turrel Rick Arsenault