Don't Go It Alone

Let's Discover the Edge

Mike Sweeney

Hello and welcome to Saber Coaching. I’m Mike Sweeney - founder and lead coach. Here’s a little information and background about me and my approach to coaching.

As a Coach, Consultant, and Organizational Psychologist, I specialize in supporting personal and professional transitions. I like to be there when you feel the “spark” - the moment when you realize life (and career) can be so much more. It helps to have the oxygen to turn that spark into a raging fire. It helps to have someone in your corner. I specialize in personal development, leadership development and distance running coaching. The ideal scenario is we get super effective with our time - maybe even get moving - so I love to coach on the run or on a hike. We’re making progress on two fronts at the same time. I also can do in-person over a beer, video calls or over the phone.

I partner best with people who have an open mind and are looking to get an edge during a transition.

I can provide practical and theoretical insights that are distilled to help you reach your goals faster. My diverse industry experience includes military, boutique wine, manufacturing, legal, consulting, coaching, and technology. But the answer is in you. Our job is to access it, shine it up and get it out into the world.

My skill sets include:

Personal Development - creating personal vision, clarifying values, increasing personal productivity and all the things to help you live the Dream. Also support career transitions, interview preparation, resume review and negotiation.
Leadership Development - setting goals setting, addressing feedback, improving time management, developing Emotional intelligence (EQ), developing high performance teams and managing workplace change.
Distance Running Coaching - I am a certified distance coach and can help you develop and execute a plan to crush your PRs. I realize this seems to be out of place here, but it tends to draw runners in. I love to work with runners. They know how to embrace the suck to get the glory.

I can work with you to implement solutions to help you move from good to great in half the time.

Success Stories

If you are on this page, you're looking to see if Saber Coaching can really give you the edge. Here are what some of my previous client have said about working with me.

Amplify the champion

“Mike’s coaching helped me amplify the champion voice and quiet the ‘should’ voice that we all have from time to time. By providing a safe space coupled with deep thoughtful questions, I was able to get past fear and unlock parts of myself to find clarity and connect to my ‘why’. We looked at my life and work through new perspectives that helped me discover my values, build a toolset, and grow my career! We laughed a lot and Mike provided words of encouragement when I got stuck. He is a skilled coach who uses creative methods and adjusts in the moment to make sure we were always doing work that best served me. Mike helped me pay attention to my strengths which led to more confidence. I highly recommend working with Mike if you are looking to grow, are ready to laugh, and willing to put in the work.”

Annie, Director, San Francisco Bay Area, California

ALIGN the organziation

“Mike helped our leadership team get clarity on our strategy and set us on a course to have some of the best quarters we’ve had on record. His calm, level-headed and consistent approach encouraged us to clarify our direction and get clear on our goals. Even when we disagreed as a leadership team, Mike was able to connect us back to the original vision and help us make progress on our goals. His coaching style worked for our executives as well as our front-line leaders. In addition to his work with our CEO/CTO, Mike also worked with three of our junior leaders – all demonstrated improved performance, stronger skills and more confidence. He listens well, provides helpful insights and genuinely cares about our organization and us as people. If you want to get clear on your goals, achieve great results and improve your teams, Mike is a great strategic partner.”

Renee Smith, CTO & Aaron Asp, CEO, ParkingBOXX, Sarnia, Canada

Freedom and Fulfillment

When I started coaching with Mike, I was feeling wishy washy about my future – like there was a blank canvas. I wanted to get to that next level where I can feel freedom, power, and be able to trust myself. I can say that through the coaching I have changed unbelievably! I wouldn’t be where I am now had it not been for the sessions. There’s just no way. Sometimes, Mike will encourage a moment of pause and push me to go deeper. This really worked for me. We often used visualizations – these helped me get out of my head and in touch with what really mattered. I now able to navigate what I’m doing and where I am going with purpose. I’m on the way to being happier with me. I’m not being forced down route because of circumstance. And I have more agency over what I do. I think I’ve got an element of freedom. I’m doing what I enjoy doing. This coaching experience gave me choice, confidence and a feeling of being happy, useful, and proud. I don’t think I’ve ever felt fulfilled before. And I’m starting to actually feel that now. I didn’t expect that to happen.
Claire, Director, Bain & Company

transition your Career

"I definitely recommend Mike to anyone who is serious about making a career change. I worked with Mike when I was disgruntled with my work situation. He understands how to guide people and he helped me sort out some very significant recurring themes that I've always struggled with. He easily listened and helped analyze the situation in a non judgmental way. He provided actionable steps even in the beginning and gave me a road map that I can now continue on. He is one of those incredible people that will always be there when you need something of him. He'll challenge you but won't rake you over the coals or make you feel bad in any sort of way. I appreciated it when he would cut to the chase! He quickly helped me realize I didn't want just a new job - I wanted an entirely new career path. I'm in a much better place now."

Matt S, Retail Management, Seattle

lead CHANGE

"Mike will ask you the questions you need to be asked. I have worked with him through several organizational changes where I have restructured departments down to recently negotiating changes to my own role. He has helped me think through the specifics of each circumstance and then come up with actionable plans to move forward. In each case, I know that I have achieved a better outcome than I would have otherwise. He is the most well-read person I have ever met when it comes to leadership, organizational psychology, and personal development. This knowledge is coupled with varied real world experiences across industries. Additionally, I have found his preparation and ability to research to be unparalleled. Finally, and I think this is an innate gift of his, he is able to walk the line where he will push you (predominantly by asking questions), but not more than you can handle. He isn’t there to waste your time – you come out of meetings with steps and actions that can have real impact. Without a doubt, I have been more successful by working with Mike than I would have been otherwise. "
Max, Director, Boston

Get Focused

"Like many people, I have trouble keeping focused and saying No. I enjoy variety in my work and have a deep desire to help people out, which usually results in me juggling far too many commitments and disappointing more than one. Enter Mike. He helped me set up a practical framework that ranked opportunities by a variety of dimensions: financial impact, leverage (doing more with less), intellectual fit, flexibility, home fit, and social impact. I used this to evaluate my current and upcoming commitments and identify the top three. This gave me the courage and conviction to say No to the others. I've never felt more free and focused. I also took Mike's recommendation to gamify daily work on these priorities, and as a result I was able to realize my lifelong passion: to found and grow a software company."

Matt Coatney, Founder and CEO, Taisk, Dayton