About

SDLR Coaching & Consulting

ABOUT

About Me

I’m Simon. I spent 15 years in corporate environments across engineering and operations. I was good at it. I was also burning out on a schedule I couldn’t see clearly until I was already in it. I left a stable career to figure out what I actually wanted. That process was uncomfortable and necessary. It led me to coaching. I work with people who are where I’ve been: capable, self-aware, and stuck. I’m not a therapist or a consultant. I don’t hand out answers...I help you find yours, faster than you would alone.

…a bit more

I hold a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with an emphasis on process improvement, lean manufacturing, and program management. For over 15 years, I built a career solving complex problems and leading operations at scale. My journey began in operations and logistics / supply chain management, eventually taking me to Amazon, where I managed last-mile delivery fleet operations across North America and multiple European markets. Over the past 5 years, I have consistently coached those around me; supporting colleagues, mentoring both direct and indirect reports seeking career advice, and guiding clients through life transitions.

I was born in Colombia, raised in the U.S., and now live between Berlin and Lisbon. Outside of coaching, I spend much of my time outdoors and in creative pursuits. Family and a strong connection to self, through meditation are central to my life. I’m an avid road cyclist and have completed more than 25 triathlons. I’m also an advanced scuba diver who enjoys exploring the underwater world. Creativity plays a big role in my life: I paint, take photographs, and write regularly (as possible) on Substack.

working together

Who Works With Me

My clients are mostly senior and mid-career professionals. Directors and above make up over a third of the people I work with, and another 45% are five to twelve years into their careers. Half are based in the US, a third are in Europe, and the rest across LATAM.

They come from tech, marketing, entrepreneurship, HR, science, and creative fields.

What brings them to me falls into four buckets:

Career transition. Deciding what’s next and doing something about it.
Big decisions. One fork in the road, and you need to think it through straight.
Burnout, or feeling stuck. Running on empty while still performing.
Business and entrepreneurship. Building something and needing a second brain on it.
Job search and interviews. Getting from applying to landing the offer.
Leading a team. Learning to delegate instead of doing it all yourself.

They’re not shopping around. They’ve reached the point where they know they need support, and they’re ready to act on it.

WHO IS THIS NOT FOR

People looking for someone to tell them what to do. I ask questions, I don’t hand out answers.
People who want quick fixes. If you’re looking for a five step plan that solves everything in two weeks, this isn’t it.
People who aren’t ready to look at their own part in the problem. Coaching only works if you’re willing to be honest with yourself, not just with me.
People who want a cheerleader. I’ll support you, but I’ll also push back when something doesn’t add up.
People not ready to the work. Talking about change and making change are different things. I work with the second group.

FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Some of my best work happens inside companies. High performers, team leads, and senior managers who are delivering results on the outside while dealing with pressure on the inside.

I’ve worked across three layers of leadership inside a single organization. The executive sponsor, their direct reports, and the people those managers lead. Groups as large as 18 people in the same company, three different views of the same problems.

What that work showed me: pressure moves down the chain. Every layer.

Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace backs this up. 70% of team engagement traces back to the manager. When the person in the middle is burned out or checked out, the team below them follows, almost without exception. Manager engagement dropped from 30% to 27% in a single year. Global engagement is now at 21%, the second drop in twelve years. Only 33% of employees say they’re thriving.

Gallup also found that managers who got targeted coaching raised their own engagement by up to 22%, with their teams close behind at 18%. Those gains weren’t temporary. Performance was still up 20 to 28% nine to eighteen months later.

If you’re weighing coaching support for someone on your team, or for a layer of your organization, let’s talk about what that could look like

THE WHY

How Coaching Helped Me

Before coaching, I often carried my challenges alone. When I was hired as Head of Operations for a large company based out of Miami I was the youngest person and I was also managing people 15+ years my senior. I was leading multi-location operations and managing teams older and more experienced than I was, and here I faced the full weight of impostor syndrome. I turned to coaching to help me navigate that responsibility and self-doubt, to trust my instincts, and to lead with confidence instead of comparison.

Years later, when I decided to leave Amazon and step away from a successful corporate path, coaching again became a bridge. One coach helped me design that transition; how to leave well, with clarity and purpose. After that, I worked with another wonderful coach who guided me inward, helping me reconnect with what I truly wanted to create next. That work gave me permission to trust myself fully and to build a life and practice that feel aligned with who I am.

The Simon before coaching led mostly with my head. I was analytical, driven, and capable, but disconnected from my intuition. I knew something in me wanted change, but I kept pushing it aside, focusing instead on results and responsibility. The Simon after coaching leads with both. I still trust the analytical side, it’s how I built a career running large operations, but now I check it against what I actually feel and want, not just what looks right on paper. I make decisions faster because I’m not arguing with myself anymore. I say what I mean instead of managing how it sounds. And I built a business around helping other people get to that same place, instead of staying in a role that looked right from the outside but didn’t fit anymore.

Over the years, I’ve turned to coaching for different reasons: first, to overcome impostor syndrome and become the best version of myself as a leader and professional; later, to align my inner passion with work that feels authentic and meaningful.

Life is wonderful because it keeps changing. And while change can feel isolating, we’re never meant to face it alone. Sometimes all we need is a steady hand to help us cross the bridges to what comes next.

And it doesn’t stop at one bridge. Life keeps handing you new ones. Having someone in your corner for more than just the current crisis is what makes the next one easier to cross too.

Let me be that person.

more about the practice

Why I Coach

I coach because the most meaningful moments in my career were never about systems or metrics, but about people. Guiding others through change and helping them see new possibilities showed me where my energy lies.

At the heart of my work is one intention: to help people align who they are with what they do, so their next steps feel not only right on paper, but right within themselves. I work with clients facing career challenges, life changes, or questions of personal direction, offering coaching in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

My approach blends the structure of an engineer with the empathy of someone who has navigated change himself. I create spaces of stillness and curiosity, where clients can move from uncertainty to purposeful action.

Why WORK WITH Me

Choosing a coach is personal. Clients choose to work with me because I understand both professional and personal transitions. I believe in your ability to unlock courage and clarity through self-discovery. I ask questions that cut through noise, balance structure with flexibility, and focus on helping you align who you are with what you do, so your next steps feel not just right on paper, but deeply right within yourself.

What sets me apart is what I value:

• Belief in your potential: I see coaching as a path to unlock the courage and strength to live as your truest self.

• Understanding of transitions: With roots in Latin America, a career in the U.S., and a new life in Berlin, I know the realities of starting over and questioning what’s next.

• Clarity with empathy: I ask the questions that cut through the noise and reflect what matters most, in a space free of judgment.

• Balance of structure and flexibility: I bring tools and frameworks when helpful but always adapt to your unique path.

• Focus on alignment: My goal is to help you connect who you are with what you do, so your decisions feel authentic and sustainable.

• Confidentiality & Trust: holding your story with respect, ensuring a safe and professional space for exploration