Kim Colburn

MBA, Associate Certified Coach

International Coaching Federation

  • Retired Chief Operating Officer

  • Adjunct Professor of Strategy

  • Chairman of the Board, Advocate, Lighthouse of Houston

  • Former franchise business owner

  • Public Information Officer / Community Liaison, Macondo Incident

  • Former venture capital investor

  • Passion for helping people grow and succeed in life

  • Focus on women, minority and non-profit success

  • Life long learner from many successes and failures

I’m a retired Chief Operating Officer where I was responsible for a $1.5+ bn annual revenue business.  I was in leadership roles for nearly all of my 34 year career with roles in strategy, business development, operations, crisis management, finance, and change management. I am best known for being a tough but caring leader, developing people through coaching and mentoring and creating a winning culture.  Bottom line, I get an enormous amount of fulfillment by “helping everyone around me be successful”.  This is also my definition of Leadership.

It took me way too long to understand the uneven playing field for women and minorities. As a result, over the last several years, I really focused my coaching and mentoring in this area. It has been an amazing and rewarding learning experience that I desire to continue in my coaching business.

I’m blessed to be married to an amazing woman, a father of two and stepfather of three terrific young adults. I am also grateful to be an adjunct professor of strategy in the University of Oklahoma’s Executive MBA in Energy program.

I’m the Chairman of the Board, volunteer and advocate of The Lighthouse of Houston, a non-profit whose mission is to enable and empower people who are blind or low vision to realize their full potential. This has given me perspective and “food for my soul” and I aspire to work with other non-profits and in my own small way try to create a positive ripple effect.

I believe that being transparent and vulnerable are critical factors in uncovering the blockers to our success.  I share this hoping it will help you understand who I am and what experiences have shaped me.  After much counseling, coaching, discussions with close friends and reflection I’m very grateful for the hard times and the lessons and wisdom gained.  I hope I can share some of this with you.  

Like everyone, I have many “low-lights”.  Here are just a few:

  • Nearly getting kicked out of college due to bad behavior and horrible grades, then in a moment of clarity quitting football (which was the only reason I went) to get myself on track

  • Getting divorced after 29 years (I’m so thankful for those 29 years and so grateful for my two successful and grounded sons)

  • Failing miserably at a franchise based business

  • Being a workaholic, prioritizing my career over my family     

  • Not dealing with the emotions of my father’s passing

  • Managing severe anxiety, mild depression and anger issues

  • Losing touch with my faith for a period of time

  • Constantly battling self criticism

What clients say about kim

  • Recently, we went through a strategic planning process, which Kim led from start to finish and now have a robust Mission, Vision & Strategic Plan, that will greatly impact the people we serve. He was engaging, thoughtful and challenged us to think differently as we went through the process. Kim created an inclusive environment where stakeholders felt included, heard, and valued. I would highly recommend him to facilitate your strategic plan.

    - Jenna Dhayer, President, The Lighthouse of Houston

    What I've found being coached by Kim is that I am able to show up as my true authentic self, without judgement, and this has made me want to dig deeper and grow in ways that on the surface made me extremely uncomfortable.  In hindsight, this push has been exactly what I've needed to further my professional development! Today, I'm a more confident, introspective, and compassionate leader.  I attribute this directly to all that I've come to learn while being coached by Kim. I highly recommend him if you want a “shoot it to you straight” coaching experience.   He is the best!!

    - Lakisha Bertke, Commercial Ops Services Manager

  • I have had the privilege of having Kim as my mentor for over 10 years. I have never met anyone who is as passionate about helping others succeed.  When helping with difficult and complex problems he has a knack of asking the right (probing) questions and impart guidance in the most uncomplicated ways. A simple conversation with him in reality is an opportunity to tap into his immense and diverse commercial and leadership experience. He is most generous in sharing his wisdom but his most valuable trait is his ability to impart confidence in the individuals to enable them to find their own answers.

    - Ibrahim Qureshi, VP Structuring

  • Kim was the first coach that I worked with that was able to act as a mirror, accurately reflecting an image of myself that I did not want to believe was real. He facilitated my acceptance of the truth of my reputation, the identification of past contributory behaviors, and assured me that it’s never too late to begin again. I made a commitment to relaunch my personal brand and Kim was my compass on that journey. He held me accountable, listened actively, offered insights where appropriate, enabled self-discovery via inquiry, and truly believed in me all along the way. Kim showed me what it means to show up for others, the value of service, how to selflessly inspire, and how to experience vicarious joy in the triumphs of others. In the beginning of my time with Kim, my intention was to be more successful in my career; It is safe to say I achieved that and so much more. This coaching relationship allowed me to unlock a sense of meaning and deeper purpose. Thanks to Kim I was finally able to fully squeeze the juice out of life with relative ease and contentment.

    - Alexis Smith, Director of Origination