Today we’d like to introduce you to Michaela Cote.
Hi Michaela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After graduating from the University of Washington in 2023, I had begun my post-grad career job hunt while I was up in Seattle, knowing that I would be moving to San Diego either in the fall or winter. Like many other Gen-Z graduates, I had submitted hundreds of resumes to “entry level” job listings and either being met with silence or, if I was lucky, an automated rejection email. The worst part was that I didn’t truly want any of the jobs I was applying to. Simultaneously, I was tired of seeing headlines stereotyping Gen Z as lazy or entitled when I saw a very different reality within my peer group. Members of my graduating class were intelligent, motivated, and ready to work hard for a cause they identify with. With a passion for people and the drive to make a difference in society, I wanted to make an impact for not only myself, but also for my brilliant friends who were being left in the dust. Eventually I ran out of time as my military partner’s ship was scheduled to move. With so little return on my investment in the job market, and a good product that I built during a previous internship, I started Empatheia Consulting in February of 2024.
I spent most of the time in my early consultancy networking and finding resources within local entrepreneurship organizations. Early on, I joined Hera Hub, became one of their ambassadors, and even went through their Launch Academy business accelerator in Fall of 2024. I also found my mentor, Julius Alejandro, who is the executive director of VillageUp. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of the San Diego innovation ecosystem.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I chose to go off the beaten path and, naturally, it has been a bumpy ride. Initially, I had to figure out a lot on my own. Going the B2B route is the right choice for me, but is complicated by the fact that I’ve had to build my professional network from scratch. I was going to a lot of networking events and meeting a lot of people, but for a while I was struggling to meet those who I thought were the “right people.” There were many times that I was ready to give up and go back to school to persue my original plan to become a clinical psychologist. What I didn’t know at the time was that the people that I was meeting would get me there in due time. I’m so glad I kept going, as after a year and a half, I’m finally being invited into rooms that have the decision makers that I’ve been looking for. I absolutely still have plans to continue my education and am currently looking into master’s programs in both social work and organizational psychology.
Another big struggle was letting go of the idea that I could only have the offering I wanted to deliver. I was very attatched to my series of 6 workshops, as I designed them to cover all bases of the intergenerational divide – from the broader social context of generations down to micro-level interpersonal communication tools. I have now grown to a place where I’m able to meet organizations where they’re at, with smaller offerings targeting specific more issues. I’m also in the process of designing a larger Gen Z workforce integration program, as a very real issue with any group of young workers is going through the process of professional socialization. I’m really thankful for the people who have helped me break down unhelpful aspects of my rigid, perfectionistic thought patterns that were hindering me from making progress.
Currently, the consulting market is tough for pretty much all of my fellow independent consultants. As a profession, we’ve lost a lot of trust from larger employers as certain individuals and institutions used the lucrative nature of consulting to get rich quick without providing a real ROI for companies. To counter this, myself and two other consultants are meeting this week to map out the creation of a network of trustworthy consultants who want to provide real value to organizations. I truly believe that if there is a will, there’s a way!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Empatheia Consulting?
Above all else, Empatheia Consulting aims to close the intergenerational divide in the workforce. I primarily specialize in educating multi-generational teams on the magic that happens at the intersection of wisdom and innovation. Older generations provide a wealth of experience and know how and where to apply the innovative spirit and knowledge of younger individuals who are fresh out of education, armed with a wealth of the most up-to-date knowledge. What blocks this powerful potential for collaberation is the perception of unworkable differences coupled with a lack of knowledge of how to navigate very real diffferences. My solution is an approach, rooted in cognitive sociology and dialectics, that equps people with the tools they need to accept what is and change what needs to be changed. I believe in a human-centered approach, which has been taken-for-granted in a world of rapidly advancing technology. To be able to understand eachother, and begin to empathize across generational lines, we must first learn to connect on a human-to-human level. I knew it was a risk, with me having limited workplace experience, but I believe that because of the niche educational path I chose, my affinity for public speaking, and my belief in empowering individuals to seek community in this hyper-individualized society, I believe that I am uniquely positioned to provide a truly holistic solution to the issues causing this divide.
Other than that, what truly sets my consultancy apart is that it is from a Gen Z lens. We are not a monolith of thought, but being embedded in the challenges that young people are facing gives me an important perspective that others in the space don’t have. Through talking to established professionals, I’ve come to understand that many of our current employment challenges aren’t all that different than those of generations that have come before us. However, a lot of established professionals are so focused on their present path that they forget the importance of those early bosses and mentors that made such a difference in getting them to where they’re at now. Mentorship isn’t for everyone, but that doesn’t mitigate the importance of passing the torch. Additionally, Gen Z needs to accept that we need to learn how to hold the torch before understanding how to improve it for the generations we will eventually pass it on to.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’m an avid consumer of knowledge, so this list could be REALLY long. My favorite book of all time is Untamed by Glennon Doyle. It helped me through a really hard period of my life where her story inspired me to be unapologetically myself, in all of my vibrant colors again. In that same vein, I also love her podcast “We Can Do Hard Things.” My academic hero is UC Berkeley sociologist Arlie Russel Hoschild. Her work “The Managed Heart,” a book on emotional labor in the workplace, guides much of my work. Another of her books that really opened my mind to just how important communication and understanding why we beleive the things we do is “Strangers in Their Own Land.” I’m currently reading “Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right” which builds on the incredible work she did in “Strangers in Their Own Land.” My understanding of generations primarily comes from Michael J. Urick’s “The Generation Myth: How to Improve Intergenerational Relatioships in the Workplace” where he breaks down exactly how this concept of generations arose and how a debunked hypothesis of “youth culture” became so salient in our society.
I also LOVE Substack. I just love the community of academics on the app that publish the coolest, most obscure essays. If you see me scrolling on my phone, there’s a 90% chance that I’m using Substack. I haven’t started my own professional Substack yet (perfectionism strikes again), but I’m working on learning how to write the types of public scholarship pieces that I love reading from others.
Lastly, big shout out to Marsha Linehan for creating Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which has personally revolutionized the way I navigate life. I embed the principles of this incredible modality in my work to help people understand that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time.
Pricing:
- Based on discussion during free consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://empatheia.io/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-cote/
Image Credits
Personal photo – Maino Johnston
Unsure of others
