At The Bailey Group, we judge our coaching by what happens after the sessions end, in the leaders we work with and in the organizations they run. That’s why we’re proud to have supported three organizations on the path to ICF Minnesota’s PRISM Award and to the greater impact that earned it. Braun Intertec, IDeaS Revenue Solutions and the University of St. Thomas each made coaching part of how they grow leaders, and for three straight years, one of our clients has taken home the PRISM award. ICF Minnesota also honored our CEO, Ann Houser, with the 2024 Gaston Award for service and leadership in the coaching profession.
Gaston Award · 2024
Ann Houser Named 2024 ICF Minnesota Gaston Award Winner
In September 2024, ICF Minnesota honored Ann Houser with its prestigious Gaston Award, recognizing her lasting impact on the coaching profession, the Minnesota coaching community, and the leaders she serves.
Presented annually to one Minnesota coach, the Gaston Award celebrates more than a single achievement. It recognizes years of leadership, service, mentorship, and meaningful contribution to the profession.
Awarded
Sept. 2024
At Medtronic
16 years
Former VP of HR for a
$5.7B global business
An Executive Who Became an Executive Coach
Before Ann coached executives, she was one.
Over 16 years at Medtronic, Ann rose to Vice President of Human Resources, leading HR for a $5.7 billion global business. Today, she brings that firsthand executive experience to her work with CEOs and C-suite leaders navigating the decisions, relationships, and pressures that come with leading at the highest level.
Her expertise in succession planning, talent strategy, and board relationships makes her a trusted sounding board and advisor to senior leaders, particularly across medtech, healthcare, and life sciences.
Just as importantly, Ann pays attention to the person behind the title. Her coaching draws on values, mindfulness, and practical leadership experience to help executives perform at a high level without losing sight of their own well-being.
What the Gaston Award Represents
The Gaston Award is reserved for coaches who have made a sustained contribution to the profession.
Recipients demonstrate a long-standing commitment to ethical coaching, active service to the ICF Minnesota community, and leadership that helps move the profession forward through mentorship, chapter involvement, and service.
Ann’s impact reflects that standard. She has served as President of ICF Minnesota and was a founding board member of Coaching for Justice, while continuing to mentor and support others throughout the coaching community.
Three Years, Three ICF Minnesota PRISM Award Winners
The PRISM Award recognizes an organization that has shown excellence in using coaching to develop its leaders, and ICF Minnesota sets a high bar for proof. Winning organizations show that coaching is built into their leadership strategy, that it's making leaders more effective, and that it's shaping the culture around them, with results the selection committee has checked for itself. Organizations can't apply for it. A credentialed coach has to nominate them, and the selected honorees share their coaching story live at the ICF Minnesota Awards Showcase.
How a PRISM Award is earned
NominatedBy a credentialed coach.
Active coachingThe organization actively used coaching in the year before nomination.
Verified impactAn interview with ICF Minnesota's Selection Committee confirms the program's results.
Live showcaseThe selected honorees share their story at the ICF Minnesota Awards Showcase.
Three organizations we partner with have earned the PRISM in three consecutive years, and each got there in its own way.
2024 PRISM Award
Braun Intertec
Braun's leadership cohort combined group coaching, individual coaching, and facilitated learning to accelerate development among key leaders across the organization's diverse geographic and functional lines. The impact reached well beyond individual growth. Leaders who rarely interacted built trust and learned to collaborate across business lines — capability that becomes essential as they take on broader roles.
That trust proved its value during a significant leadership transition, when the cohort created space for candid, constructive dialogue between participants and new executive leadership — the kind of open exchange the client described as unlike anything seen before.
90%
cohort retention after one year, including multiple participants who were promoted during and following the program.
Asked what mattered most, participants consistently pointed to one thing — the individual coaching, and having a trusted partner to challenge their thinking and ask the right questions.
2025 PRISM Award
IDeaS Revenue Solutions
IDeaS built its Top Talent program as a strategic investment in identifying, nurturing, and preparing the next generation of leaders — and coaching sits at its core. Combining individual coaching, formal education, cross-functional business insight, and a capstone project, the program has helped participants grow as leaders, communicators, and decision-makers while deepening their understanding of the business.
100%
of program participants retained. The results speak for themselves.
In participants' words
"Empowered" — "more agile and scalable."
On delegating more effectively with their team.
"A somewhat siloed operator to a trusted collaborator."
On how their leadership role shifted.
"A much more agile coaching mindset."
Moving from doing the work to helping their team realize its potential.
2026 PRISM Award
University of St. Thomas, Opus College of Business
Practicing What They Teach: What happens when a business school points its tools at itself
The Opus College of Business teaches principled, purpose-driven leadership, and wanted their own leaders to practice it. Instead of starting a training program, the College made coaching part of its leadership strategy. 20 leaders, from the Dean's leadership team to directors and managers, completed Hogan 360 assessments, worked one-on-one with Bailey Group executive coaches to understand the feedback, and built development plans around specific leadership behaviors. A Leader as Coach workshop then gave them coaching skills they could use with their own teams right away.
The work went beyond individual growth. We gathered the common themes from across the group into a College-wide view, and the leadership team used it to set shared leadership expectations, so faculty and staff get a more consistent experience no matter which department they work in. The College now shares a common language for leadership and is already planning to expand the work.
92%said coaching gave them meaningful insight into their leadership
85%said the Hogan 360 helped them see how others experience their leadership
93%finished with clear leadership goals
What leaders said changed
One leader stopped feeling responsible for having every answer and now gives employees room to work through problems, listening more and asking better questions. Another now sees delegation as a chance to develop people on the team. Others described learning to be fully present in conversations and seeing how much trust that builds.
"Excellence is not information transfer. It is in human-centered learning, judgement and reflection and opportunities to practice the art of leadership."
"Our challenge was not too little expertise. It was learning when not to use it."
Our Impact
At The Bailey Group, our commitment to excellence is reflected in the measurable outcomes we achieve for our clients.
Overall Satisfaction
96.3%
Extension Rate
>50%
Organizational Impact
100%
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