Founders

Sara Harvey Yao and Michele Lisenbury Christensen are the founders of Working with Power. They created the 12 Elements of Power to meet their clients’ and their own need for a better way to work. Sara and Michele had separately built successful businesses, but found themselves in the same predicament as so many other accomplished women: The more successful they got, the more stressed they felt.
They integrated all they’d each learned in a combined 20 years of training and coaching leaders and individual contributors to design a sustainable way to get better results with more ease. Their work today is a combination of serving teams and individuals through training, feedback, and consulting, and leading their global team of facilitators. To get to know each of them, read on.

Michele Lisenbury Christensen
Michele Lisenbury Christensen is our resident history/science/spiritual traditions geek, walking lexicon, and bad disco dancer. Participants treasure Michele's potent metaphors, bottom-line articulation of big ideas, and frequent silliness. Sara’s favorite thing about partnering with Michele is the way she puts challenges into a big-picture perspective both for their clients and within the company.

Background Highlights

• Grew up in Anchorage, Alaska

• Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Economics and Business Leadership from the University of Puget Sound

• Master's Degree in the Psychology of Lasting Change from Antioch University

• Professional Certified Coach credential from International Coach Federation

• Senior faculty for CoachU, the largest coach-training firm in the world

• Yoga, pranayama (breath), and meditation teacher, certified by Seattle Holistic Center

• Corporate career spanned strategic analysis, merchandising, sales, human resources, and industrial operations management

• Developed coaching programs for Hobbs-Herder Advertising, Laurie Beth Jones’ “The Path,” Thomas Leonard’s Attraction University, and others

• Created the Success Guru Interview Series, Balance Builder 1-year program, Success Made Fun 1-year program, Your Business Can Be a Spiritual Path, and other programs

• Founded the professional services firm, Lisenbury, Inc. (dba Success&Spirit) in 1997

• 11 years of international keynotes, seminars, and coaching featured in international media

On the personal side: A meditator since age 12 and a student of the world’s religions, Michele considers her own business an important part of her spiritual path. Ever the hobbit, Michele's wanderlust takes her all over the globe, then her nesting instinct guides her back to Seattle, Washington. Kurt, her husband since 2000, is her favorite companion. Their latest adventures include sea kayaking in the Northwest and Alaska, climbing Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan, cushy trekking in Patagonia, spontaneously attending a Turkish village wedding, tripling the size of their 1942 cottage while living in it, and entering into parenthood.

Sara Harvey Yao
Chief among Sara’s many gifts is her capacity for connection with individuals or entire audiences. She’s also known for her sense of humor, her sassiness, and her willingness to speak the truth. Participants love the way Sara normalizes their experiences, names what’s going on, and reminds everyone to breathe when they’ve stopped. Michele loves being Sara’s business partner because Sara brings out the best in those around her and always asks, “how could this be easier?”

Background Highlights

• Grew up in Spokane, Washington

• Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications from Washington State University

• Master's Degree in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix, Seattle campus

• As a corporate training manager, earned her frequent flyer gold status on dozens of trips to places as far-flung as London and Lubbock, Seoul and St. Paul.

• Initiated and implemented a management development coaching program that improved retention by 15%

• Trained and coached more than 1500 managers and executives in six countries

• 10 years experience in management training and consulting

• Founded Sara Harvey Yao & Co., her professional services firm dedicated to creating candid conversations in the workplace

• Creator of The Candid Solution™ training system

On the personal side: Sara’s family and home are the anchors that nourish her to do the big work she does in her career. Her marriage to Jesse has been an equal partnership full of fun since 1998 and they are both thrilled that he’s an engineer by day and rock star by night in the 80s and 90s cover band, Mr. Miyagi. Together, they enjoy raising their two sons, Ethan and Logan, as emotionally intelligent, happy people. Mojo the Bichon Frisee is perhaps not as well-adjusted, but he was their first child, after all. Sara takes pride in making time for her close friendships and for keeping tabs on pop culture through American Idol, Lost, Oprah, and People magazine. A former competitive ballroom dancer, Latin music and dance always stir her soul.