Coaching Leadership Professionals & Teams

Beneath the River Group, a woman-owned business, is dedicated to nurturing leadership professionals and their teams. Founded by Kathryn and Linda, experienced leaders passionate about mentorship, our journey began with a desire to share the wealth of knowledge gained from our careers, particularly our time at Google. As women in leadership, we understand the diverse challenges one may face in their career river—whether calm, turbulent, or filled with obstacles. At Beneath the River Group, we empower individuals to navigate these challenges, fostering skills for authentic leadership, decisiveness, and self-awareness, ensuring the next generation of leaders can adeptly navigate the complexities of the workforce and instigate lasting change.

Our Team

Kathryn Paul

Kathryn is an ICF certified coach who specializes in leadership development, team dynamics, people management, and career transitions. She partners with clients to unlock their full potential, achieve sustainable results, and navigate challenges with greater clarity and purpose.

As a seasoned Google leader for over 20 years, Kathryn has great experience building high-performing teams who create and deliver exceptional workplace programs that prioritize employee well-being, productivity, and creativity. Known for her empowering leadership style and deep understanding of organizational dynamics, she fosters a transparent and collaborative culture, guiding individuals and teams to achieve valuable and impactful goals. Throughout her career, Kathryn has dedicated time and attention as a manager, coach, and mentor for many Googlers across various organizations.  Investing in the success of others has become an important role and fuels her desire to coach.

Kathryn’s coaching style is compassionate and results-oriented, focusing on building a safe and supportive space for clients to explore their challenges and aspirations.  Tailoring her approach to meet their unique objectives, Kathryn guides her clients through self reflection and empowers them to develop personal action plans and achieve meaningful goals.

Kathryn’s coaching style is compassionate and results-oriented, focusing on building a safe and supportive space for clients to explore their challenges and aspirations.  Tailoring her approach to meet their unique objectives, Kathryn guides her clients through self reflection and empowers them to develop personal action plans and achieve meaningful goals.  Kathryn is an ICF certified coach who specializes in leadership development, team dynamics, people management, and career transitions. She partners with clients to unlock their full potential, achieve sustainable results, and navigate challenges with greater clarity and purpose.

Education & Credentials:

Bachelors, Psychology - California State University, Long Beach

Associate Certified Coach (ACC) - International Coaching Federation (ICF)

Certification - Hudson Institute of Coaching 2017

Accredited Practitioner - Integrative 9 Enneagram Solutions (individuals and teams)

Linda Femling

Linda is a Certified Coach with a focus on enhancing personal and professional growth within the realms of team dynamics, leadership, people management, and well-being. Her passion lies in empowering individuals to unlock their fullest potential, both within work environments and their communities.

For nearly 18 years at Google, Linda's role as Director of Workplace Programs (Americas), saw her leading a large and dynamic team. Their mission was to champion Google's unique culture, optimize productivity and performance, and assist leaders and teams in reaching their goals.  Linda's leadership style fostered an energetic and supportive environment where both her direct team of Googlers and a vast network of partner employees found the resources to thrive.

Linda's commitment to training, coaching, and mentorship drives her work. She is dedicated to helping individuals achieve their goals.  Her qualifications include a Bachelor's in Business from Washington State University, Certification from the Hudson Institute of Coaching (2018), and accreditations in Integrative 9 Enneagram Solutions, the Leadership Circle Profile and Working Genius.

Linda and Kathryn have a wealth of knowledge and experience in team management and Google’s ‘secret sauce’ and are ready to share all they've learned to help you and your organization succeed.  

Education & Credentials:

Bachelors, Business - Washington State University

Certification - Hudson Institute of Coaching 2018

Accredited Practitioner - Integrative 9 Enneagram Solutions (individuals and teams)

Accredited Practitioner - Leadership Circle Profile

Testimonials

  • VP, Web Development - First Lite

    “I think you both do a fantastic job coaching a group through the session and curriculum. You clearly know it inside and out, and are able to communicate that effectively. The extra special sauce is the experiences that the two of you draw from. Just a giant thank you from myself and all of the team! Sincerely one of the experiences I will hold onto and remember. I know it will have significant impact on my career and the team’s as a whole”.

  • People Consultant - People Operations, Google

    “They led us through a profound and meaningful discussion of our team strengths and gaps. This session will help our team of HR professionals build stronger relationships with stakeholders, influence and support Google’s leaders more effectively, as well as inform more effective HR strategies we set as a team”.

  • Partnerships Lead, Google Wallet

    “LOTS of incredible insights, both at the individual and team level. Of course, the team exercises were most useful in this context as they created an easy, low-pressure way for us to discuss potentially awkward topics. Reflecting on this some more, I think what was most impactful was developing a shared vocabulary about our team”.

  • Director - Web Development, First Lite

    “In addition to learning my Enneagram type, I found it useful to learn our team's type and understand how that impacts our dynamic. The open dialogue that came from the discussions around our team number resonated with me and will be a key takeaway for me moving forward as the leader”.

  • Web Design Engineer, First Lite

    “It was good having space and feeling safe in honest conversations about the strengths and pitfalls of our team dynamic. There is very little time day to day to reflect on how our team works together and how to make that better. This workshop was huge in improving relationships after a volatile period in the business”.

  • Finance Lead, Google

    “From the first interaction, throughout the prep sessions and then the workshop, you provided us with continued encouragement. This was an excellent experience. We have already increased our interpersonal connections within the team and have lots of deep insights to work with at the individual and organizational levels. We hope more teams will benefit from it, happy to recommend”.