Norian Caporale-Berkowitz, Ph.D. is an Executive Coach and Partner at Evolution who focuses on the inner game of leadership: relationships, identity, boundaries, crucial conversations, emotional management, feedback, and more. He believes inner work (introspection) is a powerful catalyst for outer work (leadership). Norian works with founders, C-suite, and other leaders at LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Skillshare, Adobe, Iterable, Firstbase, Mantra Bio, and many startups ranging from seed stage to IPO.
Norian was a very early hire at Coursera. He knows how to build the rocket ship while flying it, and his approach combines experience building high-growth startups with deep training in psychology. Norian authored the first peer reviewed study of Google’s mindfulness program and has published peer reviewed research on mindfulness, emotional intelligence, self-compassion, resilience, and grit. Norian has been invited to speak at Oxford University, and his writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review and MIT Press.
Norian is a tenure-track professor of psychology at Baruch College in New York City. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Counseling Psychology from The University of Texas–Austin, holds a B.A. from Brown University, and has previously worked at The University of Texas–Austin and The University of California–Berkeley.
“I 100,000% recommend working with Norian. We initially started with a 360 review, and it immediately transformed to much more. I was looking for a coach to push me harder and faster. Instead, Norian helped me slow down and listen to my heart and gut as a leader. It feels powerful to model grounded, calm energy in the c-suite (and at home), and has helped me show up better and more productively.”
“As a CFO who has worked with technology startups over the last 25 years, I have attended a lot of off-sites, and this was by far the best off-site facilitation I have ever seen. Norian and Todd helped our team connect deeply as people, not just as coworkers, creating a foundation of trust that is already paying dividends as we build our company at a blinding pace. Our leadership team could not be more pleased with both the process and the outcome, and we will definitely be doing more work with Evolution in the future.”
“Working with Norian has created so many positive changes across all areas of my life. As a leader, I’ve become more confident, capable, and calm, which has helped as I’ve gone from Head of Product to CPO with my current startup. Norian has enabled me to reframe many situations to better understand them and he’s always able to get at the heart of what’s really going on with me. The most surprising thing about working with him is the positive effects it’s had on my family life. Because he believes work and life are so intertwined, we’ve been able to discuss what’s going on in my personal life and how it manifests at work. With my wife and kids I’ve been able to bring home more joy and peace, which has made everyone happier. Coaching with Norian really has changed my life for the better, and I’m forever thankful for the time we’ve had working together.”
“Coaching with Norian really helped me uplevel my leadership. For example, our work on strategy and negotiation directly led to me creating a new position for myself that significantly expanded my influence as a leader. Every session was packed with insights for understanding myself better and for managing and working with others.”
“Working with Norian elevated my life in so many ways. I found my unique leadership style, became more grounded, and got promoted to VP. Most importantly, I reconnected with who I want to be in the world and what’s important to me. This had a profound impact on the relationship I have with myself, my loved ones, and the people I work with. I’m grateful for Norian’s patience, wisdom, empathy, honesty, and friendship that made this growth and level of self-awareness possible.”