Sayre D.

Sayre Darling is a trusted thought partner and coach for middle managers and emerging leaders navigating growth, change, and increasing complexity at work. With more than 30 years of experience across startups, healthcare systems, nonprofits, higher education, and Fortune 500 organizations, she brings a calm, practical perspective to leadership in environments where priorities shift quickly and pressure runs high.

For the past five years, Sayre has coached exclusively with middle managers - helping them strengthen influence, navigate difficult situations, communicate with greater clarity, manage up as well as they manage down, and lead more confidently through change and uncertainty. Her clients often come to coaching feeling stretched, stuck, overwhelmed, or caught in the middle. Together, they create clearer thinking, stronger boundaries, better communication, and more sustainable ways of leading without losing themselves in the process.

Clients describe Sayre as compassionate yet candid, practical, insightful, and "powerful while calm." She creates a trusted space where leaders can think more strategically, work through difficult situations honestly, and build the confidence to show up more fully in the leadership moments that matter most.

Education & Certifications

MBA, Business Communications, University of Saint Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
B.A., Broadcast Journalism, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Executive Coaching Certification, The Hudson Institute, Santa Barbara, CA
Associate Certified Coach (ACC), International Coach Federation · 2,000+ hours

Professional Experience

Founder and Principal, Sayre Darling, LLC
Strategic Communications Advisor and Adjunct Instructor, Bellevue University
Americas Communications Lead, Medtronic
Change Management and Communications Lead, Medtronic
M&A Integration and HRIS Advisor, Mindpath Health
Healthcare Reform Advisor, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota
National Communications Director and Crisis Advisor, Samueli Institute
Director of Public Relations & Employee Communications, Keck Medical Center of USC

Functional Experience

All of our coaches are experienced in supporting a variety of business functions. This coach has personal experience in the following professional fields.

Legal Sales Business Development Communications Customer Success

Industry Experience

While you may want to have some similarities with your coach you don’t want too much overlap. A coach’s job is to offer you fresh and new perspectives that you may not be exposed to in your current industry or function. Here are the industries the coach most commonly supports.

Consumer Products Education Financial Services Healthcare

Coaching Expertise

Coaches have wide skill sets and we can’t list them all. Here are a few areas this coach specializes in helping support.

Change Management Communication Conflict Management Emotional Intelligence Strategic Thinking

Primary Professionals Coached

Employees at Tech Companies Experienced Managers in Leadership Positions Founders and C Level Executives New Managers at High Growth Startups VPs at Established Companies

Testimonials and Coaching Highlights

Sayre’s coaching style is as engaging, energizing, focused, supportive, and insightful.

Past clients have described Sayre as very supportive, helps you reframe your perspective, and keeps you focused on the core issues versus distracted by the symptoms.