There’s a Difference Between High-Functioning and Feeling Calm and Confident
Stacy knows that tension – and has spent her life untangling it.
Stacy S. Kim, Ph.D. is a social scientist, writer, and coach who helps caring high-achievers untangle the internal knots that keep them stuck – the tension between ambition and caregiving, perfectionism and resentment, status and self-doubt.
Despite having studied work-family conflict, early childhood education, and family-friendly work policies since 1993 at leading institutions like Columbia University and the Families and Work Institute, Stacy faced her own “life junction” as a mother. The pressures of her career no longer aligned with how she wanted to parent or live. The research she had spent years conducting didn’t help in her day-to-day life or how she felt inside.
What started as a career pivot became a lifelong calling: to help others navigate their own blocks with compassion and concrete guidance.
In 2008, Stacy founded Life Junctions®, a coaching practice. Since then, she’s worked with hundreds of smart, caring women – successful on the outside, unraveling on the inside. They didn’t need conventional advice, makeovers, or yet another plan. They needed a fresh perspective on the knots and curated action steps to move forward.
From those early coaching conversations, The Untangling Practice™ was born – an evidence-based four-phase framework to help the smart and caring move forward with focus, confidence, and ease. It’s now the foundation of her coaching, courses, keynotes, and forthcoming book from Hachette.
“I don’t believe in fixing people. I believe in helping them untie the threads that guide them forward.”
Wise, Compassionate, Empowering
Working with Stacy has been life-changing for me. I was able to make a career change from one in which all parts had been stressful to one in which I am now enjoying all aspects of life!
VG
When I faced multiple challenges after joining the ‘family business’, Stacy Kim helped me navigate them. [Now] as I enter my third act, I am working with her to learn even more about myself.
LS
Stacy taught me to focus on what’s working and reduce the ‘noise.’ What a difference it has made to learn to let myself off the hook.
MH
Stacy helps me to take my ambitions seriously, combat perfectionism, and take joy in the process. I am impressed and grateful for your ability to reach in to the core of the dream.
MS
Stacy helps me to take deep breaths and break down overwhelming projects into manageable, doable steps. As a working mother with a lot on my plate, this process…as simple as it may seem…has been extremely valuable. Of all the things Stacy and I discussed, what stays with me was a concept she shared with me from a book she read (I don’t recall the name). It said that is that true happiness is like the ocean. Things can be really turbulent on the surface while down below things are calm and quiet. This is the type of happiness I strive for in the midst of my own busy life.
RS
I worked with Stacy when I was struggling with the idea of changing my career. Back then, while the idea of transforming a lifelong hobby into a new career was really exciting, I was also afraid of all the challenges I would have to face. It was a very delicate moment of life and to make things more complicated I was living in a new country and she was fantastic. During our sessions, I could weigh all my options and we narrowed in on my strengths and core values to ensure that I incorporated these into my decision as well. Every session was actionable and she gave me concrete homework assignments that were very relevant to push me forward and make me feel more confident. I truly felt that we worked together to put all sides into perspective and by the end of our time together I had a plan to follow! Fast forward 5 years and I am the happiest I could be running my new business and doing what I’ve always wanted!
Renata Carvalho
RGC Projects
I look forward to working with her each week. I always learn something new. Our work together assisted in my accomplishing many projects that I would have put off without her.
RS
When we began working together, I wanted help to complete one specific project, but after just three months, I am amazed by how much I have grown in my career and personal life.
SM
Many of your phrases and encouragement run through my head all of the time. Our work helped me navigate the first vital months of adjusting to life with two children.
SJ
Stacy is like having someone filtering much of the good information that is out there and selecting the thought, book, [or] idea that is just right for me.
CA
Stacy is a caring, compassionate and intelligent coach. She has extensive knowledge in her field, which makes her an excellent choice.
EG
I hoped to find new ways to grow my business and I absolutely did through our work together. But Stacy also helped me to process old patterns that weren’t serving me.
EHS
Credentials + Contributions
Download CV- Author of Envy: Why Wanting What They Have is the Key to Getting What You Want, forthcoming from Hachette
- Ph.D. in Educational Policy & Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania; M.S. in Early Childhood Education (Penn); BA from Northwestern University
- Certified coach (Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, ICF-accredited)
- Former research scientist at Columbia University’s National Center for Children and Families and Families and Work Institute
- Former research scientist at Columbia University’s National Center for Children and Families and Families and Work Institute
- Former research scientist at Columbia University’s National Center for Children and Families and Families and Work Institute
- Co-author of journal and research articles like: Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much
- Creator of The Lighthouse Method®, featured in Real Simple
- Published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, Wired, The Independent, Quartz
- Featured on NPR and CNN and other news outlets
- Keynote speaker and workshop facilitator for organizations like The New York Times, Merrill Lynch, and numerous universities and leadership groups.
- Daughter, wife, sister, cousin, niece, and proud mother of two adult daughters.
- Knitter