Attract, Don't Push: How Executive Coach Cynthia Cobb Lets Her Faith Do the Talking

The first time Tom spoke with Cynthia Cobb, they talked about assessments. Nobody mentioned Jesus. Nobody quoted Scripture. Yet by the end of that call, he knew without a shadow of doubt that she was a woman of God.

Cobb laughs about it now. She does not remember saying anything that would give her away. That, as it turns out, is the point.

For 20 years, Cobb, SPHR, has coached leaders from the C-suite to brand-new graduates as president of 3C Consulting and a member of the Ariel Group executive coach team. Along the way she has developed a quiet, sturdy way of carrying her faith into rooms where it may not be welcome by name. Her approach is worth studying for any of us who work where the phrase "bring your whole self to work" rarely means bringing our convictions.

A Path She Never Planned

Cobb began her career as an engineer on the East Coast. Human resources was nowhere on her radar. But she was invited into some of her company's HR planning and recruiting initiatives, and something clicked. When she decided to move back to the Midwest for graduate school, she knew she loved manufacturing and had enjoyed the people side of the work. She started with a double major and eventually settled on human resources.

From there she moved from compensation specialist to recruiting specialist to generalist at Baxter, where leadership development became part of her role. In 2004 she left to open her own consulting practice. Two years later, Executive Coaching Connections, which later became Ariel Group, invited her into its affiliate community of coaches.

"I never thought I would have my own practice. I never thought I would be a business owner."

Many of us recognize that pattern: the career we end up with is rarely the one we drew up. Cobb's story suggests that the detours may be where our gifts get shaped.

When Corporate Demands Crowd Out the Spirit

Cobb's faith did not grow in a straight line. When she became a mother, she says, she felt a greater responsibility to invest in her spiritual life. She found a church and got her daughter involved in youth programs. She served in various ways herself.

But she is candid about how a demanding corporate career can distract even a committed believer. "You're working so many hours, you get to Sunday and you're like, 'Oh, I have a day of rest,'" she recalls, "while you still need to be involved in worshiping."

Leaving Baxter changed the rhythm. Working from home, she was looking to do more. Her pastor had been preaching on two things: the importance of small groups, and the necessity of daily time in the Word. "Seven days a week is ideal," she remembers him saying, "but at least five days. Be in the Word five days. It makes a difference."

Cobb still worked during the day, so she needed an evening group. At the time, her church did not have one. So it went on her prayer list.

The Prayer That Became a Calling

An evening group started. Cobb joined. Before long, the group's leader noticed how she engaged and invited her to coffee. Cobb says she knew exactly what the conversation would be about. The leader asked her to consider becoming a small group leader and Bible study facilitator. Cobb did not waffle.

That was about 20 years ago, and she is still leading. Her group moved to Zoom when COVID hit and has stayed there, meeting in person now and then. She calls it fulfilling and enriching, and says she cannot imagine stopping. She also sees it as another way to use her God-given gifts, expressed differently than in her coaching practice.

Notice the sequence: she identified a need, prayed about it, showed up when the door opened, and said yes without hesitation. Her prayer list became her calendar.

Reading the Room Without Hiding the Light

Early in her career, Cobb says, she was more reserved about faith. She knew of a faith-based affinity group that met at lunch at Baxter, and she admired that the company supported it. She enjoyed conversations with an executive whose faith clearly drove him. But she was not yet where she is today in her own journey.

Now she works with organizations where talking about faith is not taboo. Still, many of her coaching clients operate in settings where it is not appropriate to speak openly. Her counsel is practical and humble.

"We as Christ followers have to read the room, read our audience. And in fact, I think it's better when we don't say it, that we just do it."

For Cobb, faith shows up in the words we choose, the tone we take, and the way we treat people. She believes that speaks louder than talking about Jesus ever could. When people notice a calm presence and wonder how someone can be so steady, they raise their own hand. That opens the door to a conversation.

"You want to attract, not repel," she says. And she wants people to make their own decisions. "We do what we do not to bring any glory to us. It's glory to Him."

She also takes the long view. We may not be the one who brings someone all the way to Christ, but a conversation today might resurface years from now. Seeds are planted. The growing is God's work, in God's time and in that person's time.

Faith in the Ordinary Decisions

Anyone can turn to God in a crisis. Cobb was asked how she involves Him in the ordinary stuff. Her answer starts before she gets out of bed.

"When I wake up in the morning, that's the first blessing of the day, because no day is promised to anybody." She takes a few moments to give thanks and to pray that she will be present to opportunities to be a light or make a difference.

When things go smoothly, she gives thanks. When things get crazy, she asks a different question: "Okay, Lord, you're bringing me to this. What do you want me to learn in this process?" She leans on James 1:2-5, which teaches that trials build perseverance, and perseverance builds character. There is purpose in the hard seasons. What we learn can also become a gift to someone who is walking through the same thing.

When She Loses It

Cobb's steadiness is not effortless, and she says so. She tells her small group that when she loses her composure, it always moves her to tears. She feels convicted immediately, aware that she lost her self-control and her peace.

Then comes the reset. She trusts that God appreciates her recognizing it, repenting, and returning to the path rather than running things on her own strength. Tom summed up the rhythm in two words: remember and return. We forget, then we come back, and over time the stretches of self-reliance get shorter.

What We Can Do This Week

• Start the day with gratitude. Take two minutes before email to thank God for the day and ask Him to make you aware of someone you can serve.

• Ask the learning question. The next time work gets chaotic, pause and ask what God might be teaching you.

• Let your conduct open the door. Pay attention to your tone and your words in meetings. Be the person others get curious about.

• Pray about a missing community. If you need a small group, a mentor, or an accountability partner, put it on your prayer list, and say yes when the invitation comes.

• Reset quickly. When you lose your composure, acknowledge it, ask forgiveness, and move forward.

Cobb's story does not depend on a platform or a pulpit. It depends on a leader who prays about small things, serves faithfully for decades, and trusts that quiet consistency speaks. Who in your workplace might be watching, and wondering what makes you different?

Cynthia Cobb is a daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend, wife, mom, aunt, and “outgoing-introvert”. She is a self-proclaimed work enthusiast who loves what she does as an HR professional, executive coach, and consultant. In addition, she is an advocate, encourager, and life-long learner.

Cynthia is also a Christian on her journey to being fully who God designed her to be. As a small group leader for nearly two decades, she has had the joy of digging into God’s Word with a community of women who are navigating their own journey.

Cynthia recently published her second book:

Praise, Prayer, and Testimony: Cobb, Cynthia Taylor: 9798185579848: Amazon.com: Books

Good news : Cynthia has agreed to be a guest on Christopher Action Network Podcast!