About Tanya Raheel

I’m not your typical coach.

(Yeah, yeah—every coach says that.

But the fact is that I’ve never really fit into conventional boxes, and I’m not about to start now.)

Cred.

I’ve been a formally trained, ICF-certified Adler coach since 2012, with additional training in everything from adult development and communication to leadership, resilience, mindfulness, and even energy healing.

But I won’t bore you with a laundry list of credentials.

What Actually Matters.

Before I became a coach, I spent 20 years in tech and corporate—navigating high-pressure, high-performance roles, progressively bigger mandates, and at times, ruthless politics.

I worked like a dog to prove myself—which earned me meaningful rewards but also more than a few rounds of burnout—in environments that were quietly eating me alive because of

While I was lucky to work with some wonderful, supportive people from whom I learned a great deal—including one boss I still consider a big brother—many times, I didn’t.

And when I needed help the most, I couldn’t find the kind of support or guidance that was actually right for me—especially when it came to dealing with managers, peers, and even direct reports from hell who, on more than a few occasions, were actively gunning for me.

I also prided myself on being fiercely independent... to the point that I couldn’t see when I was self-sabotaging and standing in my own way.

I Didn’t Know How to Ask for Help—

Even when I was facing just about every “-ism” you can imagine as a qualified, accomplished, foreign-born-and-educated brown woman in tech.

And when I finally did ask?

The help I got wasn’t what I actually needed.

Not because it was bad—but because the experts I found—however well-meaning—had no lens, no lived experience, and no real grasp of the career challenges I was navigating because of my background, gender, or ethnicity.

So when I left my tech and corporate career behind, I made a decision:

To be—and offer—the kind of career support I wish I’d had.

Especially for the many underestimated, overlooked, and undermined talented, accomplished humans who’ve never fit any “standard mold” and often struggled to belong—

Those unique, extraordinary square pegs in round holes—

Regardless of gender, background, ethnicity, or walk of life.

Origin Story—Sort Of

So, I’m a rather private and shy-ish person.

But I figured I’d get over myself and share a bit about my background with you.

Hopefully it will give you a bit more insight into who I am.

I’m proudly Canadian—and also an Adult Third Culture Kid (TCK), proud of my eclectic, mixed heritage, and background… one that many people still struggle to wrap their heads around (much to my amusement.)

  • By the age of 25, I’d lived, studied, and worked across four countries and three continents.

  • I’ve had careers that look shiny on paper—and I’ve also been laid off four times, fired twice, burned out three times, set up to fail twice, and started over more times than I can count.

  • I’ve dealt with narcissistic bosses, Machiavellian coworkers, impossible direct reports, and toxic, dysfunctional workplaces—moments I genuinely thought would break me.

  • I don’t believe in linear careers. Or linear lives.

  • And any coach who claims they’ve had a non-stop run of success—or bounced back from a setback without some significant scar tissue—is either lying, deluded, or hawking snake oil. (Just my personal opinion.)

     

I’ve never forgotten where I’ve come from.

I’m grateful for the privileges I’ve had, and proud of the wins, milestones, and peaks I’ve reached.

But I’m equally grateful for every mistake I’ve made (and there’ve been plenty), and for every searing setback, loss, or abject failure I’ve lived through—even in the moments when I felt helpless, lost, or like a victim of circumstance.

Because all of it—the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between—informs the kind of coach I am, and more importantly, the kind of human I try to be when I show up for the people I work with.

Three Fun Facts

If you’ve made it all the way here—wow. You deserve a medal.

All joking aside: Thank you, genuinely.
I truly appreciate you making the time and effort to do so.

And more importantly, I look forward to meeting you and getting to know you :)

  1. One of my favourite travel destinations? Under the sea.
    I’m a former PADI Advanced Scuba Diver, and some of my best, happiest moments were spent 60 feet underwater. (and yes, that’s me in the photo)

  2. 100% Star Wars over Star Trek—ever since I was 7 years old.

  3. I’m a classically trained cook (classic French cuisine), thanks to my first career in international hotel management.

    And yes, the restaurant industry is very much like The Bear.