Coaching started early for me through sports coaching over 20 years ago, and in the office - I found myself coaching 12 years ago when I had a leader in my team asking for my advice on influencing at an executive level.

He’d noticed I thrived in this space and realised it was a part of his skill set he hadn’t yet developed. I was thrilled to spend time giving him some frameworks relevant to the goals he had in mind. And, because I knew him in a work context, I was able to identify strengths he could leverage over time.

“My favourite parts of coaching are when those I coach have an ‘aha’ moment”

I took a strategic planning approach to putting into practice methods, skills and tactics to attaining tangible outcomes and we had regular debrief sessions after key interactions. Providing live feedback on the 1-2 key skills we’d been talking through was a critical element to his rapid development.

I loved these initial coaching sessions I was running. It brought together business strategy, environmental context (the who’s who in the zoo and the organisational culture), assessing skills to draw on key strengths for defined goals and a personal touch to development. Watching over time how someone could develop on a personal and professional level was very rewarding for me.

Today, coaching can be varied. On Transformation Programs, there are a range of skills people are asked to draw on, depending on their expected role on the program, varying levels of experience and motivation. I’m often selecting these people or inheriting the set plan.

You may find me coaching the Visionary who provides the ‘North Star’ messaging, through to your Early Adopter & Super User cohort - on a rapid learning curve to delivering on the ground outcomes. On new ventures, Founders are looking for a range of business coaching to - know what they don’t know, steer in the right direction with confidence or gain skills they lack in making their pursuit successful.

“My style of coaching is best described by my style of parenting, a blend of democratic and holistic”

My favourite parts of coaching are when those I coach have an ‘aha’ moment. They’ve been struggling to overcome a challenge, see the wood for the trees or simply understand what the real hurdles have been to forge the path forward. They have a moment of clarity in our sessions or after in reflection time, coming back with a renewed sense of energy and determination. My other favourite part is getting to know those I coach and learning from them in the process. Coaching, like learning and teaching, is a two-way street.

My style of coaching is best described by my style of parenting, a blend of democratic and holistic. I’m a huge believer of giving children the tools they need to help themselves, including involving them in age appropriate decision making in combination with solving problems with skills they already have, and growing skills they need.

Timing can be everything.

So often my coaching starts with the end in mind, assessment on strengths, what are the immediate perceived challenges - all to set the context before launching into solutions. It’s highly individual, my 5 year old is certainly not dealing with 12 yr old issues and is not wanting positive psychology concepts to improve her ability to manage the rollercoaster of entering high school. Neither is my 16 yr old looking for tips on how to make her own lunch for school for the first time. And I draw from all my business experiences to advise and provide practical frameworks that can be leveraged time and time again.

The last critical thing my coaching includes is honest and timely feedback, and self-reflection, of which I believe is important for any personal growth.

Sometimes my role as coach is simply to hold a mirror up at the right time so that the growing can occur. Sometimes it’s really hard to see that we’re getting in the way of our own success, and as coach, I’m here to do that for my clients in a productive way.

Are you ready to see your blind spots? Maybe you’d like to get to that next level of professional performance?

Why I Enjoy Coaching

My top 3 advice for organisations going through a transformational change

To find your why, it’s important to go back to the start