People
Coaching provides for direct on-the-job learning as well as just-in-time learning tailored to the particular situation. By enabling behavioural shifts, coaching allows projects and people to move forward immediately and with less effort. Change in business today is often not linear and requires quick shifts into entirely new models. Coaching supports people to pivot quickly to meet changing business demands while maintaining resilience and wellbeing.
I work with a wide range of people, including:
Senior Leaders - Read Case Study
Executive coaching enabled a senior leader to enhance her professional mojo. Her confidence had eroded when a new general manager was appointed to the organisation as he had a different management style to her previous manager. Her new manager wanted his management team to be more entrepreneurial in their thinking and challenged them to take more responsibility for the strategic direction of their business areas.
Outcome: After coaching, my client had the courage and confidence to move out of her comfort zone and take a new strategic approach to her work. She strengthened her emotional intelligence including self-awareness, self-expression, decision making, interpersonal relationships and assertiveness. She used this newly discovered knowledge to plan strategically for her department and build stronger professional working relationships with her colleagues.
Business Owners - Read Case Study
I supported a business owner and self-diagnosed “workaholic” to achieve a better life work balance while enhancing performance in his company. He had spent too much time working ‘in’ his business and not ‘on’ his business resulting him having to work six days a week and was experiencing burnout.
Outcome: Through coaching and training, he adapted a stronger strategic perspective focusing more on the value tasks such as business development and customer service. He delegated other tasks to his team who were delighted with the developmental opportunities. Their work became more interesting. As a result, my client was able to spend more time with his family and on his hobbies while increasing customer satisfaction levels, growing his revenue streams and having more empowered staff.
Managers - Read Case Study
I started working with a very successful engineer in a project management company when he became a people leader. As an engineer he had delivered many successful projects as a result of his continuous improvement and engineering skills. He was technically very strong and worked mainly as a single contributor.
He became out of his depth once he was promoted into a people manager role with responsibility for 40 people on various projects. Although he had worked with people on projects for many years, this was in the context of peers. He never had to manage a team of people. He found it challenging to delegate work and motivate his team members.
Outcome: Through coaching, we worked on fostering his leadership mind set and grew his confidence and skillset to become an empowering people leader. His people knew what was expected of them and they took accountability for their work. They felt supported as the manager engaged with them and gave them clear direction. They felt appreciated in their work and that their opinion mattered.
Teams - Read Case Study
I supported a newly formed team in the ICT sector to become productive very quickly by compiling their team charter. The team and I identified their mission and vision which was aligned to the organisation’s strategy. We formulated the team’s behaviour norms which were underpinned by the organisation’s values.
Outcome: Their charter was a powerful framework that enabled the team to well together leveraging each other’s strengths in a respectful and transparent work environment. They settled in quickly and delivered on their goals and performance metrics from the outset.
Entrepreneurs - Read Case Study
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an entrepreneur to pivot her business and quickly develop her online presence. We formulated her new strategic plan to guide the business direction setting out robust goals and timelines.
Outcome: Her company is now experiencing business growth and is in a strong position to operate in the new business environment. My client has become very comfortable making decisions in complex times.
Career Changers - Read Case Study
Through my customised outplacement programme, I support individuals going through redundancy when their company decided to close their Cork branch. Most of the participants in the programme had at least 20 years’ service in the company, for many it had been their first job after leaving education. The support framework was delivered via training and 1-2-1 coaching to instil confidence and develop skills to prepare for the next chapter of their careers.
The starting point was to explore preferences for the next role. We then worked together to make this goal a reality. Encouragement played a pivotal role in the process as did having a structure as looking for a new role is a job in itself – time and energy are needed to get a successful result.
Outcome: Participating in a robust support framework, the clients were able to take up new roles or upskill in preparation for another career.
Organisations
Coaching promotes creativity, breakthrough performance and resilience, giving organisations a competitive edge and effective way to flow and operate within an environment of continuous change.
Employees who are coached to performance are more committed to and invested in the outcomes of their work and achievement of organisational goals. Change has become the norm and individual resilience and performance is crucial to team and organisational success. Coaching leverages individual strengths and abilities for maximum performance.
I work with a wide range of organisations, including:
Multinationals - Read Case Study
I worked with the senior leadership team in a pharmaceutical company to support them to deliver on a major transformational change project for their site. The process encompassed various strategy and change management workshops and a blend of team and individual coaching.
Outcome: People on the site understood the necessity for the change through interactive communication flows. Fears and concerns were listened to, and the employees played an active role in implementing the change project. Acceptance of the change was much stronger than on previous attempts to bring about a change.
SME’s - Read Case Study
I coached the general manager and his team in a construction company to prepare for a rapid expansion as they entered a new market. We worked to align the internal processes to meet the new business environment, which required a 30% increase in the number of employees.
Outcome: The right people were hired in terms of future requirements for talent, skills and attitude. The appropriate management team was put in place and a new company culture was shaped. Job mapping was carried out and job descriptions updated. KPIs were updated and scorecards designed to measure performance.
Not for Profits - Read Case Study
A bespoke coaching skills training programme was compiled and delivered to the managers in a not-for-profit organisation. The goal of the training was to foster a coaching culture and framework in the organisation.
Outcome: Following the training, the managers were more confident and better equipped to help their own team members navigate the challenges of their roles. They fostered greater self-awareness, accountability and action across their teams resulting in enhanced performance including fundraising capabilities and greater resilience.
Call Centres - Read Case Study
A customised development programme was created to support newly appointed managers as they transition to their new roles. While it is very rewarding to be promoted in your organisation, it can also be very challenging to now be the manager of your work friends and colleagues. This ongoing six-month programme is a practical framework to develop high potentials and ease new managers into their roles. It is a blend of training, mentoring, coaching and participating in special projects.
Outcome: On completion of the programme, the managers have an appropriate skillset to motivate their team members while confidently holding them accountable for their performance. They are comfortable encouraging autonomy and be genuinely caring while also recognising that each employee is responsible for achieving team objectives. Communication styles are also nurtured to create a greater “presence” and voice in meetings and presentations, comfortable speaking up and respectfully challenging as appropriate.
Credit Unions - Read Case Study
I was asked by the Board of Directors and Senior Management Team to support them in the development and implementation of their three-year strategic plan. There was a requirement for the credit union to change how they do business in order to remain relevant to their members.
It was imperative to balance the credit union ethos, members’ needs and business objectives in the plan. An inclusive approach was taken by including members, staff, volunteers and directors in the process.
Outcome: A successful transition was implemented preparing the credit union for the significant challenges that changes in the financial sector has brought about, and more recently the impact that Covid 19. While the pandemic wasn’t the initial driver, the agility of the strategic plan and commitment of the stakeholders has enabled the credit union to become one of the strongest performing unions in the country, measured by member growth and loan book growth.
Professional Services - Read Case Study
The purpose of this project was to set up a performance management framework to help set goals and create a greater awareness of the importance of billing and timely invoicing. Too much time was spent checking work and job overruns were the norm. Management wanted staff to take more responsibility for their work and timely billing. The managing partners, staff and trainee accountants were involved in the process to increase engagement for successful outcomes.
Outcome: Staff were given greater autonomy in their work. Processes and systems were introduced to drive efficiencies. Team and individual goals were set and delivered upon. Perceived challenges were explored and contingency plans identified. Required key performance metrics were identified and action plans put in place. There was a greater sense of teamwork and team members took greater accountability for delivering their work as per the budgeted hours. There was also a greater understanding of the importance of delivering on the time commitments promised to clients. The managing partners were freed up to spend more time strategically developing new service offerings and less time micromanaging their staff.