Tag Archives: what clients say

Looking beyond surface answers

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , , ,

I continue to focus this month on preparing invitations to join a number of coaching groups. Last week I sent out an invitation to New Coaches for a group whose members want to invest in building their coaching practice. Now I’m working on invitations for several groups with a special interest in Non-Violent Communication (NVC).

I’m also starting to talk to my corporate clients about coaching groups for leaders. I’d like to work with a group whose members are focused on building their effectiveness as leaders and another whose members are wanting to develop their coaching style. Of course, if all the groups I am planning come to fruition straight away I’ll have (together with my work with one-to-one coaching clients) a very packed schedule for the year ahead!

I am enjoying the abundance of quotes and testimonials that clients and colleagues have been sending me in response to my request. An initial wave of responses has been followed by a steady stream and I am using these in my marketing materials for the coaching groups. Here on the blog, I hope they will give potential coaching clients a sense of my style and help people to make a choice (either way) that supports them in finding their perfect coach.

The testimonial below is from Chris Mulrooney who was my colleague at the Hay Group. Based in the US, Chris and I crossed paths when we both had responsibilities for the professional development of colleagues and worked together across Europe. I treasured Chris’ ability to look for the best in people and to see their potential as they embarked on learning new skills in some of the technical areas that underpinned Hay’s offerings. He was an inspiration to me then – as now.

Chris left the Hay Group at much the same time as I did and has gone on to senior leadership roles in two successive communities for the elderly – pursuing a passion he has had over the years and putting both his academic learning and his subsequent experience into practice. His testimonial?

I had the great pleasure of serving as a fellow coach and co-trainer with Dorothy for several years in service to Hay Group colleagues in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. While I traveled to a number of Hay offices around the globe during my tenure at Hay, I especially looked forward to partnering with Dorothy in the U.K. office during these endeavors. I benefited from having a colleague who asked insightful questions of those we were coaching and of me. Dorothy’s coaching style is warm and engaging, yet she challenges those in her midst to look beyond the surface answers and probe more deeply into the “whys” of behavior. These are the hallmarks of a good coach, and thus I have every reason to believe that Dorothy is of great value to all those she coaches.

Chris Mulrooney

Former colleague at the Hay Group

A true advocate for authentic leadership

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , ,

As I write, I am savouring the testimonial I received this morning from Lynne, my own coach since 2005.

Lynne wrote this testimonial for me to share with other coaches who might be interested in joining the New Coaches Coaching Group (see http://dorothynesbit.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-coaches-making-transition-from.html). At the same time, it speaks to so much that is important to me in my work across a range of client groups, including my clients in the most senior leadership roles in organisations.

Perhaps it speaks to something else, too – something much more personal. For to work with a coach is to allow oneself to be seen fully and in all one’s glory and in-glory. So, to read Lynne’s quote is, for me, to be have been seen fully and still to have been found with strengths to offer and with personal qualities which have the power to inspire. I am grateful to Lynne for her words:

As Dorothy’s coach, I know that she is a true advocate for authentic personal and professional leadership.

Dorothy is absolutely committed, as a coach, to working with you to access your own innate resources, clarity, and authentic voice. She shines a light on your dreams, passions, and wisdom, and calls you forth into the full expression of those natural talents, in work and in life.

Dorothy brings energy, passion, focus, humour, and wisdom to her life and work. You can count on your journey with Dorothy, either as an individual or group client, to be a spirited one with lots of fun, challenge, and great reward.

As your coach in the New Coaches Group, Dorothy understands your needs and desires. She sponsors your unique dreams and talents. You can look forward to a coach and a group that supports, challenges, and calls you forth to make your vision, of yourself, your business, and your life, a reality. I can’t think of a better coach for you to have on the path of building your coaching practice.

Lynne Fairchild
Professionally Certified Coach

Inspiring others to develop

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , ,

The joy of receiving testimonials from clients and colleagues continues as I prepare invitations for a number of coaching groups I am planning. Last week I sent out my first invitation – for the New Coaches Coaching Group – and I was thrilled, this morning, to post it on the blog.

I’m also thrilled to share one of the testimonials I included in this invitation, from Lindsey Waddell, who was briefly my colleague at the Hay Group. In 2007 Lindsey recommended me to former colleagues at an organisation she had worked for, a referral which led to an extensive period of working with a City law firm. This was a rich experience for me for which I am truly grateful.

As I write, I think of how valuable such referrals are to me. Often, they help to connect me with clients with whom I am well-suited to work. In addition, the mutual trust and respect that exists from the beginning when I meet clients in this way enables a depth of working and leads to a quality of outcome which create great value for clients and meet my need to do work which is significant for the client in the difference that it makes.

So, in posting Lindsey’s testimonial I celebrate the work I have already done with Lindsey’s help and the sponsorship she has given me by her willing recommendation:

The real pleasure of knowing Dorothy as a colleague and as a coach, is her powerful and infectious enthusiasm for inspiring others to develop. She achieves this by truly engaging you with her curiosty, her integrity, her commitment and her ability to enable you to believe you can be all you set out to be. I would never hesitate to recommend Dorothy and believe her passion for contining development of coaches will enhance the profession significantly.

Lindsey Waddell
Coach and Organisation Development Consultant

Would I recommend Dorothy? Absolutely

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , , ,

Coaches are regularly invited to coach their clients in areas in which they have no expertise. This can serve to highlight the differences between coaching and other interventions, such as training. For whereas training offers input based on the expertise of the trainer, in coaching the expertise of the coach lies in asking questions, in making observations and in making other interventions which help the client to find his or her own answers.

This was true in a session last month with John Dellarmi who recently started his own business after many years working inside a corporation and wanted to attract new clients to his new business. I am not a marketing expert and wouldn’t dream of positioning myself as such, though I do have my own insights based on my experience of setting up Learning for Life (Consulting). So, it was not my intention to share my own ideas. Rather, my aim was to be curious – to work with John as his coach.

So, when it came to preparing invitations for two new coaching groups which both have an interest in marketing (the New Coaches group and the NVC Marketing Group) John seemed to be a good person to turn to for a testimonial. What did he have to say?

I’d been prevaricating over a number of things and was getting down in the dumps about it. Dorothy was able to constructively get me to question some of my beliefs which were (unbeknown to me) getting in the way of a number of marketing steps that I needed to take. With Dorothy’s questions and coaching I was able to realise that success can be measured in a number of different ways and can be different shades of grey. Feeling energised by our coaching conversation, the next day I put together my own blog, celebrated my success and felt good about what I was trying to do. I would still be prevaricating today (two weeks later) if it wasn’t for Dorothy and really do make sure that I celebrate all my successes, big or small. The $64 million dollar question: would I recommend Dorothy? Absolutely

John Dellarmi
Independent trainer and coach

A unique level of insight and empathy

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , ,

July is turning into a month of celebration for me as I receive the steady flow of responses to my requests for testimonials to use in the marketing materials I am preparing for the coaching groups I am currently planning.

I had not realised ahead of time what a joyful process this would be for me. I am experiencing it as a celebration of so much that matters to me: my own work and everything that I bring to that work, my colleagues and their willingness – eagerness – to sponsor me, my clients and their commitment to their own learning and growth, the privilege of working as a coach…

Today I’m taking a moment to post a testimonial from Derrick Murray. I first met Derrick when I interviewed him for a job. Executive Assessment is something I also offer and enjoy – what a privilege to have such deep insights into the skills and competencies of another! Derrick got the job, with my longstanding client Munich Re, and I have enjoyed watching him flourish and progress.

Derrick’s feedback?

Although my first experience of working with Dorothy was not coaching related, it was later as an executive coach that her skills and values shone through. She has (in my experience) a unique level of insight and empathy which allows her to interact in a most effective way. Like all good coaching, it’s not always comfortable, but it is always immensely valuable and pragmatically useful from the moment the session ends.

Derrick Murray
Director of Operations Munich Re
UK Life Branch

Thank you, Derrick.

Holding a space (even in cyberspace)

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , , ,

I start the day with such gratitude for the feedback my colleagues are sharing with me in support of my marketing materials for the series of coaching groups I am beginning to plan. One testimonial came from Hilary Cooke, my fellow contributor on the Training Journal Daily Digest. Only last week I reproduced one of Hilary’s postings on my blog.

I feel so blessed in Hilary’s feedback, so generously given. Sharing it here, with Hilary’s generous permission, I take time to savour it and to let it permeate – sink in:

Hi Dorothy – will be a pleasure – here you go…

There is no doubt that networks are fundamental to good business and can also contribute a great deal to learning. I have to confess that I have a personal interest in studying communities of practice, as the body of evidence is growing that high quality collaboration is becoming increasingly relevant.

The issue with any network for me is that it depends on the quality and integrity of the people included in the network – Why are they there? What do they want? What do they contribute? Do I trust them? Do I trust myself? What are my motives? and in the end, summarised by – Is this network nurturing me and being nurtured by me in appropriate quantity? Am I both giving and receiving in a balanced ecology?

As a self-employed consultant, I’ve joined and left many virtual and real networks over the years. One that I have stayed constant with is TJ Discussion Forum, (formerly known as UKHRD). I can’t trace how long this has been part of my mostly daily routine, but my hunch is eight years or so? (is it – I don’t know but I think so).

As a virtual community and internet forum, I find it constantly fascinating how we reveal ourselves by our written responses to each other. I also find it a welcome break to be able to communicate in a considered fashion, being able to take time to let things land and settle and process the response I wish to make. I find that this encourages my reflective practice and then the sharing adds another dimension to my learning by the responses I create.

One of my favourite co-contributors is you Dorothy. I think that if we met, we would become firm friends and stalwart colleagues. So, what do I value about you…?

I find your postings and way of conducting yourself to be extremely gently mannered, generous and gracious – you pay attention to the little things like thanking people and acknowledging them which I value. You are impeccable with your words and insightful in what you pick up from others.

I also experience you working to really hear people – you hold a space, (even in cyberspace), for others to do their own realising, without shunting solutions at them (which some others are inclined to do). Your style comes from your mastery of the incisive question, which in turn comes from an ability to listen properly. I know that the ability to do this is connected to allowing space for ourselves, which is the result of a high level of self awareness and work on ourselves. It’s the ultimate ability to recognise that less is more. I like that about you because it resonates with my own practice aspirations. I have a hunch that this is your coaching style too.

You clearly have a good development pedigree and sound body of knowledge with the Hay Group, ITS and NVC, that I know about from your sharings, but it’s more about how you use your knowledge to integrate these into your practice extremely elegantly. You manage the combination of intellect and feelings in a fine balance I think. You are a good example for NVC and in walking the talk about your beliefs and values in supporting people without sucking their power by over-helping.

You are also clearly cultured and share this without being a snob or making other people feel “less than” – which is also elegant in my book. I have a strong sense of being “equal” with you and that I could push and pull and that you would flex with me. I would actually trust you to coach me personally, and I can count on a very few fingers that people that I would say that about – and that is partly about skill, but more about shared values and the ability and strength to manage our own truths.

These are my experiences of you and it is a pleasure to share them with you. I am so glad that you asked – asking for what we want is a strength in itself.

My gift to you – use this to do whatever will benefit you from doing so with my full permission.

Hilary Cooke

Thank you, Hilary.

An authentic, experienced and elegant coach

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , ,

Yesterday I started the process of gathering testimonials as part of preparing invitations to join me as participants in the coaching groups I am preparing for the Autumn. I am learning to love the process of gathering feedback – a way to learn how trusted colleagues and clients see me and to understand what they value in my work.

First back – by return – was a quote from Allison Mitchell. Since we first met, in 2002, Allison and I have been participants together in trainings and have referred clients to each other. Allison is a Key Note Speaker and author of three books including Time Management for Manic Mums and (as co-author) Making It: Women Entrepreneurs Reveal their Secrets of Success.

Her testimonial? This is for the New Coaches Coaching Group:

I’d thoroughly recommend Dorothy as an authentic, experienced and elegant coach. My experience of being part of any initiative she has organised has been highly positive. I’m sure this coaching group will be a great opportunity and catalyst for new coaches.

Allison Mitchell
Coach and author
Making It: Women Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Secrets of Success

Working towards balance and contentment

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , ,

Recently, I wrote about “Life” and “Executive” coaching on my blog.

I was reminded of this posting following a coaching session I held with someone I used to work with – a former colleague whom I rarely see and treasure nonetheless. This was a kind of whole life “health check”, taking an overview of her current personal and professional life and exploring what is working for her at present and what could be working better. Afterwards she wrote to me:

“I feel very honoured that you gave me your time so that I could start to work towards a better balance and contentment in my life. I feel more strongly now that it is a realistic ambition and one that I deserve”.

No matter what the context for my work as a coach, I always take time with clients to look at the overall picture of their life at the start of coaching. To do this is to take stock – to notice what’s working and to identify areas where progress could make a difference. This seems to be of equal value whether clients are senior executives or individuals seeking to create the life they dream of. Equally, this seems to support clients whether they are starting out as coaching clients, in the midst of coaching or simply (as was true this time) taking a one-off opportunity to take stock.

I take a moment to reflect on the question of “Life” and “Executive” coaching. With more than twenty years’ experience of helping senior leaders to develop the skills and competencies they need I am, first and foremost, an Executive Coach. Nonetheless, my clients are, first and foremost, real people who want to lead lives that are satisfying and rewarding. I am grateful to my friend and former colleague for this reminder.

Coaching: when talking brings perspective

Clients and testimonials, , ,

My work is mainly with leaders in senior positions. Often, in our work together, our focus is on developing the emotional intelligence and leadership capability clients need to engage their full capability and motivation – and that of their staff. Whatever agenda a client brings, though, life often throws up areas of exploration that aren’t in the plan. This was true a few months back for one of my clients, who is General Manager in his company. He told me:

“Having worked with you in 2004 it seemed natural to make contact when I decided to work with a coach again.

“Because of my previous experience I had a belief that there would be a big benefit from working together and even so, my goals were exceeded. As a result of our work together I have become more centred and focused on what I want to achieve. I have more idea about how to forward plan for myself, because now I see what I want to do. I also have a clear framework for self-development and I’ve got several strands of self-development started.

“Around Easter time I had a personal crisis. Being able to talk it through with you meant I got it into perspective. I could have ended up with a marriage breakdown and my family falling apart. But now I have the exact opposite. I have strong family relationships, and the future is bright. I’ve had benefits in my current role, too, even though this has not been our main area of focus.

“Coaching has been a process for evaluating and improving all aspects of my life in a fulfilling way. In this second lot of coaching, I’ve got to the point faster and have more self belief. I have much better recognition of my own strengths. The major thing is, I think differently. I’ve especially learnt the power of talking to someone about any aspect of your life – it brings perspective. Because of this, I have no plan to end our coaching partnership”.

As I share this testimonial with you, I am grateful to my client for his willingness to share. I am also aware of the sense of privilege that comes from working in close partnership in ways which benefit my clients, the organisations they work for and the people with whom they live and work.

I also extend an invitation to you: if this testimonial describes an experience you would like to have, or if you know someone who may be interested to work with me, please contact me directly via dorothy@learningforlifeconsulting.co.uk.

Coaching: the Rolls Royce of personal development experiences

Clients and testimonials, Coaching, , , ,

I have a reciprocal arrangement with a coaching colleague, whereby we interview a percentage of each other’s clients at the close of a coaching relationship. This supports the process of drawing coaching to a close and yields valuable feedback which helps us both to continue to learn and grow.

Recently, I completed my coaching with RN, a senior leader in his organisation with a European remit. I am grateful to him for allowing me to share his testimonial following our work together. He told my colleague:

“My goals for coaching have been 100% met. I have adopted a more conscious approach to work and career decisions and I am more aware of options. Coaching has enabled and accelerated my ability to identify my values, priorities and options in my work life. I am more energized and happier and so more productive – and this has spilled into my private life too. This is more than I expected when we started.

“In the initial opening session we discussed coaching and set the scene and it went well from there. Dorothy had a positive attitude and was a good listener. She was always challenging and asked me questions that opened up new perspectives for me. I found coaching action-orientated – it was not relaxing at all and at the same time it’s a very selfish thing, wonderful to have someone there to talk to where it is all about you. I liked the length of our sessions: they gave time to get to the bottom of things but not be tired. The frequency was adapted to my priorities. Also, when I sent e-mails in between sessions I always got a quick happy, and positive response from Dorothy.

“What would I say to anyone who was thinking of investing in coaching? It is the Rolls-Royce of personal development experiences. I would recommend it absolutely”.

As I review R’s comments I celebrate our work together – including so many details about our coaching partnership and about R’s commitment to coaching which I am in no position to share.

And I also extend an invitation to you: if R’s testimonial describes an experience you would like to have, or if you know someone who may be interested to work with me, please contact me directly via dorothy@learningforlifeconsulting.co.uk.