Melinda’s Story
Discovering personal coaching
During years of specialising in recruitment for C-level placements to the financial services sector, I developed an interest in the people I was working with. It grew over time as I saw too many burnt out, stressed executives, people whose interest in their organisation was decreasing as their work life balance was deteriorating. For me, it was a growing awareness that became a wake-up call.
Wanting to find out more, I investigated the phenomenon and discovered the emerging field of personal coaching.
The symptoms of senior executive neglect
I've always been intensely curious about how people tick and what drives human behaviour, especially as I saw it in workplaces. I began to realise that as many large organisations focussed on their KPI's, which often included mid-tier and other employee satisfaction ratings, the welfare of top executives was often sidelined.
Essentially, senior people were busy looking after the people below them and it was assumed that they themselves were OK. As a result, many become disenchanted. Some took a well-trodden path and left for other careers, while others would rather have taken matters into their own hands but lacked the knowledge and resources to do so.
An individual perspective – from the C-level
On an individual level, people often don’t realise the pressures of their work environment and the effect they can be having on their performance and the productivity of others. From motivation to communication, one person’s workplace behaviour can have a ripple effect, not only flowing to their colleagues and others around them, but also through to their home and social lives.
The executives I saw faced multiple issues, from disruption and change management to dealing with conflict and poor job fit; from bad company cultures to poorly handled restructures, resulting in derailment or a
lack of purpose.
The big decision – discovering executive coaching
Having realised what was happening around me, I felt compelled to make a difference. After extensively investigating the options, I enrolled in a three-year globally accredited executive coaching course during which I studied extensive case histories and observed patterns of human behaviour to learn how I could help my clients and their companies to overcome the problems I had seen and achieve positive, lasting change.
Executive coaching, effective tools with proven results
The executive coaching course, combined with my personal experience, has given me the tools to work with individuals and organisations to help them recognise and realise opportunities for immediate and ongoing improvement.
Career-building executive coaching solutions tailored to individual needs
Just as all people are different, so are their situations in the executive workplace. Drawing on my combination of traditional human resources skills and coaching qualifications, I work with my clients to assess their situations, identify their needs and opportunities and develop solutions tailored to their specific requirements.
From the personal to the organisational – the benefits compound
In addition to personal coaching, I have a series of options suitable for delivery at an organisational level. This can not only maximise the value of personal coaching, but can also create an environment that optimises personal development and organisational productivity.
In practice, experience has shown that the combination of personal and organisation coaching can be synergistic, the outcomes combining to deliver a result that is greater than the sum of the parts.
