Success Stories

In order to respect my clients’ confidentiality the names from the stories below have been omitted or changed.

From IT to K9

The Situation
I recently worked with an IT professional employed by Hewlett Packard who had reluctantly applied for a post at MI5 on the basis that she needed to increase her income.  She came to me wanting some help with her interview technique.

The Coaching
Through the coaching process it became apparent that IT was not her passion - she fell into her career from university because it was considered a good job to have, and her parents thought with her education it was what she ‘should’ be doing.  The reality after 9 years was that she hated being office bound, and longed to be outside in the fresh air. 
I spent some time finding out what was most important to her, what her values were and what motivated her, and with that in mind asked ‘If you could do anything, what would you do?’  Her response was that she would do something that combined her love of the outdoors with her love of animals.

The Result
She got the offered the contract at MI5, but as a result of working with me she realised it was not the right thing for her, and despite the money, turned it down. 
I am now coaching her through the start up process of her own dog walking business.  She has taken the decision to stay employed in her current role until the business is up and running, allowing her to maintain her financial security.  She is relieved to have finally admitted that IT is not ‘it’ and delighted to have found that by aligning who she is with what she does, it is possible to do something more meaningful and earn a living at the same time.

The Smarter Not Harder Approach

The Situation
This client came to me with a very financially successful business she had built up over 7 years.  The problem was she constantly felt like a hamster on a wheel, all the time running faster just to stand still.  She had no time for her husband and two children, let alone time for herself, and that needed to change.  The problem was she couldn’t see how.

The Coaching
We worked together for 3 months.  It was established early on that her family was reliant on her business to pay the mortgage and the school fees, so in order to safeguard their current standard of living the income from her business needed to be maintained.  She seemed to want the impossible – more time for her family and the same income without sacrificing anything else in her life. 
The approach I took to the issue was ‘how can you make your business work smarter, not harder?’  This began a process of review, looking at what areas could be honed and toned, with an eye firmly on my client’s goal of the business being more efficient and less time consuming.  The process we worked through opened her eyes to all sorts of business opportunities she had never even considered before.  We brainstormed about 20 ideas, short listed 3, and with my help she began to implement them one by one. 

The Result
Her business is now a leaner, meaner and less time consuming operation.  One of the changes she implemented as a result of the work we did together was around staffing levels and roles.  This has led to her being able to work a 4 days a week, giving her some additional family time at weekends.  Another of the ideas that came out of our sessions together was a bolt on to her existing product range.  This, coupled with a rationalisation of overheads, has meant the turnover of her business has actually increased by 10% as a result of the performance boosting work that we did.

Project Emma

The Situation
Emma (not her real name) came to me having just walked out of her position as the HR Director for a high profile local company. The role had been extremely stressful – long hours and a very ‘challenging’ boss had led to enormous pressure, and the situation had become untenable. She had had enough, but not sure about what she wanted to do next, she came to me to aid her transition. Emma tells the rest of the story in her own words;

The Coaching
‘I have found my Coaching experience with you truly valuable, just spending time reflecting and thinking about what is important to me, my values, my beliefs, my goals, my gremlins and my aspirations being supported, guided and at times challenged by you to consider things differently, deeply and to find solutions for myself have been crucial to me at a point of significant personal change.  I was not sure what to expect but I was immediately comfortable with your approach and personal style and have really enjoyed being coached by you.

The process worked perfectly from our first meeting and throughout subsequent sessions, I would not change anything about the process.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being coached by you.  We have had lots of laughter along the way and being one of my values I really appreciated that approach!  I like the silence that occurs sometimes when I am hoping you are going to give me an answer and I quickly sense that you are looking for me to find it for myself, you are an excellent listener, a core skill for coaching I would think, though you also know when to move me away from one area to another, I felt extremely comfortable throughout and even with the conversations being over the telephone there were pauses though no awkward silences which I felt was important.  The supporting information and 'homework' were great too and I looked forward to each meeting.’ 

The Result 
‘I feel I have achieved so much in such a short space of time.  I have been able to re evaluate where I am professionally and how the desire to succeed professionally has impacted me personally, I have reviewed my beliefs and values and recognise how they have influenced my behaviours and at times limited me in the pursuit of my personal goals.  The process has reinforced what is important to me and has helped me redefine my goals for the future.

I feel very positive about the future and feel re energised, I am spending time putting me at the top of my list, something quite alien to me before now and whereas I would previously have felt guilty or selfish about putting myself first I do not feel that way at all currently and feel much better for it.  I also have issues about being in control and get frustrated when I cannot deal with things which are outside of my control, I have been working on those aspects and whilst I would not say I am completely cured I have a much better sense of what is and is not possible for me to control and how I should deal with those situations.  I am excited about what the future holds for me rather than daunted as I was feeling before I commenced this journey. 

Thank you so much Gayle, I will continue to recommend you to others and sincerely hope we may be able to progress further in the future when I am fee earning, more Coaching sessions will be my first reward!’

Emma’s next chapter is just beginning as she sets out on her new adventure as a self employed HR Consultant.

What would you like to achieve in your life?

If you would like to explore the possibility of working with me please email me with details of your current situation at gayle@skybluecoaching.co.uk or alternatively, to find out more about the coaching programmes I offer please go to My Services page.