With the few sessions I have had with Ian, I have learnt to be more
aware of how my manner and style of communicating is perceived by my
peers and colleagues. It has led to an ability to read situations in a
way which now enables me to take account of how the communication has
been received. The development of mirror-imaging my management style has
enabled me to understand why people sometimes misunderstand me and now
allows me to adjust this style so as to achieve my objective. Always
consider “Who you are talking to” and “How you are talking to them” and
not just “what you are saying”.
I have for the above reasons become a better listener and able to
communicate in a more measured and considered way
Chairman, NHS Trust
Ian helped me at a difficult time at home and at work when there was even more to do than usual and circumstances were changing rapidly. He coaxed me to articulate my values, decide on what was important to me, encouraged me to set priorities and liberated my own greater creativity. An important part of his work was gently holding me accountable for achievement of the goals I had set myself. I believe that I became more aware of my learning style, wasted less time, and was more focussed on those things that were important to me than I would have been otherwise. All in all – a success!!
M Hannan
Director, N-Ovation
I was one of four senior managers delivering decommissioning projects at a nuclear power station. My team’s performance was bottom out of four and I needed to turn it around. When offered the opportunity to work with a coach I was at first a little sceptical but keen to try it as I had never worked with a professional coach before.
Ian and I very quickly established what I wanted for the team and also what I wanted myself. Together we worked with the team on several exercises and team building workshops. This brought the team together and individual team members’ performance improved noticeably. The team became very tightly knit and highly focused on the objective of turning out the best project delivery by the end of the year.
I was delighted when my team achieved our objective of surpassing the other three and turned out the best project delivery for that financial year. Not only did we achieve this but were given additional funding late in the year and delivered an additional 10% project scope.
Many of this team have gone on to develop themselves professionally and many have stayed in touch after the group disbanded. The coaching and facilitation that I received from Ian had a significant part in this success.
What I particularly liked about working with Ian was the very professional nature of his interactions. He quickly generated a very trusting and open relationship where we both felt comfortable taking about anything, good or bad. Ian also had a way of making you want more and motivated you into actually enacting what we agreed to try out. There was never any feeling of pressure but just a realisation that you have to do stuff to get anything out of the coaching.
I also found it easy to discuss personal issues with Ian and whilst these were not strictly part of the coaching intent, helping me with them definitely helped me to perform at work.
K Allan. KGA Project Management
