Business Coaching Testimonials

It’s all very well us calling our Business Mentors and Coaches “Outstanding”, what is more important is what people have said about their experiences with our Coaches.

We have included around 100 client testimonials across our website. Please browse the selections below to get a flavour of the real benefits you would get from working with our coaches.

If you are an existing client reading this, then we would welcome your comments too, so please do submit a testimonial if you have enjoyed and had real value from your coaching.

Testimonials from:

We are also happy to provide specific referees should you want to have a personal conversation with any previous clients.

If you want to learn more about our Coaches please read their Biographies or simply book your free consultation

Business Coaching Client Testimonials

"Laura, I would like to record my appreciation of your excellent business coaching over the last 12 months. I have found your understanding of the ‘business problem’ refreshing and the strategies we have developed together have given my business renewed purpose and direction.  On a more personal note, the ability to simply share my concerns with a business minded peer has given me more peace of mind! With the recession beginning to bite I am certain that your involvement with this business means that we are better placed to ride it our and succeed in the future." Peter Sabel, Managing Director, The Merit Badge & Regalia Company

"Marshmallow Creative and Notion have proved to be a scrumptious combination! Taking action and seizing an opportunity are now part of my daily to-do list. Working with Laura Ashley-Timms has changed the way I think as a business leader enabling me to put plans in place which take both myself and the Marshmallow brand to the next level - thank you Laura!" Michelle Sommerville, MD, Marshmallow Creative, www.marshmallowcreative.co.uk

"The coaching Bill Sanderson delivered to me and to my fellow directors was absolutely spot on. I know I was a reluctant convert, being an old dog who resisted a new trick, but it was the right thing to do and has made a real difference to me and to the company." John Murray, Managing Director, John Kennedy (Civil Engineering) Ltd

"The year I spent working with Laura Ashley-Timms enabled me to focus on the big picture. By delegating more, I am delivering ambitious growth targets and expanding my business into new areas!" Keir McConomy, MD, www.Spear.co.uk

"Cathy Lasher’s support and coaching expertise proved to be invaluable as the business grew exponentially to a turnover of £3m and an associate base of over 40 consultants in the year that I sold it. During the time that she worked with me, I drew on her skills to help me manage the growth process, the building of a managerial team and the challenges of balancing my own role as founder director, leader of the business and key account manager. I found her unfailing in her passion for the business and our work together and incredibly resourceful in the perspectives and advice she was able to offer. However I most valued the quality of her listening and her unflinching integrity in a business that was principle-driven. I would unhesitatingly recommend her as a business coach." Sarah Harwood, Director, The Faraday Partnership

"Definitely worth giving it a try - will gain something whether in business or personal life." Mohammed Zeeshan, Stylish Mobile

"Sue, this is just a short note to thank you for facilitating our group mentoring sessions, your pro active engagement has enhanced the process, fostered good relationships and enabled focus on meaningful outcomes. Your ability to promote and keep the sessions enjoyable and significant, with a light touch, and an ability to know when not to speak or say too much, is a rare talent. Thank you once again." Paul Carter, MD, Panache Commercial Furniture Ltd

"One of the things I feel I have most benefited from the sessions with Carol McLachlan is actually verbalising my ideas. Communications (oddly enough for my chosen path of business) has sometimes been my weak point, and just planning aloud, does bring clarity, and the questions do make me expand my points to fuller fleshed ideas." Scott Middleton, Entrepreneur, Owner DropCap Ltd

"I’ve reflected a lot about coaching and how it affected me.... it was brilliant .  I've raved about how positive the experience was for me. "
Brett Schlesinger, MD, www.drumcafe.com

“Stephanie Greasley acted as my business coach over a ten month period. I approached her because I wanted to find a way of making my business, Cinderella's Slipper, more profitable. Stephanie helped me to analyse every aspect of the business so that it would operate more efficiently. I have seen a significant increase in sales. Also, with Stephanie's support, I recently launched an e-commerce website which I run in conjunction with the Holywood boutique. I would not hesitate to contact Stephanie again, should I choose to develop the business further. I would recommend her to anyone who wishes to expand or improve their business in any way." Fiona Wills, Proprietor, Cinderella's Slipper

"Talking through business problems and successes with other people who are in the same position is of great benefit. In fact all but one of the participants are still meeting to support and mentor each other. The other participant is working with me in my business as a technical advisor one day per week."  Sandra Hale, C H Materials Ltd

"Stephanie Greasley has got me on track to achieve my financial goals. Before our coaching sessions I had a mass of ideas, but no coherent plan, and was making no headway. Since then Steph has helped me get going to establish my first clients and get my business off the ground. Steph's style has been supportive and motivating, and her questioning has encouraged me to set stretching but realistic goals which have given me the momentum I needed. Thank you, Steph; I would not have achieved a fraction of this without you." Caroline Cooper, Managing Director, Zeal

"Cathy Lasher’s business experience and challenging methods as a coach helped me to make some realistic business decisions. I particularly liked her style of making me think through the options rather than her sowing the seeds of decisions I should take." Jon Levin, MD, Levin & Derhammer LLC

"Cathy Lasher’s a rare talent. Her unique blend of personal development and entrepreneurial business expertise has been instrumental in helping me to envision, design and realise personal and professional growth that now complement – and no longer conflict with - each other. It's very liberating to be so focused on growth." Leslie Boscheratto, start-up entrepreneur

"Our work with Pete Mackechnie has directly increased our profits this year and our investment in coaching has been the best one we have made in our business career to date." Ruth MacKay, MD, Unique Marketing Solutions, www.UniqueMarketingSolutions.co.uk

"I gained a great deal from discussing business issues with people who understood." Will Buckley, www.run-it.co.uk

"Professional and highly experienced approach, Cathy Fennell clearly practices what she preaches. This coaching goes beyond just theory and models – it’s on target, experiential and facilitates insight at a deep level" Managing Director, WCI, www.wcigroup.com

"I have stopped being a workaholic, take better care of myself, and my sales will still double this year!" Charlotte Wilson, MD, Pure Events, www.PureEvents.net

"Sue Stockdale is a very good listener and is able to grasp the essential points of a discussion and give an objective response which is helpful." Helen Carey, Chairman, National Federation of Women’s Institutes, www.womens-institute.co.uk

"A professional dialogue with Carol McLachlan that brought a cluttered life into sharp focus and paved the way for action. It was great to unblock some stagnant thinking" Max Coates, Author, University Lecturer and MD

"I have found that Karen Skehel’s coaching has helped me enormously. It’s as if she has helped me to unlock a key inside which has allowed me to react to the world in a new way. The effects of this on my business, my home life and my mood have been spectacular." Chris King, Joint MD, KB 49 Communications consultancy and full-service, www.kb49.com

"I am grateful for the opportunity to have a Business mentor. I thoroughly enjoyed the coaching sessions - Bill was a very approachable and knowledgeable coach and the course helped me to come to terms with/make a couple of important decisions that I was struggling with." Dot Riley, Passing Place Driver Training

"Peter Bernard has helped me to grow my business from its start to a position of significant income and profitability as of today." Iain Mackintosh, Owner, www.simply-docs.co.uk

"Working with Laura has been invaluable to me personally and my business; the greatest discovery for me through coaching was that the biggest barrier in my business was me! And in order to move on and achieve my life goals and ambitions the first thing I had to change was my attitude to myself, not a fast process but one which I can work on everyday." Sarah Wiseman, MD, Sarah Wiseman Galleries

"Stephanie Greasley has helped me to help myself. Objective, challenging and where necessary forceful, pushing me to question my motives and the reasons behind actions. Insightful and non-judgmental she provides an excellent sounding board to make business & life decisions." Stephanie Horton, MD, River Canal Rescue, www.RiverCanalRescue.co.uk

"Bill Sanderson is great at combining personal development with business growth. I can see my future and that of my business much more clearly now that I have learned to take a more balanced view. I now focus on the things that matter and get them done. This is the best business investment I have made." Maurice Campbell, Golf Professional, Leighton Buzzard Golf Club

"I was pretty sceptical about the value of coaching before I started with Karen Skehel. Now I am a firm believer in its value, and I have seen real benefits. Not only have I realised that I have the power to achieve my business and personal goals, but I have also learnt how to self-coach in the process". Chris Ellis, Managing Director, Netspace Kingston

"Where there are negatives you offer positives. Where there are problems you offer solutions. There is learning motivation understanding and importantly a willingness to help achieve. Thank you!" Catherine Glachan, www.universalcelebrations.co.uk

"Sue Stockdale helped me to realise my true potential and to value my position within my organisation. She helped me to recognise that I have the tools to be a success in business and believe in myself" Senior Executive, Spin-out company part of Oxford University

"Peter Bernard has provided me with several years’ expert support and guidance to help me identify and then stay focused on the key activities needed to run and grow my businesses successfully." Robert Burnett, Owner, Urban PA, www.UrbanPA.com

"Working with Laura, I became more focused, improved my presentation and grew the business by 40% in a year" David Holland, MD, Savant Ltd, www.SavantLtd.com

"Pete Mackechnie’s extensive business experience has been a great resource to me and the development of my business. He is able to quickly identify a problem and help me find solutions to it. He has also been able to provide extremely useful skills transference sessions in areas such as presentation skills, Leadership, management and business planning skills."  Mary Combe, MD, Minuteman Press, www.MinutemanPress.co.uk

"My sessions with Stephanie Greasley have allowed me to reflect and plan in a more rigorous way than I have historically been able to achieve and I am clear about how I need to take the business forward. Stephanie provides an exceptional combination of energy, support and challenge in our coaching sessions. This combined with her extensive business experience means she has been a critical part of the transition process in my business." Kate Daniels, Managing Director, H&D Consulting

"I found Sue Stockdale’s insights and challenges to be extremely beneficial and she helped me to clarify plenty of areas I couldn’t have done on my own." Lesley Reader, Managing Director, Emerging Potential

If you would like to start getting the benefits of working with an excellent coach TAKE ACTION NOW! Book a free Business Coaching Consultation with one of our top Business Coaches or Contact Us for more information

"I thought the coaching with Bill Sanderson was going to help me rescue and rebuild my business. Well it did just that. But it did so much more in helping me rethink my outlook and what I wanted from my life. It really opened my eyes to what I could achieve." Lee Herbert, MD, Blue Monkey Marketing, www.BlueMonkeyMarketing.com

"The most useful aspect of Carol McLachlan’s coaching ...... the opportunity to talk openly at length and in depth with an unbiased, objective, and positive coach who is genuine in her approach, and importantly, understands the business environment well." Dave Ewing, Business Researcher, CMC Ltd, www.cmcltd.com

"I found coaching with Sue Stockdale such an invaluable tool for me to help re-align my thought processes." Lisa Auchinvole, MD, The First Drop

"Laura is a great individual who is highly motivated and with a lot of experience in dealing with people. She has helped get me back up to the motivated individual I was! I would thoroughly recommend her." Chris Davy, MD, www.HartGlobal.co.uk

"From the first meeting Stephanie Greasley made me aware that without a proper plan the business, although strong, would have difficulties in expanding and sustaining growth.  Most of the answers/solutions were already known to me, it was the questioning manner of the coaching that helped me see it more clearly. Since our first meeting we have secured our current clients and increased the business by approx 30%, I can only attribute this success to my coaching.
The idea of the initial meeting may have been the stumbling block at first, once I had got over my own pre conceived ideas of business coaches and my “how can they help me?” attitude I can honestly say that it has been the single most beneficial course of actions I have taken for the development and security of the business, I would have no problems recommending Steph to another person in a business role, be it a new business or a long established business." CG, Proprietor, 4Point Financial Services Ltd

"Through coaching with Karen Skehel, I've re-organised my head, brought things into perspective, achieved defined objectives and sharpened my focus. It's been enlightening!" Mark Herman, MD, Inhouse Catering

"When you get to my age you don’t expect to experience something that makes you rethink your way of life, particularly when you have already achieved all the goals set in your youth. It’s like being born again without the religious connotations." Geoff Berry, MD, GDG Management, www.gdgmanagement.co.uk

"Peter Bernard provided me with critical advice, guidance and support in my journey from idea conception to business opening." Harry Stevens, Owner, PlaySpace, www.PlaySpace.co.uk

"Bill Sanderson helped me to develop the self belief I needed in my first CEO role. He challenged, stimulated, inspired and most importantly listened. I will always be grateful to the support I got whenever I needed it." Tim O’B. MD, Munters, www.Munters.co.uk

"Laura Ashley-Timms has given me the confidence to know that I can make the right decisions for my business and build on my success! Thank you." Denise Penn, MD, X-Squared London

"Sue Stockdale is an excellent coach; just right for me – I found that if I explained to her, in my language, what I was trying to achieve, Sue was able to ‘pinpoint’ what that meant in terms of business plan and where it translated in the plan. Sue was also very supportive and gave lots of confidence; definitely a ‘you can do it’ ethos." Laura Jones, MD, Awful Fantastic, www.AwfulFantastic.co.uk

"I was quite sceptical about what coaching could help me achieve, and thought that I would never have time to fit it in! Actually, I have loved the time that I have spent with Karen Skehel. I really look forward to seeing her, she has helped me to streamline my thoughts and aspirations for the business. It is very inspiring" Rachel Riley, MD, Rachel Riley, www.RachelRiley.com

"Coaching with Sue Stockdale has given me a focus and I have approached issues in a way I haven’t in the past. Sue was never critical and if she disagreed with my assessment of the situation she was able to bring this to my attention in a supportive way." Mike Ockwell, MD, Hetherington Seelig Theatres

"Peter Bernard helped me to set my business strategy, to decide on appropriate business objectives, and he provided invaluable expertise in helping me to define the key job roles required in my business going forward and then helped me through the often painful process of recruiting key employees." Tom Hickman, MD & Founder, Media Revenue Services, www.MediaRevenueServices.co.uk

"Laura Ashley-Timms has forced me to confront and re-evaluate previously held convictions and to focus on critical factors that have helped me to determine my future objectives." Managing Director, Philip Harris Associates

"Coaching? Well, I was pretty unsure about all this before I started. The cost, the time, the real results etc. but it has been both easy to do and enjoyable. And most importantly I have achieved the goals that I focused on. Karen Skehel was a steady hand on the tiller and I would recommend her as a coach to anyone." Paul Miller, Chairman, The Empowerment Group, www.teguk.com

"A large part of coaching is unscrambling your brain to set actions to develop a clear path towards your goals. Laura made me realise that you cannot do that alone." Robert Kelsey, MD, Moorgate Group, www.MoorgateGroup.com

If you would like to start getting the benefits of working with an excellent coach TAKE ACTION NOW! Book a free Business Coaching Consultation with one of our top Business Coaches or Contact Us for more information

Executive Coaching Client Testimonials

"Cathy Lasher provides a rare combination of executive business coaching with in-depth psychological knowledge. Depending on the topic at hand, she offers practical, to-the-point suggestions, while at the same time triggering broader introspection for the coachee.  After an initial executive coaching programme, I quickly came back for more. Touching base on a regular basis with Cathy is an excellent way to critically examine oneself and come back to the company with a fresh perspective." Commercial Director, Air France/KLM
 

"Being coached by Martin Goodyer has been an outstanding experience and has been significant in helping me be successful" David Thorpe-Tracey, Director, West Ham United Football Club

“It has been great to have someone external to my organisation to coach me, both by offering a safe environment in which to test ideas and also by being away from day-to-day distractions. Cathy Lasher has been instrumental in helping me to "hold up a mirror" to myself in order to see myself as others do. The sessions have been both challenging and very rewarding; the benefits of our work together have been rapidly visible.” Matthew Arends, Principal & Actuary, Aon Hewitt

"When I first began working with Cathy Lasher at the end of last year my initial brief was to look at ways of increasing my professional impact and confidence. However circumstances quickly over took us and that brief changed to coaching me in getting through a very tough promotion process in a very short time frame. Having spoken to people who had worked with me, Cathy built up an extremely insightful picture of areas I should focus on in terms of achieving the greatest impact – she has a great ability to see through the fluff and really get to the heart of the issue. And she is not afraid to confront that with you and support you in working through that. It was also really helpful that Cathy’s knowledge of my organisation’s business and culture meant she could really empathise with situations and their challenges. I found the time I spent working with Cathy to be one of the best investments I have made professionally, and I’m glad to say I achieved my promotion." Debra Glenaway, Director, KPMG

"I found Carol McLachlan’s coaching style tremendously helpful to build confidence and to make important decisions in an effective and sustainable way." Lisa Sangster, Asset Manager, HDG Mansur Investment

"My relationship with Stephanie Greasley was very engaging. Stephanie took the time to listen, and diagnose with me the root cause of my issues. She flexed her style. She demonstrated genuine interest and quickly established her self as a professional – and by doing this I felt able to trust her. For me this was the key to our successful working relationship. The changes that I have made have unquestionably improved my performance. The coaching helped me to rebuild trust with the organisation and recognise my own capabilities and strengths. As a result I have taken on a leadership role and delivered a significant change programme successfully in the past 6 months." Jayne Hannan, NUL, Aviva

"The value I got from the coaching with Cathy Lasher was in the chance to stand back and to look at my whole life, work and home, with someone who had no axe to grind other than my development as a human being. I had thought long and hard about the choice of coach and Cathy appealed to me because she was distinctly different from the other coaches in my world - her background in therapy, her common sense wisdom, her experience as a trainer and the fact that she is American all made for useful difference and challenge. I didn't want someone just like me!
The coaching has been a significant factor in making improvements to my life. Over a period of time I have made a number of significant and long term changes including losing weight, finding much better ways of managing stress and dealing with all the ups and downs associated with running a small business where boundaries between work and home can get distinctly blurred. Cathy skillfully helped me sort out priorities, gave me straightforward feedback and focussed me on what it was sensible and possible to do." Jenny Rogers, Director, Management Futures Ltd

“Sue made me think of "politics" in a positive way and demonstrated that actually it does not have to be such a negative thing to avoid but instead is the reality of today's corporate life and if one wanted to be successful in an organisation, it is something to reckon with”. Senior Manager, UBS

"Cathy Lasher has done a fantastic job working with Frontier senior economists. We have seen real tangible differences in terms of engagement and influence with clients and of positive leadership of teams." Michael Ridge, Director, Frontier Economics

"Peter Bernard allowed me to become clearer on my core skills and role motivators, and then supported me to delegate more effectively and manage my time more efficiently." Senior IT Director, Royal & Sun Alliance

"Sometimes you just have to go back to the laboratory. Stephanie Greasley’s impact has been immediate and far-reaching. She has taken a couple of high performers up a few gears - making them understand why they operate the way that they do and making them understand how to improve their own performance. Her ability to keep things simple and deliver high impact coaching has turned her into an integral part of our teams' ongoing success." Denis Jackson, Citigroup

"A very positive and supportive experience with Sue that helped me to emerge from a very difficult time in my career as a much stronger person." Judy Bartholomew, Programme Manager, ITV

"Cathy Lasher was excellent in helping me to prepare for a high-pressure interview process for a competitive role. With her coaching and advice, I was really able to express my motivation and suitability for the job. Cathy is a real asset when it comes to enabling you to understand the kind of role you want, and then formulating the game-plan to secure it.” Adam Paker, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games England

"I achieved much more from the coaching programme with Martin Goodyer than I expected; it was an excellent experience" Sarah Weller, Barclays Bank UK

"Carol McLachlan is flexible in approach and able to draw out the real issues with you and then work with you on setting the goals to achieve them. Appropriately challenging whilst giving you the motivation and making it easy for you to achieve and take action - which is the key" Malcolm Lewis, Training & Development, AXA

"Cathy Fennell’s contribution and professionalism is exemplary. Her coaching skills are of a very high calibre and her knowledge in the organisational / leadership development area is excellent" WW, HR Director, Micro Focus

"Sue Stockdale’s coaching has made a tangible difference to me and the way I deal with my team. The consequences being an improvement in morale and the relationships I have with them." Chris Duchezeau, Relationship Director, Leading UK Bank

"Bill, I am really pleased at the feedback from our entire senior management team. The programmes have really delivered beyond expectation and I am sure will prove to be a major factor in our future progress and development. I am especially grateful for the coaching sessions you ran for the MDs who were on the programme. They all commented on your ability to identify their needs and to tune in to the situations they faced within their individual sphere of operations." Ray Ryan, HR Director, Mansell plc

"Peter Bernard provided invaluable advice and guidance on how to start my new role effectively and how to engage with my team from a more managerial, and less technical, perspective." Senior Technical Manager, Airbus

"The goal was to ensure that at end of the project the executive team functioned as a cohesive team, leading by example and delegating whenever efficient or effective. Team members should be able to deal with their own stress in addition to that of their direct reports. Meetings had to be turned into productive forums instead of formalised self-glorification.
All the objectives were met, resulting in a more open/sharing culture at executive level. Information flows better, management is more respected. Pay-off started showing in the early stages of the coaching project.
Stephanie Greasley is particularly clever at picking up unspoken messages, facilitating her reading of the situation and ultimately her acceptance by the management team.
I would recommend Steph as an executive coach without hesitation and I can be used as a reference whenever needed. We have now retained her, on a long-term basis, for other projects." Mark van Muylem, Finance Director, Scansource Europe

"My senior managers have been unanimous in their praise for the programme Bill has run for us. There has been a clear and measurable improvement in performance in many areas of their work but most noticeably in their self confidence and professionalism in their approach to their work. They are a much tighter team now and have a far more positive approach to their work." Carole Emerton, General Manager (Manchester), British Gas plc

"Sue Stockdale has a clear understanding of the role of the coach to help the individual find the solution to their issue. She demonstrates a commitment to help the individual succeed but without becoming embroiled in the specifics. Maintaining her objective view point and offering a technique has allowed me to solve my own issues and understand myself and my environment better." Carole Thelwall-Jones, CB Volunteer Manager, Rugby Football Union

"Peter Bernard helped me to understand my behavioural and cultural drivers more clearly, and then guided me to plan a different approach to peers who had previously not bought into my new plans." Senior Marketing Director, Mattel

"Karen Skehel’s approach to coaching exceeded my expectations, her coaching is challenging yet practical and always keeps you focused on the desired outcome. I now have greater belief in my abilities and a more confident outlook. I can see the specific benefits and results in achieving my goals but there has also been a positive impact across many aspects of my life." Peter Paterson, Nokia

"Peter Bernard very quickly gave me the tools to engage with my team in a way that would elicit greater productivity and motivation from them." Senior Executive, Airbus Logistics

"Sue Stockdale’s coaching style was positive, empowering, energising, informal and practical and I would recommend it to others." Dr Rebecca Ashfield, Biotech Company

"Martin Goodyer made more sense to me in our first hour than the rest of my life put together. His empathetic but direct approach to solving life’s difficulties is the most amazing experience…and the results are breathtaking" Allison McQueen-Luzar, Consultant Nutritionist, Subaru World Rally Team

"I have found our coaching sessions very positive and here are the three main points I want to stress: First, it helped me to stay focused on what I wanted to achieve but open to other paths/directions in my career at the same time. Second, I liked the fact that Sue was intuitive and could pick things easily about my strategy or way of thinking and address issues I couldn't see, but without always using logic. Finally, Sue’s approach to coaching was different - I can't actually define it but it is proactive but realistic, down to the earth but also believe the impossible! Overall, a very good strategy." Director of a career coaching company

"Carol McLachlan’s guidance helps me bring clarity to chaotic thought process, and extract the nuggets of brilliance I knew were there, but just could not find by myself" Moshe Hadari, Director, Chancery Barr Financial Services Ltd

"The main learning for me is to understand where to start from (self-evaluation), to recognise how to achieve the desired results and to impart my learning to my colleagues to achieve higher sales." Will B., Director, Topos Creative Packaging Ltd

"Martin Goodyer is a fantastic coach. I am now laser-focused on taking the specific action needed to achieve my goals" Su Nyatedzu, Fashion Accessory Designer

"Laura Ashley-Timms quickly helped me realise what I really wanted to achieve, both in my business and personal life, and to believe that it was possible…. Laura is always there to give me a guiding hand and help me realise that, by following my action plans, I’m still on the right path to fulfilling my dreams. Laura makes you work hard but is considerate and flexible too. She is always prepared to discuss issues or concerns as they arise and to change what has been planned at the drop of a hat." Solicitor, Birmingham

"Pete Mackechnie enabled us to identify and focus on our key business goals and developed effective management strategies that have ensured we successfully met each one" Andrew Paterson, Director, Framework Osteopaths Ltd

"Karen Skehel is both intuitive and practical in her coaching, providing not only plenty of opportunities for valuable insight but also a good sounding board for ways to move forward. As well as her great motivation skills I found Karen's constant enthusiasm a great lift and always felt focused and ready to go after a session with her!" Bridget Adams, Marketing Manager, Glu Mobile

If you would like to start getting the benefits of working with an excellent coach TAKE ACTION NOW! Book a free Business Coaching Consultation with one of our top Business Coaches or Contact Us for more information

Public Sector Client Testimonials

"The quality of Notion’s delivery was excellent - it didn’t seem to make any difference who the coach was – everyone thought they had a fantastic coach and often raved about their personal experience – we got a lot of positive feedback from the participants. The most cynical managers who often had the toughest first sessions turned out to be the biggest fans! It didn’t take long for there to be a real “buzz” within the directorate as everyone became more proactive and upbeat. There were some promotions amongst the managerial group and many of them credited these directly to their coaching.
The return on investment was fast and tangible – the inspection result was excellent but managers also reported measurable improvements such as increased productivity, better team working, taking a more proactive approach, handling problems better and higher confidence levels.
I have no hesitation in recommending Notion and indeed have done so to other organisations."  Andrea Burns, Training and Development Consultant, Birmingham City Council

"I was very impressed by the way Cathy Lasher responded swiftly and imaginatively to my specifications, taking on board the detail I had provided but also probing me to find out necessary detail. I was extremely impressed by Cathy’s skill and sensitivity. I think she is ideally suited to working with senior civil servants and imagine she would good at working with a wider range of people as well. She commanded respect by her professional competence, encouraged positive interaction by her warmth, sensitivity and determination and elicited responses by a whole variety of means, many of which are too subtle for me to describe." Amanda Finlay, Director, Legal Aid Strategy, Ministry of Justice

“Just a quick note to say many thanks for your support and challenge in working through our programme, Martin. I found the sessions informative, fun and relevant and like the notion of activity taking me closer to my objectives rather than further away!! I have enjoyed the experience immensely and believe that this will add value to my current working situation as well as future ones.” Steve Jarvis, Senior Constituency Manager, Birmingham City Council

"For the past 9 months I have benefited from having Stephanie Greasley as Executive Coach as I have developed in the role of Acting Chief Executive of the Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust.  She has adapted her style to my needs as a new Chief Executive in the public sector, has enabled me to reflect on my strengths and areas for improvement and provided me tools which I have used to develop my Senior Management Team. Stephanie is insightful, is skilful at asking helpful questions which focus on identifying solutions and alternative ways of interacting and has enabled me to make a real difference as I have led the organisation through some difficult and challenging times. She has proved to be an outstanding coach and I would recommend her without hesitation."  Trevor Worsfold, Acting Chief Executive, Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Trust

"I have worked with Cathy Lasher since 2004. During that time I have held a number or roles within two government departments and worked for an NGO overseas. Cathy's support has been invaluable in helping me to clarify my ambitions and prioritise my time. She has helped me to identify my strengths, address my weaknesses and ensure that I achieve greater balance in my life. Cathy has also provided practical support on specific work issues and in developing my CV, preparing for interviews and putting frameworks around my goals outside of the workplace, as well as putting me in touch with other contacts who have been able to provide input on specific issues. Cathy also facilitated a successful team building event for me at the Ministry of Justice. I have found my sessions with Cathy enjoyable as well as productive and she is a trusted confidant and mentor." Senior Civil Servant, Cabinet Office

"The encouragement and support that I have received from Carol McLachlan has given me the confidence to make some changes both in my work and home life....... I am now less stressed and feel that I can continue to do my work more effectively.......I now realise the talents and skills that I have." Jackie McGee, Business Advisor, Train 2000

"Coaching has helped me to consider the vision and values I have and how they translate into my working life. Talking to Carol McLachlan has helped me to identify practical ways forward and gather strategies to help. It has been really useful in keeping me focussed on organisational and personal development." Cathy Driscoll, Head Teacher, The William Hogarth School

"I would like to express my appreciation for the very real assistance that I received from the meetings with Pete Mackechnie. It had been obvious for some time that both my team and I were far too heavily loaded work wise and it was having a bad effect on our collective health. Despite clear analysis and formal recognition of this problem I felt that I was not getting anywhere in dealing with it, and that I was being treated unsympathetically by my line manager. My team was becoming increasingly unhappy and I was struggling to hold the show together.
This situation has now turned around completely because of the Achieve Leadership course and with a very specific and valuable input from yourself. The development meetings, linked to the course content, made me think further about a different series of solutions to my leadership challenges. In particular, the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness and our reflections on that subject have proved useful in bringing my Director and I to a better-aligned understanding of what needed to be sorted out.
This has resulted in a much more hands-on management style on my part, and some detailed work on reorganisation in which I have received some very good help from the organisation in tackling what had become an intolerable situation. To my surprise, our too large workload (conceded by senior management) is currently feeling more comfortable, so I hope we are at the beginning of an era of good efficiency allied with better effectiveness.
The focus on understanding individual idiosyncrasies has been central to this, and I hope my leadership style has improved. The general atmosphere around my team now seems to be excellent, and if people feel good, they do good work.
Once again, many thanks for your excellent help." David, Head of Culture & Heritage, Highlands and Islands Enterprise

"The ROI was fast and tangible – producing measurable improvements in productivity. It is however the improvements in teamwork, leadership, problem solving, confidence levels and approach to motivation and innovation, and the fact that these approaches are now firmly imbedded in the organisation that have been most striking.  Thanks Martin.” Steve Simpkins, Deputy Director of Estates and Facilities Directorate, Oxford Brookes University

"Cathy Lasher has been a facilitator for a senior DfT Action Learning Set I have been involved with over a period of 18 months. The group consisted of 5 senior individuals from a broad background. Cathy has provided a first class service to the group and over the course of her involvement has helped nurture and develop the leadership skills of the individuals involved. Cathy has the ability to support the individuals in the group and help mature their thinking but also provide a positive challenge function to the individuals to help them explore ways of broadening the effectiveness of their leadership style, improve their self awareness as well as identifying tangible areas for improvement and wider reflection for the individual concerned.
Cathy possesses an adeptness at getting to the nub of (often complex) issues faced by group members and her ability to ask the right questions to help explore with the individual what is sitting behind the issue raised is a particular skill and strength of her approach and style. This is a particular skill and has helped individuals address core development areas rather than just the symptoms. This has certainly helped me develop my leadership style over the past few years and I would have no hesitation in recommending Cathy for a role in other organisations." John Faulkner, Head of International Networks, Department for Transport

"I have found our meetings highly effective for improving my thinking technique. Seeing a way forward with an issue gives me a tremendous sense of relief and motivates me to take action promptly. Thank you Pete" Brian, Head of Financial Services, Highlands and Islands Enterprise

"Coaching helped me make time to move key issues forward and I found the questioning useful." Mike Hewitt, Government Office

"Carol McLachlan has guided me through my coaching journey with sensitivity and humour. She has helped me to understand for myself how to tackle issues and behaviours I have wanted to work on." Kathie Anderson, Manager, Derby City Council

"Cathy Fennell’s coaching was encouraging, helpful, fun and challenging. Would I recommend it? – absolutely yes! - it’s a valuable, insightful, grounding experience." Dir of Executive Development & Education, Reykjavík University

"I found my sessions with Sue Stockdale to be insightful and inspirational, allowing me to reflect on aspects of my commitment and professional attitudes/values that required to be revisited in order to galvanise a higher level of motivation to my work." Professor Sarah Chaplin, Head of School, Architecture and Landscape, Kingston University

"The coaching Bill has been delivering to individual members of my senior management team is being well received. The difference in the people on the coaching programme is marked both in their demeanor and performance. In fact the change is such that I am being asked by their colleagues whether or not coaching is to be made available to them." Susan Hodgkiss, Area Manager, Department of Employment

"Carol McLachlan has helped me to believe that I can become the self employed person that I want to be and is giving me the confidence and skills to make my visions reality." Trevor Walter, Teacher, Mulgrave Primary School and Early Years Centre, London Borough of Greenwich

"Sue Stockdale is a very good coach with the ability to provide insight and objectivity." Catherine Harries, Business Link Solutions

"Sue Stockdale helped me stand back and reflect and focus on what was important to me so that I could formulate actions for the future." Jan Broadbent, Kingston University

Supervision, Coaching or Coach Training Testimonials

 
"The most thought-provoking training course I've ever been on.  How can this not assist Reading Borough in transforming into an excellent Council!" Senior Manager, Reading Borough Council

"Cathy Lasher is an exceptional coaching supervisor and coach whom I trust and believe in. I would highly recommend her" John Fooks, PCC

"Sue is very focused and constantly strives to get the best outcome for her supervisee. This is clearly evidenced in her supervision as she encourages me to reflect on my coaching with total honesty, raising my awareness and encouraging me to implement change as required. My belief is that she operates with total integrity, utilising a broad spectrum of skills from leadership, behavioural and psychological models." Annie Richardson, Quantum Corporate Coaching

"Today I go away excited, parrimalt and ready to embrace both the coaching and learning. Training delivered by parrimalt and energised trainers.
This training is different from anything I have ever been privaledged to be part of" Chris Hollingshead, Reading Borough Council

"It was an absolute pleasure to meet with you this week Stephanie and I have enjoyed the course and taken many good ideas away with me. I found your delivery style very easy to follow and admire your handling of some of the more challenging delegates - a trait that I would love to emulate; perhaps you can share that with me another time. With fond regards and thanks once again." Jan, Client manager, Barclays

"I have known Cathy Lasher as a professional coach and supervisor for over 10 years. We first met when she was facilitating and pioneering high level professional coach training in the UK.
During the months we worked together, Cathy supported me to review my coaching experiences with a view to deepening my self awareness and my range of choices as a coach. Our supervision sessions sometimes involved listening to my coaching on tape and discussing general coaching concerns as well as exploring my more personal patterns and challenges. All this was done in a spirit of openness, acceptance, generosity, curiosity and exploration. Working with Cathy, in this way, was deeply supportive for my coaching practice." Janette Blakemore, Insight Coaching

"The course was extremely well constructed and delivered and will make a real difference to the way we work and how we serve the public" Andrew Withey, Reading Borough Council

"I thought that I would give you some feedback on the 2 day course Stephanie. I’ve got to say that it is the best course that I have ever attended, the ideas are all simple but brilliant and I am so looking forward to implementing as many as I can. The standard of the training was second to none. You were professional, very knowledgeable, funny and above all extremely inspirational. You kept our attention so well that the time just flew by. I know from my colleagues that we all felt exactly the same and hope that we can have you as our trainer for the follow up sessions. I look forward to working with you again." Anne Broom, Relationship Manager, Barclays

"A very insightful course that will help me drive transformation within my service and across the council" Kevin McDaniel, Reading Borough Council

"I am delighted to be able to recommend Cathy Lasher, as a coach and supervisor. Cathy helped me quite literally, transform my life. I particularly valued her ability to be completely present, and thus enable me to connect entirely with my situation, and thus move on." Kate Graham

"An incredible personal journey as well as an exciting, new way to really make a difference to any organisation" Michelle Smith, Reading Borough Council

"I just wanted to pass my thanks to Steph Greasley for an excellent workshop - my team thoroughly enjoyed the experience, felt that Steph was superb in her delivery and bringing the ideas to life, and even the more critical members of my team have committed to exploring the concepts - a real success!" Justin Moy, Area Manager, Barclays

"An intensive and challenging course that has given me lots of new skills and resources. Thank you." D. Hayward, Reading Borough Council

"Excellent practical course which instilled a clear commitment to coaching and confidence to get going" Anna Wright, Reading Borough Council

"I have experienced revelations about helping people how to get results for themselves on this course.  More than this though I am 100% confident that I will have further revelations as I begin to practise it." Senior Manager, Reading Borough Council
 

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"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in that gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt

"The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges."
Martin Luther King Jr