Catalyst Coaching Community
| Profiles: A-Z | ||||
| Charlotte Meynen | Pushpa Vaghela | |||
| Elaine Wilkins | Rita Jeffery | |||
| Gary Duff-Smith | Saheed Adekunle Adegbite | |||
| Heidi Cooper | Sonia Henry | |||
| Nick Bolton | Sharon Nelson | |||
| Placida Acheru | Sylvia Williams | |||
I have a Bachelor in Human Resource Management (BHRM) and I am a qualified Life Coach. For years I have been working as a job counsellor /job coach with a variety of people, from homeless and kids with learning difficulties to the high potentials. This has all been in my hometown Amsterdam.
My move to London in 2005 has been a challenging time, but the phrase "what does not break you, makes you stronger" is certainly the case. As an expatriate myself I do understand both the challenges and opportunities of living abroad. This is very useful in working as a Life Coach with the cosmopolitan citizens of London.
I am committed to get the best and most out of my clients, because I think everyone deserves the best possible life. Being a Life Coach is like a synergy of my background, my sincere interest in people and the desire to bring them future in life.
Elaine Wilkins - Accredited Coach and Personal Development Trainer/ Catalyst Coaching Associate
Elaine’s career has encompassed the transition from successful business owner to Corporate Trainer and Success Coach. A move from Lecturing in Communications, in Further Education, led her to gain extensive international experience in the Corporate sector with a global American company in Sales Training, mentoring and Personal Development.
Her training style is dynamic interactive, thought provoking and always individualised to the delegates needs. Elaine is in great demand as a trainer and mentor of Coaches. Her passion is Empowering Others, Her great strength is her ability to put delegates and clients at immediate ease while inspiring them to confidently stretch for and achieve their personal goals.
Elaine Wilkins BA Hons P.G.C.E
Elaine is a columnist for Women’s Fitness. Magazine
Testimonial
Life coaching has been fantastic and made a huge difference. It has got my life back on track & has resulted in me no longer putting myself under so much pressure.
The thought process’s Elaine has taken me through the way we have worked through things together, and by having a list of tasks to take away & work on have been really helpful and thought provoking.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect, or to be honest what I would gain from life coaching, but I feel I have achieved loads, emotionally & mentally. Now I feel as if I am more in control of my life & finances rather than them controlling me. I would highly recommend life coaching to anyone-it certainly helps get your life back in perspective & Elaine has been great the way she has guided me through everything. I have never once felt criticized or scrutinized just helped along. I feel great it was fab!
J. Mercer. Sussex College
Gary arrived in the UK in the 1970’s from Africa and spent most of the next 15 years in domestic Banking and then went into Financial Services where he ran a very successful mortgage business.
Trading on the financial markets made him realize that a different mindset and set of beliefs was required to generate consistent profits, and this led to him receiving an NLP Practitioner training from Richard Bandler and Paul McKenna.
He also has a Diploma in Motivational and Life Coaching and is currently working towards an accreditation in the use of creative and hypnotic skill to empower a client to change their model of reality by recognizing that it is their unique relationship with a problem that is the problem, and not the problem itself.
Gary loves to regularly step outside of his own “comfort zone” to release some of the unlimited store of creative energy from within, and actively encourages and empowers the people that he mentors and coaches to do likewise by using vivid visualization techniques.
He is an author, runs workshops at Catalyst, and in his spare time provides his very distinctive voice to a variety of projects.
Having worked in the financial industry for 17 years, The Royal Bank of Scotland for 8 and Man Group Plc for 9, I decided I needed a change but didn’t know what. I knew I wanted to help people and wanted a rewarding career but I couldn’t see how to make the transition. It was then that I heard about life coaching and Catalyst and everything fell into place.
I have now been studying hard since June and having had four practise clients have learned a great deal about life coaching and it’s dynamics. It has also proved that this is the direction I wish to take and that by coaching clients, I can help them live their dream and achieve their goals. By doing that I am achieving mine!
Testimonial
The fact that Heidi was impartial was of great importance, as I felt I could discuss any matter with her and she wouldn't judge me. She was always supportive and extremely happy for me as I achieved what I wanted. In terms of what I wanted, Heidi helped me realise these things, gave me realistic and achievable targets and talked me through each step. I came into contact with Heidi at a difficult time, having just left university I had 'the whole world at my feet' but rather than being exciting this turned out to be more daunting than I expected and Heidi helped me find direction and realise what I wanted. As well as coaching me, Heidi helped me emotionally and more than anything listened to all my worries and helped by responding positively. Without Heidi's help I’m not sure I would have reached my goal of finding my dream job. I would probably still be in the student mode plodding along in life rather than focusing my energy on my future!
Helen Barrett (coachee)
Nick Bolton - Catalyst Coaching Associate
It is a cliché that we all have just one life and that we should make the most of it. Like all clichés, this statement is born form an obvious truth yet a quick look around will show that most people delay making the choices that matter to them and stay in a comfortable place of inaction. It is my passion to help people realise their greater potential in all aspects of their life through understanding what they really want and taking the decision and actions that get them there.
My own background is varied. Having achieved a first class degree in Philosophy (yes, one of those useful degrees so beloved of newspapers!) I strangely ended up a bank manager. To say this was a wrong turn would be an understatement yet it offered me the chance to develop skills which would prove invaluable in later life. The difference in how I felt studying something I loved compared to doing a job I was not truly interested in clearly showed me at a young age, however, that in life there are things you are passionate about and others which we do with little joy. I, for one, was determined to find the first of these again. From there I became a financial advisor before, having been poached by one of my clients, I embarked on the work that led to my own company. I have now run my own company researching and organising conferences on social policy for the last eight years. My latest projects will see me develop my coaching work to enhance what I have always looked upon as a natural aspect of my character and also start a new company which will combine travel with life-change for groups of clients.
Whilst I have always felt the strong desire to make the life I want happen, I would say that in reality this began to take shape once I started my own company and as such I have a special interest in helping realise their ambition to work for themselves. My interest in helping people achieve the life they want, however, is not focused on any one issue and I have worked with people who wish to expand their business, find a partner, develop a more active social life, gain new interests and skills; indeed, the range is endless as is the choices we can make in life if we choose to take control of our own destiny.
Pushpa Vaghela ACCA, FMAAT, Author, Accredited Coach and certified NLP practitioner, Hypnotherapist and Time Line strategists, trained by The Society of NLP programming and The American Board of NLP strategists.
Before I started my coaching career, I worked as a Chartered Certified Accountant, within Practice, Private sector, Charities, Local Government and Central Government. What attracted me to becoming this successful dynamic coach was through the work I did in charities and the numerous amounts of contribution work I do. I became a mentor for children who were at risk of developing anti-social or criminal offending behaviour, a mentor for trainee Coaches and also work with individuals/teams and organisations from all differing environments, to empower them to believe.
Imagine for a second "showing up" in your own life at a level you only dreamed was possible? How would being your best impact those close to you? What are the new possibilities in your relationships, business, physical health, etc.? It's time to find out......
References:
Through her integrity and genuine delivery of serving me, enabled me to tackle the whole of my issues easily. She gave me the tools and techniques to move forward. I would highly recommend Pushpa to any one that wants to reach their dreams!- L.Parmar (Teacher)
Pushpa’s sessions were caring, quick, professional, and fun. I left my coaching with a clear plan and with the desire to put it into action. I was amazed at how simple it was to create the life I always wanted.- Sharon (Accountant)
Profile: Rita Jeffery- Head of Mentoring and Learning Support
Rita has worked primarily in financial institutions, spending the last 10 years of her career in learning and development. Her previous roles have included managing over 70 staff in a customer services environment, design and delivery of Learning and Development for 750 staff across 21 sites. During this time she has coached individuals at all levels in their careers from trainee managers to senior directors
Working now as a consultant, she is the Head of Mentoring and Learning Support at Catalyst Business Dynamics, responsible for the students working towards coaching accreditation. She is a practitioner in the use of both the Myers Briggs type indicator and The British Psychological Society (level B) personality questionnaire which she uses as an aid to coaching and developing individuals. Rita is also a qualified teacher of adults in further education and is currently running various Life Coaching courses for Bromley Adult Education College
She has lived in Hayes, Kent for the last four years having been brought up in East London. She is married to Shaun and has a eight year old son, Patrick.
Profile: Saheed Adekunle Adegbite – Management Consultant / Catalyst Coaching Associate
After an extremely successful career spanning 15 years as a Management Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oracle, GE and independently working for numerous blue chip fortune 500 clients both in the public and private sector, Saheed knew it was time for a new challenge.
His natural personable nature, listening, communication and diplomatic skills led him to begin a career in Life Coaching. His vast experience working at board level within multifaceted organizations made Executive Coaching an obvious path to follow. He has since been working in various areas such as Leadership, Career Change, Organizational Change and Work-Life Balance amongst others.
Saheed has a strong passion for using his skills in coaching, project management, change management and information technology in empowering businesses, nations and individuals and gets a real buzz from watching the ‘impossible’ happen.
As an executive corporate and business coach, he works with
- middle management and senior executives improving performance by working on areas such as strategic planning, budgeting, establishing direction, aligning people, team development, motivating, inspiring, promoting change etc
- teams within organizations by coaching for change
- individuals one to one on numerous personal and life challenges like decision making, communication,risk taking, building relationships etc which directly or indirectly influence their career and business aspirations
- entrepreneurial individuals starting new businesses
His work has given clients an improved sense of direction, self awareness, ability to influence, motivation, personal effectiveness, resourcefulness and resilience to name a few!
Profile: Sharon Nelson- Catalyst Coaching Associate
Sharon Nelson is a highly respected, professional coach, endorsed by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) having achieved a distinction in coaching practice.
After many years performing management and leadership roles within blue-chip companies in the Financial Services and Pharmaceutical sectors, Sharon set up her own personal and business coaching practice called Make It Happen. Alongside personal, business and team coaching, Make It Happen provides training on coaching skills to organisations or companies looking to promote a coaching culture within their environment, mentoring services to individuals currently seeking or going through an accreditation process of their own, and guest speaker services: taking your audience on a journey of self-discovery to find out how balanced their life currently is and provide them with the tools to self-coach.
Testimonials
“Since embarking on coaching with Sharon everything has changed. She helped me to clarify my reasons for wanting to write this book and even more importantly tapped into my true motivation... Thank you, Sharon. You are a truly inspired professional coach.” Successful Coach and Columnist
“Most importantly, I believe this: I am not sure that I would have arrived at the decisions I did and have the confidence to carry them out without your coaching. Having thought about the sessions, I think if you are going to make changes in your life you need to talk to people who can have empathy with what you are trying to achieve but who are also independent and, therefore, objective. The two things are not, I think, easily reconciled but I think you did it brilliantly. Overall, I would go so far as to say, it was a joy to work with you. It’s not often that you make significant changes in your life and you actually enjoy doing it! Thank you so much for helping me.” Entrepreneur
“In a world where fewer things are certain I could always count on Sharon to be there for me at the specified day/time. Her ability to grasp the issues was second to none and her memory recall was such that time was never wasted on going over and over old ground. You have passion and vision ... Thank you. New Business Start Up
“I felt the passion and the enthusiasm... It was a great experience, very empowering. Thank you.” Audience member
Sonia Henry is an accredited life and business coach. She trained in London with Catalyst Business Dynamics gaining a distinction in her final results. Her coaching qualification is endorsed by The Institute of Leadership and Management. She is the Principle Consultant of her own company SHIP Coaching. SHIP specialises in helping small to medium organisations to improve individual and team performance relations. She also works with individuals in her private coaching practice. Her career started in health and social care in 1980. She trained as a nurse and later moved into local government to follow her ambition to work with people in the community. She quickly moved into management after realising that her gift was to work with teams and individuals mainly in the area of personal development. Her management career in the public sector spans over twenty years. She is highly experienced in working with local authority and public sector teams.
Sonia is warm and engaging. She enjoys the challenge of trouble shooting and helping to find solutions to personal and workplace conflicts. She brings with her years of experience and passion for working with people and teams of all diversities. She spent the last five years of her management career as a management consultant and interim manager for some of London’s most challenging local government teams. She empowers people in a dynamic and graceful way that makes change seem easy. She has been involved with and seen profound results and changes that even in her humble perception of herself would have to agree were astounding.
Sonia is a family orientated woman who manages to get the balance right with her career. She is the mother of three grown up children. She enjoys having four grandchildren who she adores. She is currently working as a coach with senior managers and acts as a mentor to trainee coaches.
Sylvia is a Catalyst/ILM accredited coach and a mentor coach at Catalyst. She has a Master’s degree in French and qualifications in teaching English as a Foreign Language and translating and interpreting. She has also undertaken studies in Management, Law and Distance Education.
Sylvia’s career has been predominantly in higher education management, and she has lived and worked in several countries, including Australia, France, Germany and the United States. She has worked in large and small organisations in the public and private sectors and currently runs her own antiques business in addition to her coaching practice. She has also taught French and English to adult learners and been a technical translator and an estate manager.
Soon after starting her training it became apparent to Sylvia that she had actually always had a coaching and mentoring management style. Particularly when she was director of a post-secondary college, coordinating strategic planning, financial management and staff appointments, her approach was to lead by example and encourage staff to find their own solutions and ways of achieving their goals. She was particularly keen on staff training and motivation programmes.
Sylvia has coached on a wide range of issues including those which are personal and those which are more specifically work-related. She is very comfortable with both one-to-one coaching and team coaching, or a combination of both. She finds face to face and telephone coaching equally effective and leaves the choice to her client. Issues such as professional development, career change, job-related stress, self-esteem, time management and life balance are among those Sylvia has worked on recently. One of her current projects is as part of a team of trainers, a nutritionist and a physiotherapist in a fitness and weight management programme. She has also participated in coaching projects in prisons and the police force. Below are some extracts from testimonials received from satisfied clients.‘My sister asked me the secret of my complete turnaround in a matter of weeks – now she wants coaching too, please!’ Marta
‘I feel like the part of me that has been dormant for years has suddenly had some life pumped into it, all thanks to our coaching sessions’. Ian
‘Through meeting you I have learned how to think things through when faced with difficult challenges, observe how others work, and use various communication techniques to get my desired results. By making small changes I have noticed big results. I don’t feel as stressed as I did a month ago, I’m enjoying coming in to work every day and I feel more confident in my abilities’. Leeanne
‘I feel that I now have the tools to help me in any similar (difficult) relationship in the future. I no longer dread sessions with my supervisor and understand better where she is coming from. It has helped me to deal with criticism constructively and as a result I have learned a great deal about myself and enjoy my job much more’. Phillipa