Sometimes the best way to get more effective is through the supportive challenge and chance for deep reflection of coaching. Coaching is a space where you can remember and relish what you've achieved, explore the complexity of your current situation, and find your way forward. One-to-one work is also a great solution when people are not yet sure what help they need, or which way to move forward.
What coaching is like
LP said
From the beginning Penny made me feel very clear about the process we would be engaging in. And by the end, she’d helped me corral the multi-headed creature of an issue I wanted to address, look at it from all sides, find a way that I could rein it in and identify the actions needed to implement my solution. When you work with Penny you don’t just get the benefit of all the preparation she does, her professionalism and dedication, and her logical, analytical and enormous brain. Her ability to be fully in the moment and engaged with the issues I was voicing, and to respond in imaginative ways, was also really helpful to me in finding the way forward.
CK said
Penny is an amazing listener - she listens deeply, focused and attentively, taking in all of me as a person which is really powerful in coaching. I felt very supported and importantly left our sessions energised, curious about what new approaches I could take to my perceived problems, realising that a lot of the barriers I have are only in my mind! Penny was attentive to my needs and wishes and very flexible in her approach, we even used skype for coaching and it worked really well.
CG said
Penny has been my coach during challenging and exciting times in my work as an independent consultant, coach and facilitator. As I was reinventing myself professionally and through moments of existential woe, I found that she listens deeply, reflects back what she hears and senses, challenges my thinking and offers inspired insights. Penny's coaching style demonstrates a quiet strength and resilience, a sharp intelligent mind, and an obvious will to help. I come away from coaching sessions with Penny with greater clarity and a tangible sense of my ability to achieve my goals. I highly recommend Penny as a coach.
One-to-one facilitation training
Some of the one-to-one work I do is with people who want to hone their facilitation skills. I have helped people experiment with approaches, design meetings to deliver particular objectives, and face their fears about facilitating a particular meeting. One experienced facilitator I worked with wanted to understand how to better bring her whole self to her work with groups, to enable her to be more spontaneous and flexible when a planned session didn’t seem to be helping. Another was a staff member in the tiny secretariat of a partnership of high-powered experts. She knew that she needed to assertively structure their forthcoming strategy workshop, but was afraid of not being listened to because of her youth and relatively junior position. We worked together to design the workshop, and then I coached her to help her prepare for situations she feared arising.
SS said
A one-off coaching session with Penny helped me prepare for a new facilitation role. I'm grateful for her thoughtful questions and the space she gave me to answer them.
MM said
Since I worked with Penny as my coach, my facilitation skills have increased greatly. She helped equip my “facilitator toolbox” to coordinate efficiently a working group that I coordinate at ISEAL Alliance. She shared tips, but most importantly helped me think through challenging scenarios and identify how to handle them successfully. Every hour with Penny was also a master class; she showed excellent facilitation and coaching skills in action. I would definitely recommend Penny to anyone interested in improving their facilitation skills.