Safder, Team Leader
I was finding it difficult to perform presentations, due to the negative thoughts I had about the outcome, especially if there were managers in the room.
Melanie helped me to see past that, and instilled a confidence through positive thinking when performing any kind of informative speaking.
Melanie’s clear understanding and instruction, to overcome this issue, was testament to her experience and knowledge.
Melanie, I will never forget my adult self!
Gareth, Supervisor
“Melanie has helped me so much with my confidence at work and in life , I never thought I would actually enjoy doing presentations at work, but after Melanie’s coaching all this has changed.
So many people could benefit from her coaching and her book. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.
My only regret is that I didn’t meet her sooner in life”
Gareth, Supervisor
Simon – Department Head
A work colleague recommended Melanie to me as I was not talking with my manager and felt the situation was irreparable and I wasn’t valued and didn’t belong there, so I had decided to leave work and find something else to do. Through coaching with Melanie, some reflection and help planning the conversations I knew I needed to have with my manager, so the outcomes were positive, things quickly found a much better footing. That work extended to others in the workplace and through time I built much better working relationships. I am still at my workplace, which was not an outcome I thought likely a year ago and I enjoy my work and the colleagues there.
Wanda Stuart-Lee Head of HR Norbar Torque Tools Ltd
I have known and worked with Melanie for many years using her as a professional resource to support some of our people issues either as a group or individually.
As part of people development programme she has helped to discuss the role of ‘mentor’ to a number of employees undertaking a new qualification. As part of our succession planning, she has also coached a couple of employees in their transition from a technical role to a trainee management position. This has been a real success as they have really stepped up to the next level.
From a group activity she helped us understand some of the challenges facing our management team in relationship to the use of time, delegation, communication, workload and value added activities. The senior management team are currently reviewing the results of this.
On and individual level the support has mostly been about coaching on work life balance issues, particularly coping mechanisms/techniques in our ever increasingly high-pressured environment where there are increased ‘corporate’ expectations in relation to date and bottom line.
The feedback was “amazing, really helpful”, and there has been a notable change in dealing with these extra demands.
We will continue to use Melanie and she has and will continue to be a useful resource supporting out business.
Anna Davies, Partner Accounts Place
We met Melanie at the just the right time, a few years after launching our business when the pressures of obtaining new clients, managing a team, and dealing with all the administrative burdens involved in running our practice had really ramped up. The accumulating pressures had led to mental fatigue and overall burn out and often a loss in perspective.
We started working with Melanie to improve our clarity of mind in decision making and dealing with many different work situations ranging from which clients to accept, how to recruit and retain the right staff, or how to have good working conversations with others generally.
Since that day we have never looked back, Melanie has provided ongoing monthly support to my business partner and I for the past four years, it seems that every time we have a difficult situation to overcome a session with Melanie will assist us to approach it with a clear and focused mind.
Melanie offers calm wisdom and relevant advice for anyone hoping to reduce stress in their lives and achieve better work life balance with a clear mind. I would not hesitate to recommend her coaching services.
Anne Kippax, HR Director
I have been coached by Melanie a couple of times at difficult times in my working career and also completed her ‘Being & Doing’ Programme to develop my self-management practice.
As an HR Director of a health and social care sector I found the last couple of years particularly tough, and I was looking for additional support to improve my confidence to address the key challenges facing me, and also to think beyond my working life to consider my future aspirations.
I find Melanie to be affirming and encouraging whilst also challenging me to commit to the actions that will make a difference. I really value that she walks the talk and offers resources and practical techniques which are simple but make quite a profound difference. I enjoy her sense of humour and she enables me to step back and get some perspective.
Her coaching enabled me to deal more effectively with the challenges and to make a significant move about my future beyond work.
Elizabeth, Chief Operating Office
I was in a senior role with increasing load on my abilities, time and resources at work and at home. I was struggling with my own resilience and emotional management and didn’t understand why I would get overwhelmed. I was giving myself a very hard time and did not understand the drivers that were pushing my responses to situations. I was also handling some difficult people issues at work and needed support with this.
I have a scientific background so it really worked for me that Melanie’s approach is grounded in the science of how the brain works (no jargon though). Melanie gave me some very practical exercises and models and helped me to unpick the issues. She helped me build new habits and I now have much better ability to manage my emotions and resilience and understand what’s going on for me and others. My inner critic still has plenty to say but now I put it in its place with other points of view! I’m much happier as a result of all this, and as a manager I think I’m more effective at work. I have shared some of the learning with colleagues which they have found useful, so there is a broader work benefit too.
I still use occasional coaching sessions with Melanie to help me talk through what is going on, especially with people issues. She is a great listener and will ask a really good question to make me think as well as reflect back what she has heard.
RB
I was having difficulty with burnout and managing work relationships. In my work with Melanie I learned new ways of understanding what was happening and new skills for managing these situations. It made a big difference to my overall wellbeing.
Sharon Marsh
Thought provoking and reflective they are the words I would use to describe my coaching sessions with Melanie. I have worked with Melanie in a one-to-one coaching environment and as part of the 8 weeks 'Being and Doing' on-line coaching course. As a result, I have been able to set and prioritise my short and long-term goals and reflect on the use of theories such as transactional analysis in the workplace. Melanie is a good listener and an excellent coach.
Carole Strachan
I first worked with Melanie about 25 years ago and have turned to her several times since when dealing with a whole range of professional - (and sometimes personal) - dilemmas. Her shrewd and patient support encouraged me to summon-up the clarity and objectivity, the serenity and fortitude I needed in order to contend with a series of trials and setbacks. We continue to work together and whenever I’m challenged or perplexed, Melanie consistently navigates me back into the right place and ensures that my self-belief remains intact, even at times of great duress. It’s an empowering partnership and I would recommend it to anyone who genuinely aspires to be the best they can be.