Please note that the names of individuals I coached in the Bank where I work have been changed to protect their privacy in the organisation. My clients all undertook coaching in a personal capacity.
Brian Cleere, Director, Fahy Fitzpatrick, Consulting Engineers, Dublin
“I have recently completed six coaching sessions with Una. I had been thinking about a career change for some time and needed help to clarify exactly where I needed to be. From the start Una demonstrated a professional and understanding approach to coaching and my needs. Una brings a subtlety and delicate technique to coaching which allowed me to think things through for myself ensuring I made my own decisions about my career change.
Una’s knowledge and experience of people’s perceptions on life and their careers brought clarity to my thoughts and opinions on my past and new career direction. There was much emphasis put on reflection of my career to date and how I arrived at this place. I believe this was very effective over the six sessions in bringing me to the realisation of exactly where I want to go. I have no hesitation in recommending Una to anybody considering a career change.”
Kelvin Harrison, Chairman, Maxima, UK
“At a time when I was retiring as hands on CEO of my third successful business venture, I had the opportunity to be coached by Una. My goal was to get three Non Exec Directorships which would allow me to work four days a week and to mentor new businesses, passing on the wealth of business knowledge and experience I have built up.
Una helped me to sharpen my approach, enhance my preparation and my performance for key interviews and meetings. This gave me an edge which was influential in my successfully achieving my goal. And although I am an experienced networker, Una also helped me to generate more ideas and options for myself in this area. Her incisive questioning brought real insight which helped me to change my behaviour in key situations. What really worked for me was Una’s professional approach, ensuring I established clear goals and actions and committed to taking those actions. I’d recommend working with Una wholeheartedly if you want to enhance your performance and success.”
Max Benedict, Assistant Manager, Bank
“Una helped me to see beyond what I perceived to be barriers by helping me uncover negative beliefs. I found this to be a truly worthwhile exercise, enabling me to set far more ambitious goals than I would have. I gained a solid belief that I could work towards making positive changes in my life. I found her ability to free my thinking particularly effective, freeing me from the constraints I had imposed on myself.
After the first few sessions I began to hear myself speak more positively about the goals Una facilitated me in setting for myself. Each session followed a clear path and I felt my confidence grow as time went on. Una was very good at steering me to talk about subjects I had initially raised but then tried to avoid.
I never felt there was a wrong answer to Una’s questions and she always praised my achievements, no matter how big or small. I also liked the fact that there was no imposed time pressure, I set my goals in timelines reasonable to my circumstances. As a result of twelve sessions with Una I have already achieved two significant goals and continue to work towards the achievement of others.”
Penelope Cooper, Manager, Bank
“Being sceptical about NLP I was resistant to Una’s suggestion of a 15 minute exercise to help me prepare for an important interview. On the other hand my nerves were blocking me performing well in interviews so I gave it a go. It seemed ‘airy fairy’, almost silly to me at first and yet it turned out to be one of the most powerful transforming experiences I have ever had. Not only did I get promoted to Manager but shortly afterwards I was head hunted and have doubled my salary in the space of three months since that exercise. It was like the key that unlocked the door. If Una suggests doing a weird exercise – just go with it!!”
Paul Barclay, Assistant Manager, Bank
“I found a fresh way of thinking and approach to life and I believe this was down to the open communication and Una’s skills as a coach. Una drew out my objectives and helped me to develop my thinking rather than imposing an agenda. She provided plenty of reflection time and the room to explore different situations. Una is a change facilitator. I found it very comfortable talking to Una, she is non judgemental and empathic. Coaching helped me to grow and become more self aware and positive in my outlook.“
Susan Sheridan, Officer, Bank
“I got the opportunity to be coached by Una when I was at a crossroads in my career. Coaching provided a space in which I could take the time to think about me as a person, my dreams and goals. I discovered a lot about myself and learned to think outside my comfort zone. As a result of coaching I have started a diploma in a different area of work with a view to changing career direction. Una is so easy to talk to and I grew in confidence week by week, allowing myself to become more open and embrace my imagination. Una understands and does not judge, her objective perspective helped me to look at day to day problems and issues from a different angle, allowing me to deal with them more effectively.”
Paul Walker, Coach and Addiction Counsellor, NHS, UK
“I was very comfortable with Una and as a result made significant progress in many areas of life over the past 6 months. Una excelled at listening, reflecting back and challenging my beliefs skilfully and empathically. I worked through many issues, re-focusing and gaining clarity on important situations, utilising my time better, building confidence and challenging negative mind chatter.”
Mary Doyle, Midwifery Practice Development Co-ordinator, HSE, Limerick
“The main impact of coaching with Una has been opening up my thinking. Una challenged me in a positive and supportive way to explore issues more widely. She offered different tools and techniques as different issues came up and always provided positive feedback and reinforced my progress, even when I hadn’t achieved what I had set myself to do. I realised I wasn’t giving myself credit for the things I was doing and was sometimes devaluing what I did. Her active listening skills made a significant impact as she referred to things I had said previously, providing real insight for me.”
Dominic Peters, Ex-Bank
“Coaching sessions opened my eyes to the possibilities that exist career wise and helped me to realise I have the power to take decisive action which will bring positive change in my life. I realise it is all about the choices we make – each person has the power, through the choices they make to create the life they desire. I am taking decisive steps to change career direction radically. Coaching provided me with a tremendous sense of empowerment.”
Joan Handsall, Officer, Bank
“Having been coached by Una I feel like a new person, I can see my goals clearly and am confident about my strengths and abilities. Una is so supportive and encouraging, and I felt able to be honest as she creates a totally confidential environment. What really worked for me was having a goal for each session and an action plan at the end, it was so clear what I needed to do and Una praised me for each step no matter how small. And when I felt I had no options Una encouraged me to search for more, showing me I had more ideas and options that I would have thought possible.”
Marie Brennan Hayes, Senior Medical Scientist, Hospital Laboratory, Galway
“Coaching with Una had a huge impact on both my professional and personal goals. I learnt a lot about myself and my attributes. By helping me to set small goals and deal with issues on a step by step basis, I have achieved goals that I never thought I could. I found our sessions very empowering and enjoyable.”
Barry Stone, Manager, Bank
“After coaching with Una I have clarity on the values that drive me and sometimes hinder me. I have established goals in various areas of my life. I feel I now have a structure for developing balance between different aspects of my life. I have started healthier routines and already feel the benefit. The most important thing I learned is an awareness that my quality of life can be controlled by my deciding what is best for me. This is the hardest thing for me to change but I am now fully aware of the benefits.”
Jane Drapkin, Coach, UK
“I felt that Una totally ‘got me’ from the word go. Her professionalism and sense of fun made me feel totally safe and nurtured, enabling me to open up very quickly and discuss things that I’m often not comfortable talking about. She reflected back so clearly and with such empathy that I really felt understood. Una helped me very quickly to start identifying solutions to my problems and actions that I could take. At the end of the session I felt so much lighter, energised and really happy about my next steps. My only regret is that I had so little time to work with her, but several months on I am still reaping the benefits of our coaching session.”
