When I started working with Sarah-Jane I was feeling stuck in the moment, I wanted a few answers, I wanted to understand what are the directions I could go in. After the first fifteen minutes of the first call I understood that the format was not going to be me asking her a question and her giving me an answer. Rather it starts with taking a step back, to better understand your inceptives, your motivations. Coaching made me talk about things that make me feel uncomfortable, and things that I am very passionate about. Both were useful. Sarah-Jane is very good at bringing the focus back to the problem statement and helping me break things down into bite sized pieces so I could tackle one thing at a time.
Working 1:1 with Sarah-Jane has been a real joy. She helped me tremendously when transitioning into my first management role and the time spent together felt not just valuable but vital. Her balance of providing me with practical information, tips or techniques while also allowing me to reflect and discover the answers within myself was really remarkable. Considering I had never tried or heard much about Career Coaching before working with Sarah-Jane, I would now highly recommend it and her to any other professionals looking for a space to develop their confidence and skills
I have really enjoyed working with you and discovering the power of saying it out loud. Thank you for the way in which you helped me see the two sides of the same coin.
Fridah Karimi, UNDP, November 2018
Thanks for the info Sarah Jane. I found our meeting very helpful and have already started putting some changes in place in terms of how I work with my team. (October 2017)
It was good to have a day to kick it off when all of the managers got together, and there were some really good team building activities that I think got everyone into the flow of it. The organisation of the questionnaire was very good – it was a lot to administrate and it went very well. The Strengthscope questionnaire provided good value for money I think and was a positive way into the coaching, as we had thought.
I think we’ve seen an incremental shift in terms of accountabilities. I think that many managers found [the coaching] useful in terms of personal support – it was a good space for them to talk about the problems they were having to deal with.
I just wanted to write and let you know that I have been appointed as a new board member on the board of directors. Many thanks for spending some time in our final coaching session helping me think about how I could frame my application and working on my confidence to do it!
I approached Sarah-Jane to help me take stock of my career and to provide space to help reflect on my strengths and areas to build on. She took time to explore my own needs and put together a bespoke programme that provided a sense of both progression and flexibility as my circumstances changed. Sarah-Jane is a good listener, but not afraid to challenge or to take risks. Not all the sessions were easy, but I always came away with a feeling that I had discovered a new perspective.
Sarah-Jane is a coach that cares deeply for progress of her clients. She challenges you to find the answers that you need to succeed with what is important to you. This process at times is hard but she takes you through it and you learn great things at the other side. I wholeheartedly recommend her as coach.
Sarah-Jane is professional and rigorous whilst remaining warm. Her intellect is sharp and she astutely observed many things to which I was blind or avoiding, and yet she never held on to being “right” about me. It felt good to be recognized but not judged!
Sarah-Jane has the ability to manage whatever the client wants to work on whether it is task oriented or creating awareness at a deeper level, with her insightful questions, listening skills and genuine care towards the client and the coaching process
Sarah-Jane has been a very effective coach for me, helping me to learn about myself and change how I think and behave as a result in some very personal and vulnerable areas. She is very at ease with personally transformative work, staying with, holding, challenging and supporting – within a strong and alive contract.
Sarah-Jane acted as a mentor and coach for me over the course of a year during which I was leading a particularly complex assignment. ..she helped me manage relationships with, and communicate with, both my team members and the client. I would certainly consider contracting her again