Consultant and Coach, Harbinson Mulholland
Q, Please provide a brief career history.
Mainly a training and development background. Started in the private sector and then spent six years in the voluntary sector working with charity chief executives. Now working as a People Performance consultant with mainly SME clients to help them maximise the potential of the business and their staff. Coaching is one tool that I use with both the staff and the business owners.
Q, What were your motivations behind looking for a Coach Training programme?
To build self confidence in my abilities as a coach, and increase my ‘toolbox’ of ways to help my clients.
Q, What criteria were important to you when looking for a Coach training programme?
Wanted something practical. Didn’t want a theoretical university-type course. Accreditation also important – again not university. Went for the ICF accreditation because I believe it will be valuable when selling to potential clients – more credible.
Q, What was it that led you to choose the HumanTechnics programme in the end?
Practical course with ICF links.
Q, Could you briefly describe your experience of the course.
Thought-provoking and very enjoyable. I learnt a great deal from the other participants as well as from the facilitator. It was extremely useful to watch and listen to each other coaching (scary at first but done in a very supportive way, which I found reassuring!)
Q, Reflecting on the programme what would you say you got from the programme? What has it meant for you?
Lots of different techniques to use with clients to help them work through issues.
Feel a lot more confident and relaxed as a coach. This has definitely helped me improve the quality of my coaching and I love seeing the ‘lightbulb’ go on in my client’s mind during a session – very rewarding!
Q, would you recommend the course to someone like yourself?
Definitely. The course does not bog you down in theories but gets straight to the point and provides highly practical techniques for effective coaching. The opportunity to practice these techniques in the safety of the training room also builds confidence before using them with a client.