“From the horse’s mouth”

“Being coached by Andy has given me an understanding of who I am and the real value of the gifts I knew I had. My confidence has improved and, and I now seek to proactively develop myself through new opportunities at work.
At a time when I wasn’t sure what to do, his coaching has given me a sense of direction which has helped me to develop my career - a secondment with increased responsibility and a significant pay increase.

Andy has a lot of expereince and wisdom to offer, but treats you as an equal, and really puts you at ease. More than that, working with Andy is fun - you’re talking about serious stuff, but it doesn’t mean the conversation has to be serious!”

“Working with Andy has been an absolute delight and an eye-opener. The experience has significantly boosted my self-belief and resulted in a move to a senior position in a new company.

Andy’s way of working with you encourages you to take a deep look within yourself and to challenge what you believe and say. His sessions are highly challenging, but highly supportive at the the same time and have helped me to develop higher levels of self-confidence and belief.

I would recommend Andy to anyone who operates in a senior executive role - or who aspires to do that. But be prepared to be honest with yourself in a way you’ve never been before - and you’ll need a rest and / or a beer afterwards. It’s intense!”

“I was feeling completely drowned by email and said to Andy during a coaching session that I felt I was never getting any actual work done! He introduced me to a different approach to handling my emails which has quite simply changed the whole way I manage my workload. I am no longer driven by other people’s agendas through emails and I feel in control of my work. I’d really recommend anyone to give it a go!”

“Andy, thank you most sincerely for such a perfectly pitched, hilarious, meaningful and thought provoking after dinner talk at our National Conference.”

“Work was absolutely dominating my life and was causing me to get stressed.  Andy helped me to work more efficiently and effectively, and from the start to look at my goals, both personal and work, which have enhanced and enriched my life. I have started to plan ahead and programme in when I am going to undertake more ‘strategic’ aspects of my work.  Andy enabled me to work both on the detail and the bigger picture.  My life is less stressed as a result and I have been able to make changes rather than simply getting the next thing done.  I have been able to spend more time on my hobbies, while increasing my efficiency and ability to plan ahead, and as a result, I am considerably less stressed.

Andy has an incredibly positive attitude and is extremely encouraging to work with – making sure I recognised when I had made progress, but also challenging me when necessary and I would recommend his services to anyone (or any organisation) who is getting bogged down in their work”

“I’d never experienced working with a coach before and wasn’t sure if it would be a benefit to me, however Andy’s personality makes him an easy person to trust and explore ideas with. I’ve really valued his input and support while we’ve been working together.

It’s been really helpful to have someone to use as a “sounding board” – this has helped me to broaden and develop my thinking and ideas more than would otherwise have been the case. As a result, I’ve been able to restructure my Sections Strategy and Policy, consider different ways of doing things and also reinforce my contact with members of the Senior Leadership Team.

Andy doesn’t do your work for you! But if you want to develop your skills and capability, and are committed to working with him in identifying and addressing areas where you would like to develop, then I’m sure Andy will be able to help you.

“I really needed someone that could help me work through complex people-centric problems and processes. Having been fortunate enough to work with Andy before I knew that he was an outstanding coach and able to understand problems and develop solutions that were best for the customer and the organisation. What I love about working with Andy is that he is not afraid to challenge, and is very clear and direct in his feedback. He was able to grasp a very sensitive challenge around a management contract and design a process and support the business in its development. As a sign of all great consultants he was able to leave the business with core personnel all able to manage effectively once he left. Since then he has continued to support me and challenge me in a complex integration and has provided extremely sound counsel and support. Over the last six months he has helped make me a better leader and communicator and for that I am very grateful.”

“I wondered whether Andy would be able to translate the wide experience he has in business to the context and the diverse team of people I wanted him to work with - it was a bit like herding cats!

He was the only person I considered asking to take this role on, which I think nearly drove him to distraction – but the feedback from the team was excellent, and he was able to appropriately challenge as well as help the team to see their own potential.

Whenever I have worked with Andy I have been impressed by the preparation and care that he puts in beforehand.I have recommended him to my close colleagues and said very little; here is a man I can trust – he knows his stuff, he is always keen to learn, and he’ll work with you.”

“I had recently created a new leadership team, and I asked Andy to provide us with an environment and process to help us explore how best we could work together and accelerate our effectiveness as a team. To do this Andy provided individual coaching, exploring with each team member their strengths and weaknesses. Coaching from an independent and professional external person, led to more open and honest discussions from each team member.

As a team we have benefited enormously from Andy’s support, particularly with greater individual understanding of how their actions impact on others and with team members deriving grat satisfaction and confidence from their personal development. This success has come not only from Andy’s external perspective but also from the way he quickly builds trusts with individuals and holds a mirror to their faces in order to help them understand themselves. Independent coaching on a 1:1 basis allows each session to be tailored to individual requirements, and so accelerates the development process.”

“I was hesitant about mentoring as I wasn’t sure if it would be helpful, but since working with Andy I’ve clarified a strategy for my work, discussed some specific issues in depth and been given useful tools for assessing future developments & opportunities.

Andy took a real interest in the work I do, and asked pertinent, searching questions that were stimulating and practical. Although the questions are challenging, they’re asked in a positive and non-judgmental way – not critical or cynical - and Andy is good at leaving ample space to reflect on the issues and processes concerned.

It has been a very good experience working with Andy so far, more positive than I expected given my initial hesitancy and I would recommend Andy’s services, especially to people running organisations or working in complex situations that require clarity and strategy.”

“Andy is a great coach who balances challenging questions, with the ability to build a great rapport. Despite his experience he avoids ever telling you what he would do or what he thinks you should do…even though there are times when it must take great patience to hold off from this! I’ve benefited from a number of “coaching conversations” with Andy and each time not only has it challenged me to think about a problem differently but also to develop some really clear next steps which have helped me to resolve it successfully.”

“I’d never been “coached” in a working situation before so wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. What I found was that I was challenged to think about different ways of approaching issues in my work and in the way I encounter others, and I’ve certainly taken on board suggestions about recruiting and encouraging leaders around me, and have been more assertive when the occasions demands. Andy’s way of working is extremely flexible and responsive. Even when I went “off piste” with an immediate crisis, it was OK for that to provide the material for our session. And while Andy’s approach is very flexible, it is always underpinned by a structure that keeps things clear – especially tasks I needed to work on after the session. Andy is very experienced, is really good at listening, has a great sense of humour and is very empathetic. He also has a very good understanding of the church context. I would recommend Andy’s services, particularly to leaders in parish settings. His skills and experience are very useful in thinking through change and tension, and unpicking difficulties in relationships that may have occurred over time.”

“Andy very quickly provides a safe and trusting environment where you will feel comfortable discussing any issue, be prepared though for Andy to hold the mirror up to your face, his knack of finding and asking that killer question is uncanny. There is no doubt that our time together has improved my leadership capability and potential.”

“I have been fortunate to have been mentored and coached by Andy on a number of occasions. Andy’s coaching style finds me searching deeper and deeper for the root cause of my problem. When he probes it really helps me establish my exact start point which I find useful to build solutions to move forward. The greatest compliment I can give him is I always leave clear about my actions and I always complete them!!”

“As a first- time recipient of coaching I was a little sceptical of how Andy was going to assist our team. We were struggling with power disputes, and finding a common goal to work towards seemed hopeless. Over our six sessions we went from disparate band of rivals to a team with fixed job descriptions and a clear agenda. Andy gave us the questions which ensured we got the right results, his gentle but firm manner has enabled us to accept change and move on. The skills we gained are in use every day as we push our project on to further success. Thanks Andy.”

“Initially I was unsure of the nature of our conversation and how much I would be expected to open up about issues and concerns. It soon became apparent that Andy is extremely empathetic and both encouraging and usefully challenging. This helped me to move forward and take steps in the right direction in a number of circumstances. Andy has a great ability to both Coach and Mentor, seamlessly transferring between offering advice and facilitating my working out of situations and letting me know that’s what he is doing. I’m thankful for Andy’s challenging questions which really helped me to move forward.”