RS had a new role and a remit for change but needed to get her team on board.
Building relationships to secure success
“I took over a new role in a foreign country with a team of 150 people, a sales volume of £15 billion and a remit to change the current structure. I’d led several change initiatives before, in my home country, so felt well-equipped to do this. However, during my first few months in the UK, I quickly came to realise that it was going to be much more complex and challenging than I’d anticipated.
There were cultural differences to understand and manage. I encountered resistance and push-back as I established a new leadership team. And, we were moving from a primarily administrative function to a much more proactive and service-driven approach which required a massive mindset shift within the entire team. I came to recognise that getting the full buy-in of all stakeholders was going to be critical if the change was to be successful so initiated thorough discussions and communication with all the key people.
This resulted in a number of emotional interactions. I found these confronting and my automatic way of dealing with these was to become rigorous and abrupt. With Caroline’s help, I was able to change my attitude and stop the self talk that had me reacting in these unhelpful ways. I am now able to stay calm and focused when facing difficult situations. I can empathise with people’s emotions and no longer get triggered. My relationships have improved as a result. I’ve learned how to communicate with my team in the right way and in a timely fashion. And, together, we are transforming into a stronger and more effective leadership team which is united in securing success.
I’ve also learned the importance of challenging beliefs I held about myself that were untrue and unsupportive. I now know and acknowledge my achievements and my value, independently from outside perception. This enables me to create my own “safe harbour” which gives me stability, independence and peace and are my guarantors for a “good life”, even in challenging times.”
RS, Director, International Engineering Company
Caroline has become a trusted partner to Siemens UK over the past few years. She and her team have run a number of sessions for our Women’s Network focusing on topics such as Imposter Syndrome and Strengthening Personal Authority. The members of the Network have found these sessions extremely helpful and thought-provoking. Caroline’s style is relaxed, friendly and candid. She draws on her own experience of working in senior roles, encouraging participants to open up and share their own stories. Personally, I have found these sessions invaluable and I draw on the lessons learned almost on a daily basis. I would highly recommend Caroline’s approach to anyone wanting to help women in their organisation fulfil their potential.
- The work I did with Attitude Coach helped me understand what it was that I feared and gave me the tools to help me tackle self doubts and stresses which I was heaping upon myself.
- I know myself better than I did before, which is hugely empowering. I understand why I react to events the way I do, and have the tools to adjust my mentality and respond in a positive and engaged way.
- When I talk to Caroline, a big problem becomes a small one.
- This training has had a dramatic impact on the productivity of our business – women who used to hold back are now stepping up and taking charge so I’m freed up to focus on other business priorities. A remarkable result from an investment of just three hours of the team’s time.
- It seems an age since I did your Power of Purpose programme but it has only been two years. In that time, I have gutted & renovated two houses, retrained as a community mental health worker and also gone
back to part-time study, as well as made a bunch of meaningful friendships
and re-connected with family. So, I'd say the work you had
me do before I left London for my new life in Australia was
successful!
- I’m now living deliberately every day in every decision. I feel more empowered; I feel more alive.
- My boss used to lead all our client meetings but I now take charge so he’s free to focus on other priorities.
- Every week, I grew in confidence, just by being me. Not only could I see the benefit that working with Caroline was having but my colleagues could, too. So, I feel fortunate to have had the chance of working with Caroline and would recommend her without hesitation.
- The team are much more positive about what they’re capable of and encourage and support each other to take on bigger challenges.