What do my clients say?
You will find testimonials below from business and personal coaching clients, coach supervision clients, golfers and workshop participants
Business and Personal Coaching Clients
Gavin, Leader in Pharma:
I quickly built rapport with Doug who made me feel safe to 'open up' to, as he was non-judgemental to topics I would not usually share with people. I'm amazed with the personal growth I have achieved, which others close to me have also recognised. Using creative techniques combined with Doug's coaching style kept me engaged and made each session enjoyable yet incredibly rewarding. Thank you very much Doug.
Melanie, Charity Manager:
Doug’s support was invaluable to me. His style is challenging yet gentle, and he helped me unpick the root causes of challenges I was facing and take a proactive approach is solving these. He also helped me understand my own style, motivations and preconceived ideas, and how that impacts my overall wellbeing. I would highly recommend working with Doug.
Matt, Legal Counsel and Property Developer:
Doug helped me gently untangle the knot I’d got myself into.
Louise, Housing Association Manager:
Doug helped me achieve my goal, whilst learning about myself. I feel honoured to have been coached by “one of the best”. The coaching experience will take me forward in a positive thoughtful way. Thank you.
John, IT Director (promoted into a more strategic global role at the end of the coaching assignment):
The personal impact for the coaching is to feel less responsible for everything, and to understand that other people also need to take responsibility for their areas. This reduces workload/stress, and although initially it brought up questions about what was the point of me if I wasn’t getting drawn into the detail I’m now able to focus more on the things I should have been. The business impact is that there are now clearer lines of responsibility for me and my team. Doug helped me by asking questions, so that I actually found the answers for myself. Also, by keeping my focus on the discussion at hand and not getting distracted was a great lesson.
Alan Ambrose, Senior Project Manager and Coach:
I had the privilege of being coaching by Doug during our professional coaching skills training. Doug has a warm communication style that is simple and effective and he demonstrated the utmost respect for the topics I brought to coaching. This, combined with excellent listening skills and the ability to shift perspectives helped me see the big picture, increase my self-awareness, and move towards my goals.
Chi Atanga, Teacher at TeachFirst:
My coaching experience with Doug, was one of the most valuable parts of the leadership development programme. Highly recommended! Having a coach is a wonderful way to drown out all the noise that we are constantly bombarded with and focus on what is important, in many cases the coaching experience helped me to define what was important, and develop strategies to go for it. If you want to be a high performing person, you need a high performing coach; your own Personal Alex Ferguson!
Wendy Hambledon, Human Resources Director - Europe at Norgren:
Working with Doug as a coach, is an experience I truly value. He has a wealth of experience, which he uses to excellent effect, questioning and guiding you to find your own answers and solutions. Those of you that have been coached will recognise the power of being listened to, completely. Doug holds this space comfortably and whilst his challenges on some limiting beliefs were direct, it really made me address the crux of the issue.
Valuable, effective and created change, all that you want and need from a coach.
Andrew Kimber, Senior Account Manager, Personal & Business Coach:
Doug has a calming presence which creates a safe environment for me to be able to express what I'm thinking without concern or worry. This reflects in his coaching style as somebody you can trust and is with you 100% expressed through his effective listening. Doug is reflective by nature and this comes across in his way of asking challenging questions that help create awareness.
L, Senior HR leader:
I can recommend Doug's coaching abilities to you wholeheartedly having directly experienced his facilitation and coaching personally.
Coach Supervision Clients
Lesley Holt, Executive Coach
I highly recommend Doug as a coach supervisior. He provides a lovely space to explore in and his insightfulness provides a great window onto you an your practice.
Shirley Smith, Executive Coach and Coach Supervisor:
As I reflect on the Supervision sessions I experienced with Doug across 2016, the things that stand out for me is how much I learned and how enriching it was. Doug is a brilliant coach and has a knack of throwing in on-point curve ball questions that really make you think & explore new possibilities. He can be incredibly challenging, yet I observed that he is also sensitive to when this would be helpful and when a more supportive style is what's needed in the moment. It's a real pleasure working with him and I have no hesitation of recommending Doug as a coaching supervisor. I worked with Doug over 8 Supervision sessions during 2016
These comments come from a participants in two supervision groups.
I really liked the way that the supervision coached each of us in our dilemmas. It really challenged me to think differently about vulnerability in young people – it made me braver and more open to challenging the person I was working with, with positive intent. I loved the reflections from the group but only after 1:1 time with the supervisior.
It was a very powerful session in terms of my own learning as a coach and the parallel process occurring as well as learning from others experiences
It was very useful to share the session with others as I gained valuable insights from others’ experiences.
I found it very useful on a personal level and have some tangible things to take away.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be there being honest – it was a long call – but it needed to be and the time flew. I would recommend it. If nothing else it help me learn we were all grappling with similar issues.
Fabulous to hear other coaches thoughts and perspectives - although I wasn’t struggling as such, it was really insightful to have different perspectives
Timely and useful themes to learn from and contribute to. Format good.
It was very good and validated I was on the right track.
Golf Coaching Clients
James Jankowski, PGA Professional:
Since working with Doug, I have most certainly seen improvements in my tournament play. Through the application of simple techniques, Doug has enabled me to play more confident golf. I have also seen a dramatic decrease in my par 5 scoring average, something that was letting me down previously. Already this season I have won 3 tournaments including the Hertfordshire Open. More importantly though, Doug has helped bring back my love and passion for the game.
Andy Blanchard - a 12 Handicap Golfer:
The best way I could describe my coaching experience with Doug is thought provoking, useful and highly enjoyable. Doug is a great partner on the course anyway and his relatively gentle style of probing your thought processes during a round of golf are easily woven into the round and provide much food for thought adding up to a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I feel distinctly energised by the whole process and feel confident that my game will benefit in a material way over the coming months. To be recommended for all who play the game at any level.
Workshop Participants
S, Manufacturing Procurement Leader:
I have just completed the CfEL programme and wanted to offer some immediate feedback. First of all I can’t recall many past courses that have moved me to go into print for positive reasons! This was a fantastic course. The content, method of delivery, pace and style were excellent. Most importantly Doug and Helen delivered it as both experts in their field and real role models. They set the standard that I can aspire to! I’m looking forward with real excitement to seeing the positive changes in myself and my team and all the benefits this will deliver.
R, R&D manager at GSK:
Just wanted to say many thanks again for your session today, I think it went down really well with Discovery. A great blend of information, experiential learning and display of supreme communication skills from yourself. Many thanks I’m sure this will help to embed coaching into our everyday Biopharm culture.
L, senior HR Leader:
Doug has impressed me with his knowledge in this area. I am a senior HR Leader and have attended courses he has led in the coaching space. His ability to handle senior groups through coaching programmes has significantly increased their ability to coach and has had a positive impact on the culture that we work in. Doug is a highly effective facilitator of these programmes. His style is inclusive, respectful, challenging and engaging. He enables people to fully understand how coaching can make a difference to relationships, development and organisational performance. He demonstrates the power of coaching by connecting his experience as a scientific leader to the content of the programmes he delivers making them authentic and relevant.
