What People Are Saying
I work with a wide range of individual clients and organisations. Below are some testimonials from past clients, including on interview preparation, confidence building, leadership and careerdevelopment.
“My year with Barb took me on a welcome path of change. I wanted to improve my communication, build my confidence, and better focus my work to deliver on priorities. Over five sessions, Barb’s expertise and wise insights shone each time we met online. Barb’s coaching helped me to recognise and understand my work practices and patterns of behaviour, the obstacles they were creating and how to effect change. Thank you, Barb, I finish the year continuing to evolve and learn and doing my best to own the room as a subject matter expert.”
Virginia, 2024, Higher education adviser
“Since I started coaching sessions with Barbara in 2020 I have benefited enormously from her insights and guidance. She really does act as a coach — she provoked my thinking and supported me to identify solutions and take action. Her advice and support has helped me navigate a number of tricky issues and built my confidence as a manager as I’ve stepped up into a role with significantly larger span and scope. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”
— Julia, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
“My four sessions with Barb, as a full time professional (home schooling) working mother based overseas during a pandemic helped immensely. Barb doesn’t give you the answers. She helps you hear your internal voice more clearly, and to ask and answer the right questions, of yourself. ”
— Z, Overseas aid worker
“The opportunity for working with a Coach came at a crucial time for me professionally and Barbara was very effective in helping me to clarify my career objectives and opening my mind to a broader range of options for achieving them.
Barbara is calm and insightful and provided constructive feedback that was always targeted to my specific objectives. The breadth of her professional expertise meant she really had first-hand experience in the issues of interest to me.”
— Danielle, Department of Health
“Barb is great at listening and probing, getting to be clear about why a certain direction, whether it's career or strategy within a role. Her experience in government and NGOs at senior levels means she has a deep well to draw from. I've really benefitted from her coaching - sometimes that has been as wise counsel to confirm that I am on the right track which is worth a lot. You'd be lucky to have Barb as your coach.”
— Toni, NGO
“Barbara is a great coach who helped me to reflect and find the answers I always had within myself. She was a great source of practical advice and tips that will set me up successfully for the next exciting stage of my career. Thank you Barbara!”
— Clare, Department of Defence
“Barbara is an accomplished and insightful leader with a wealth of interesting and diverse experience, and a genuine commitment to helping others realise their potential. Barbara establishes an environment of trust, based on open and challenging dialogue, to promote a meaningful exchange of insights and ideas. She challenges me to think differently about leadership, agency and personal responsibility. She asks intelligent, honest and discerning questions to help me unpack and rethink my assumptions (and misconceptions) regarding the qualities and conduct of a good leader. By these means, Barbara inspires me to take initiative, accept vulnerability, develop influence and seize new opportunities in the workplace. I could not recommend her more highly to anyone thinking about the next steps in their careers, or willing to ask big questions of themselves and their contribution to working life.”
— Mandy, Department of Health
“It gave me the opportunity to break down some areas for professional development, set goals and work through strategies/ techniques to take forward in my career. As this was my first experience of coaching, I enjoyed the one-on-one style of guided learning and appreciated the resources you provided and recommended.
You are an excellent listener and guided our discussions to focus on outcomes, including how I could handle scenarios differently in future. I appreciated you sharing your experience too, as it gave me another valuable perspective.”
— Emma, Department of Health
“The coaching sessions certainly provided plenty of food for thought and has made me focus on what I am striving to achieve. It has made me think more deeply about where I am at in my career...You provided a safe environment for discussion.”
— Richard, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
“Barb provided a safe environment to help prepare me for an SES interview. Over four sessions she enabled me to overcome my interview nerves, built my confidence to respond to difficult questions, and through thoughtful questioning and reflection enabled me to clarify in my mind what my value add to the department was. As a result I had a confident and enjoyable interview, and would highly recommend Barb.”
— Claire, International aid worker
“Barbara worked with our leadership team to successfully assist us to improve our functionality and to resolve some tensions which, if not arrested, may have threatened that functionality. Barbara met with us individually, then as a group and followed up with written recommendations which we implemented; a short, sharp effective ‘intervention’. So with genuine goodwill, supplemented by Barbara’s sensible, non-threatening and empathetic professional advice our team is humming. I would highly recommend Barbara to assist with pragmatic sensible solutions to make your workplace function efficiently.”
— Jenny, Department of Health
“Barbara’s coaching was the critical factor in my performance at interview. Prior to working with Barbara I lacked confidence in my ability to respond clearly and succinctly to interview questions. Following the coaching session I felt a transformation in my self-confidence and readiness. Barbara had done her research and asked challenging and relevant questions. Thanks to Barbara’s help I received not only the promotion but was ranked the number 1 candidate in the round. Thank you Barbara!”