Welcome and thanks for stopping by...
When I first came across the profession of Coaching I knew immediately that this was the career for me. All the career tests I had taken to date had come out with highest scores for Psychology, Therapist, Counsellor and I thought ..uum, I don’t want to go back into peoples’ childhoods focussing on things we had little or no control over. I like living in the ‘Now’. Olivia Woods
In the coaching profession we generally don’t consider it is necessary to spend a lot of time going back into a client’s past issues, going back over the same old same old. That’s not to say we don’t – just that we don’t spend too much time there. We believe it is more useful and appropriate to start with where the client is today and focus on where/how the client wants to be now and in the future.
A little bit of my own journey
I was living in the USA when I went to my first coaching (I wanted to explore the benefits of staying in the corporate world as opposed to starting my own business) and by the fourth session I knew what I wanted. I wanted, without a shadow of a doubt, to do what my Coach did – I wanted to be a Coach. My extensive background in recruitment made Career Transition Coaching a very natural progression for me.
In my recruitment days I would ponder over CVs late into the night just to get the perfect candidate for my client. Today, as a Coach my passion is to help people refine and connect with their highest possibilities so that they can understand what would bring back joy and enthusiasm to their lives, a sparkle to their eyes. Click anywhere on these details to close the box.
What's your background then Olivia?
Over the past 10 years I have enjoyed a number of successful roles in Recruitment including Senior Recruitment Consultant, Customer Relationship Director, Sales Director. Latterly I spent seven months helping a marketing recruitment company get off to a flying start from ground zero. For the past 4 years I have worked part time and studied for my present career in coaching, the very best decision I have made…
My passion is coaching well and coaching deep. My coaching style is open and honest. I don’t pamper, I empathise. I specialise in working with people at a career crossroad. My clients are professional, well educated smart people who feel stuck and unfulfilled. And I work with frustrated people who know they could be living a bigger, more rewarding life. I help them find out what a life of joy and enthusiasm would look like. I help them get there. If you trust me I can help you too.
I completed my official coach training with Coaching Development Ltd, an excellent training company accredited by the International Coach Federation. Having spent the best part of a year researching Training Schools I was 100% satisfied with the training and the integrity of its two directors, Phil Brew and Colin Brett.
Because I am so interested in the inner workings of the satisfied mind I have taken a number of complementary courses which stand me in good stead when coaching a diverse range of clients.
I am one of the very few facilitators in the UK of The Work of Byron Katie. I trained in Germany with Katie herself in 2005. Known simply as The Work, it is a simple yet powerful process of inquiry that teaches you to identify and question thoughts that cause you stress. It is a simple but clear way to understand what is causing your stress and helps address your problems with clarity and with compassion for yourself.
I am a licenced practioner of Firework Career Coaching and offer a 12 session programme to find work that excites you and is worthy of your unique skills.
Whilst living in the USA (2002-2004) I trained with Tom Stone of Inner Human Design. Tom is an expert in the application of biophysics and changing patterns of energy in the human body. Tom runs many leading edge courses of which I have taken three: Core Dynamics of Common Problems, the Absence of You Programme and Upgrade Your Life.
I also spent time in 2006 with the well known Author and Career Coach Barbara Sher in Corfu, at her now famous Scanner’s Retreat. What Barbara doesn’t know about the human condition could be written on the back of a stamp! I am happy to share the benefits of her insights with you.
Call me to make an appointment for a free 20 minute collaborative session to see if we would work well together.
Need to know even more?
Through coaching I learned that I am an INFP on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Here’s a quick and simple explanation of my own traits mapped on that indicator:
- Introvert - interested in the inner world of self and others, ideas, reflection, depth
- iNtuitive - concerned with what is possible and new, an orientation to the future
- Feeling - the personal rather than the official, high values, warm personality and tenderhearted
- Perceiving – flexible, open, adaptable, spontaneous
Typically my type of personality loves living in the world of possibilities. This serves me very well when working on possibilities for my clients – my mind that knows no bounds for what is possible! If you would find it useful I can do a similar, though much more detailed personality profile for you as a coaching session, or it comes included in my Career Transition Programme.
Coaching works well for healthy, intelligent, sensible people who are at a certain point in their lives but want to get to a different point. It’s just that for the moment, they can’t see a way to do it because they are too busy or there is other ‘stuff’ in the way.
I help you look at what’s in the way. I will help you clear a path to where you know you can be happy and satisfied.
Need to know even more!?
Well, I like one strong cup of coffee a day. Put the kettle on, ring me and we'll take fifteen minutes to see if we will work together. Alternatively drop me an email, give me an idea of what you might like to work on and I will offer you some dates for our first session.
