Case Studies and Testimonials

Coaching and Mentoring

Case Study #1: Developing a Manager

The client: Sue is Financial Controller of a major transport organisation who had a track record for delivering high quality financial information.

The issue: While Sue knew that she was a great technical accountant, she lacked confidence in her management capabilities.

The process: Our initial focus was on helping Sue to recognise her significant achievements, skills and the self imposed barriers that were holding her back as a manager. We then spent a lot of time on building her skills through role play, discussion and Sue putting into practice her new learning between sessions.

The outcome: Sue has developed a whole set of management competencies that she is putting into practice day to day and is also using as the foundations for realising personal ambitions.

Case Study #2: Leadership Coaching for a Health Professional

"Having reflected on the coaching sessions I have found them to an invaluable tool for assessing my own capability in performing my role and to gain a collection of ideas that I can use to further develop in my career and in life outside of work. Talking to someone who is not directly involved in my role or my employer was important - it encouraged me to open up more and I have benefited from the feedback, interpretation and unbiased opinion.

I like to talk openly and the sessions were a very positive stimulant - they made me think quiet hard about the values I have and helped me to understand that there are sometimes undiscovered ideas, as well as skills, that are not utilised or realised often enough.

During the coaching sessions I agreed to take forward some actions and always felt encouraged to tackle situations or challenges I encountered. The sessions included looking at strengths, areas for improvement, aspirations, career development, achievements and lifelong ambitions.

I would recommend that anyone who considers having coaching sessions enters into them without any pre-conceived ideas and talks honestly and openly – I used this approach and I gained a lot in a very short amount of time."

Kurt Djemal,
Microbiology Laboratory Manager
Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust

Case Study #3:  Developing a Leader

"Thank you for the coaching session yesterday.

It was again very helpful in that it enabled me to pull together my thoughts and questions that have evolved from attending the leadership and management course. Key areas of focus for future development were identified as well as valuable pointers for the preparation of future project posters and presentation.

Previous discussion of areas highlighted from the leadership impact report and the 360 feedback assessment enabled me to focus on weaker areas of my leadership and management approaches and identify ways to improve these.

I found that your approach was open and friendly with the ability to suggest improvements in the weak areas identified without appearing to be critical or judgemental.

I would wholly recommend your coaching sessions to others who need similar help and support in these areas."

Graham Terrey
Head Biomedical Scientist in the Microbiology and Infection Service
Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton

Training Courses

KPI workshops: Measures That Matter

The client: CIMA, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, is a global accountancy body with over 171,000 members and students worldwide.

The requirement: CIMA approached us to discuss the possibility of us designing and delivering a half day workshop on key performance indicators as part of their CPD Technical Update programme. The workshops were to be delivered at various venues across the UK.

Our approach: We met with the client to discuss objectives and brainstorm potential approaches that we could take. As a result of this meeting we agreed an approach that provided an element of presentation, facilitation and practical case studies.

The results: The events have proved incredibly popular, with over 150 senior financial professionals attending the first three workshops. Delegate feedback on the value included the following:

• Provided a structure that we can use in our current policy deployment process to help all managers develop their own KPIs in a consistent manner
• Encourages organisations to think about spending time on what will make a positive influence on results
• It has made me consider in more detail about how to develop KPIs - it has been thought provoking
• We are at present using KPIs that have been in for years and I'm not sure if they are relevant. This course shows they need to be addressed
• It will help me to focus on KPIs that will add value to my company and not just be introduced to comply with ISO requirements
• Making me think 'outside the box' and how to add value (i.e. not just number crunch)
• The event has given me a new look and different perspective on KPIs and how to structure the review and creation of new KPIs

Leadership Skills for Doctors

The client: The Welsh Deanery is responsible for postgraduate medical and dental education across the whole of Wales.

The requirement: The Deanery invited bids from organisations to develop, design and deliver a 1 day Leadership Skills for doctors whose next career step would be to Consultant.

Our approach: We proposed a training programme which kept the level of theory on the day to a minimum. Core to this was a series of practical activities based around real life scenarios they could face in their role as Clinical Leaders.

The results: The feedback from the events has been extremely positive. Over 500 doctors attended the training since 2008/09 with around 75% rating the training as excellent or very good. In addition, delegates reported an increase of between 40 and 50% on their assessment of their understanding and skills in leadership at the end of the course compared to the start of the course. 90% of participants on this course would recommend it to others.

Team Working For Doctors

The client: The Welsh Deanery is responsible for postgraduate medical and dental education across the whole of Wales.

The requirement: The Deanery sought bids for a programme that would enhance team leadership skills and equip the doctors to work effectively outside of their own areas of clinical expertise.

Our approach: We developed a programme that drew heavily on their existing experience of working in clinical teams. We also created opportunities for participants to experience how different teams in the NHS might view a problem. The day was designed to present opportunities to work on activities which sometimes required high levels of collaboration and at other times were competitive.

The results: Delegates were extremely supportive of the highly practical nature of the day. Over 500 doctors attended the training since 2008/09 with around 70% rating the training as excellent or very good.

Presentation Skills

The client: The South East Coast Strategic Health Authority takes the lead on Finance Skills Development across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

The requirement: The Authority sought our help to create an introductory level presentation skills course for those relatively new to giving formal presentations..

Our approach: We developed a highly practical course that provided the opportunity to learn, build confidence and put the learning into practice.

The results: 84% of those attendending rated the event excellent.

Finance for Non Financial Managers in the NHS

Recognising the financial challenges facing the public sector over the coming years, NHS South East Coast wanted to deliver half day events aimed at those managers with budget responsibility in a range of organisations.

We designed an interactive workshop that provided valuable information in areas like funding flows as well as practical hints and tips on how to prepare budgets, investigate variances and tackle issues like financial recovery planning.

Over 70 budget managers participated in the workshops with over 80% of participants rating the event as excellent or good.

Those attending really valued the practical nature of the course and the opportunity to learn by doing.

Business Cases That Make An Impact

This workshop was developed and delivered for those involved in producing business cases for investment in the NHS South East Coast area.

As well as covering the framework around business cases, the training was designed to help delegates to better understand what it takes to increase the chances of success.

Over 50% of the delegates rated the workshop as excellent.

Feedback received included the following

“The whole event was informative and well presented.  It provided a clear advice that can be applied to everyday work.”

“Working through samples in a timely way – own notes book is excellent idea.”

Speaking and Short Workshops

Creating and Delivering Powerful Presentations

This two hour event was delivered on behalf of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants South East.

Delegate comments included:

"There was the right mix of theory and practical which made it very engaging"

"Duncan was very good at presenting which gave a good idea of how it should be done"

"It was an excellent introduction to creating and delivering presentations"

"I felt that it was pitched very well with just the right mix of information and practice"