Coaching

Key benefit: energising & engaging staff

My coaching philosophy is based on a foundation gained whilst completing the Henley Business School Certificate in Coaching in 2012 (Grade A+). I have subsequently trained in more depth with Nancy Kline in Time to Think and am a Firework licensed coach.

I specialise in coaching people early in their career because they get less attention and the impact can be fast and tangible. Often they may be stuck in their organisational bubble and want an impartial perspective on their opportunities. Fifty per cent of those I coach have low visibility in their organisation and need to develop visibility strategies. Around the same proportion have difficulty dealing with conflict - simple strategies can help. I believe everyone is unique and talented, and my approach helps define and channel someone’s technical skills, experience and personality to realise their ambition. You will be able to understand your best contribution within an organisation.

Coachees can be engaged in postdoctoral research through to leading their first research teams in the bioindustry. At a more senior level coaching focusses on people who are considering transition into a portfolio career. For undergraduate, MSc, PhD students and groups of postdoctoral researchers we have established My Future Plan.

The majority of coaching assignments involve personality profiling and three one-hour sessions over one to two months.

Projects are typically in the £300 to £750 range and have included approximately 600 individuals, in the last 7 years, from both academic and industry environments such as:

  • Employees of client companies

  • STARS:BBSRC delegates - in partnership with Alan Dixon, Jo Flannelly (University of Manchester) & Mark Smales (University of Kent)

  • BioIndustry Association - LeaP Cohorts (100 participants 2-20 years into their career)

  • University of Oxford - Around 50 post doctoral researchers involved in the Fellows Network

  • University of Bristol, Aston, Kent, Birmingham - Coaching students, post docs, early career academics and technology transfer teams to engage with industry and realise the impact of their research

  • SULSA - Coaching late stage PhD students and post doctoral researchers across the eleven universities

 Testimonials

“I had my first session with Tony this morning and I really enjoyed it.  It’s been incredibly useful and after just one session I feel motivated and positive (rather than terrified) about the future. Thanks for arranging these coaching sessions!”

“Hi Tony, Hope you are doing well. We had a KTP meeting this week and offering the KTP Associate career coaching with you was described as "innovating within the KTP model". With best wishes, John”

“Help and feedback have been tailored to my personal experiences/motivation/career aims. Tony helped me defining the next steps to take and provided very helpful advice/suggestions/contacts. Highly recommended!”

“Yes- actually quite useful. Tony was very knowledgeable and helped me identify and explore fields that I am not very familiar with (i.e. industry and how it works). He was also very flexible in terms of the meetings, and even postponed some to give me enough time to think and process our discussions.”

“Tony is a wonderful career coach and has a great way of boosting your confidence when discussing your career and next steps. He helped me through the job application stage and interview process and I just accepted a new position. The Personal Profile Analysis test that he asks you to carry out is also extremely helpful and informative.”

“I also wanted to thank you for organising the one on one sessions with Tony. These were very interesting and helpful for me and I very much enjoyed these meetings.”

“I just want to thank you so much for letting me have a coach, it has been valuable to me, and Tony has been incredible, we still have one more session left. I think my future is starting to form a bit better. I did just get a one-year extension, which gives me more time to work on what I have been working with Tony about. I just want to emphasise how valuable this was to me and I am so grateful.”

“Hello Tony! So nice to hear from you. Things are going very well actually. Busy, but exciting. I am defining more and more my role within the company and I am now leading new projects in line with my personal objectives. Thank you again for your time and counsel. It made a big difference for me.”

“Many thanks for your help and coaching. The transition from academia to the private sector can be "scary" -especially after 12 years- but you helped me gaining confidence to embrace new challenges with enthusiasm”

“I have found adopting Time to Think rounds really valuable for running meetings within my peer group”