In business as in sports, having a good coach can be a game changer, which is what I got in my sessions with Sara. As I was stepping into a new role, in a new organization for me, that was due to undergo heavy change across the board with it’s fair share of challenges, Sara was a constant in my corner, helping and guiding me along the way.

I have a tendency to want to do everything quickly, see a lot of progress and act a little more on my toes which caused me a lot of frustration as my organization was transitioning and transforming slower than I’d have liked. Sara helped me slow things down, remove the frustration and generally to see the bigger picture, pull out the positives and challenge the negatives with actionable steps to break them down.

She consistently provided sage advice, which always brought the most important items into focus and drove me to be a better leader. By working with her, myself and my organization were able to successfully navigate really sizeable challenges, which once we got through have led to 40% YoY revenue growth (to $3.5m), a more scalable plan for future growth, all the while retaining all of our key contributors. I doubt I would have stayed let alone my whole team if it wasn’t for Sara.

She’ll add value for you regardless of your situation, but most definitely I cannot recommend her enough if you anticipate largescale, uncomfortable change occurring as she’ll help you stay focused on the most important things and see the change through!

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I felt I wanted to do coaching because I was inspired by the character Wendy Rhoades on the Netflix series, Billions, where she helps people achieve their highest level of performance. I personally felt that it was important to have an independent sounding board to ensure that I am at my highest level.

One of the things that Sara helped me with was shifting mental blocks and anchors (that I didn’t even realise were there). I needed to break those mental cycles, push past my fears and blockers to drive forward. I really got my ‘mojo’ back through working with Sara.

Some tangible business results that have transformed the business and put us on the path to 10X growth this year include:

Transition from the kind of clients that we were working with (too many small customers that were draining our time and energy). We strategically focused the business towards higher margin, larger enterprise customers. We are now targeting big, brand name companies and getting some traction going!

As an entrepreneur, I wanted to be in control. I realised that I needed to make smart, hiring decisions. I hired a Chief Fun Officer to motivate our team, by introducing more fun at work (especially whilst working remotely). I always felt I was dragging my team along, but I gave my team some opportunities to step up, perform and ideate. I found that supporting my team and providing these opportunities to my team led to greatly increased performance. My team are now taking responsibility, and I feel like they are really in it. Our attrition rate has now fallen from 30% to 0% in the last couple of months.

I navigated issues in my personal life and resolved those issues, so I had more time and energy to focus on making the business a success.

Intangibly, I got back my spark and my energy. I had almost ‘forgotten’ that I’d done this before, due to having lost my mojo. I’d built successful businesses in the past, and I knew I could do it again. The greater my energy levels, the greater the energy of my team. We are now much more resilient to the challenges that business life throws at us!

I would not hesitate to recommend Sara to entrepreneurs and business leaders!

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The opportunity to do the coaching came at a time when there was already change happening within the organisation, as well as for me personally as I stepped up to a more senior position.  It was a real chance to talk through my concerns and issues around the leadership challenges and it helped me to reflect on what my personal strengths and weaknesses were – as well as learning how to play to the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses.  And to truly understand where I fitted into the leadership team and what I had to offer.

I felt that you really saw me – you took the time to see the person underneath and to draw out the good parts.  You took the time to understand my personal motivators and what made me who I am.

I learned that I truly am a leader and I do have a lot to offer.  I am not perfect but nobody is.  I can be impatient with people “not like me” and I need to learn what motivates others and how to play to their strengths.  I also learned that sometimes it is never going to work and people need to go their separate ways – and sometimes that is ok.  I do not need to do everything.  I need to learn to delegate and I need to learn patience if I am going to be an even better leader.

Some tangible results for me were having the courage to step forward and lead the company when a void opened up at the most senior level (CEO).  Having the confidence and the belief in myself to put a whole new strategy and vision together for the company, to build a team around me and to get their support and buy in.

To deliver the pitch…. And to win support and significant funding for it!

I found I had a real shift in mindset and a growing self-belief in myself and my leadership abilities, that surprised even me.  I guess it was always there but Sara brought it to the surface and magnified it.  I was able to understand my motivations and my frustrations better – to know what caused them and how to deal with them.  To look at myself and see where I could improve to become an even better leader.

I would 100% recommend Sara!  I am now finished the initial coaching period but we will be coming back to continue once the new leadership team has had the opportunity to settle in and gel.  I would like to extend the coaching to others in the team and find opportunities for us to be coached together as a team.

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