What my clients have to say
I tend to focus on logical outcomes with little regard for the emotional role they have on me. Having to deal with emotions, especially my own, is truly a daunting endeavour. By the time the first session began I was already writing myself off as someone who will never be able to use ‘this stuff’. Upon further reflection this course has already improved my day to day interactions at work. Rather than being terrified of exploring my emotions and options I have found this process to be invigorating.
At the start the continuous uncertainty of how to assist someone without telling them what to do was a challenge, but by the conclusion of my latest coaching session I feel secure and confident in my ability to assist the individuals with self-awareness and exploration. After the first session I felt a sense of pride that my ‘client’ had developed a way forward but was still uncertain as to what degree the session had helped. Post the session she approached me and validated the session stating that she now had a clear new direction and way to achieve her goal. This reaffirmed that I have developed a great deal since our first session. I now feel calm and composed and can actively listen without the need to interrupt
Before learning these coaching skills, I believed to help an individual reach their own potential, I needed to teach them how I did or do things. Telling them how to overcome the obstacles and to set the path ahead of them, a one-size-fits-all approach that worked for me so it must work for everyone. Then when they failed I assumed they didn’t have what it takes, never blaming myself or my method. After being exposed to coaching on this programme I realised how wrong I was and the best way to help someone grow is to help them learn and not to teach them.
I will be the first to admit that I was very uncertain on how a coaching model will benefit my management decisions and day to day activities within my business and my personal life, but I will also be the first to admit that I was blown away on the level of insight and knowledge that was gained through this module.
…The next step was to contain a silence (I struggled with this one). Containing a silence is difficult, especially for me, as I love to fill a silence. As a coachee I was allowed to think through my own silences and through this I realised how many times in my past I wished, that the person I was talking to, could contain my silence. The silence was such a powerful space as it allowed me to think deeper about my current situation. I also came to the conclusion that containing a silence is not a passive act; it is the act of actively waiting for someone to take a deeper step into their own thinking.
I have to admit that I did not expect much at the start of this course, but this was a true eye-opener. Having obtained some skills in the field of coaching, I feel empowered to assist people to discover solutions for themselves and thereby increasing their performance.
Managerial Coaching changed my life. It made me a better person, a better employee and a better manager. This is a must-have people skill to get the best out of your staff and you. Dr Dorrian has a truly exceptional way of taking you from zero to hero in no time.Thank you again for the absolute, fantastic sessions! It really changed my life!
Dorrian is such a blessing! She is a pleasant lecturer who exudes emotional intelligence to make each student feel valued. Her subject knowledge is exceptional.
Dorrian has coached me over the last 12months through some challenging situations both personally and professionally. Her calm approach and sincere nature combined with clear insightful questioning has supported me in being able to see just over the horizon and provided me with better outcomes. Whilst Dorrian is patient, supportive and holds the coaching space gracefully, she places full accountability on her clients, never shying away from difficult questions in favour of a comfortable experience. With Dorrian you will never fail to learn more about yourself through yourself, she is a true thinking partner.
Best lecture to date! I finally found a model I resonate with. It was a brilliant session. I appreciated Dorrian’s insights and the manner in which she made something so complex so easy to understand.
Dorrian has worked as leadership coach for me and my leadership team over the past few years. I cannot rate her highly enough. She has been instrumental in helping us identify our strengths and challenges as a team and facilitated workshops that have enabled us to better understand how we can collaborate more closely to develop individually and collectively. The quality of her work, especially her facilitation technique and knowledge, is brilliant. This has resulted in our using her on a number of occasions over the years. We run a very successful business with a motivated and engaged leadership team and I have no doubt that she has played a significant role in our development and success.
Having the privilege of learning from Dorrian during the MPhil (Management Coaching) at Stellenbosch Business School, was honestly one of the most thought-provoking, invigorating and well-rounded learning experiences I have ever been involved in. Truly one feels involved in the discussion; it is not a case of being lectured to but rather an experience of deep learning and sharing of knowledge and wisdom. Dorrian’s enthusiasm and energy for her subject, and the depth and breadth of her knowledge is fascinating. I have never felt classes so captivated and dynamic, where you leave truly sorry the class is over but yearning for more knowledge.
I have been using the four quadrants as part of my coaching framework, but through your presentation I realise I have only scratched the surface! Thank you, Dorrian, it was an incredibly valuable session. I look forward to applying everything you have exposed us to.
Along with this lecture being the best so far out of the entire year, the lecturer shares her passion and expertise with such grace and skill that in my opinion every person in class grasped the difficult concept. She applied her model with us in class, looking at all four perspectives throughout. She aided me greatly in the development of my own framework and session model. Thank you. She is fantastic!
The way Dorrian approaches the coaching process is fantastic. Firstly, any stigma or unease around ‘seeing someone’ is removed purely because she approaches it from a business-minded perspective. Dorrian took the time to get to know all aspects of my business and the people who would be affected by any change. Her calm (but professional and no-nonsense) insights continuously led me to the right path. And although the process of self evaluating has painful moments, the ultimate enlightenment was worth the journey.
The proof of change is when people notice, and like losing weight there is no better measure for me as a business person than when my team is better functioning, my business has benefitted and I am more energised. For this I owe my gratitude to a great coach. I look forward to working with Dorrian again in the future.
Coaching has opened up a new way of addressing challenges that I had never thought possible. I can’t wait to see how this will unlock my own and others potential in the future.
Being from an accounting background it was an enriching experience to improve my knowledge about coaching. The immense impact that coaching as an intervention can have should never be underestimated as it maximises individual potential in business practices and aligns business strategy with organisational culture, culminating in business growth and employee well-being.
It is with the utmost gratitude that I write to you to thank you deeply and sincerely for one of the best courses that I have attended in my life. I expected it to be mainly theoretical and that the contents of the book of Nancy Kline’s Thinking Environment will be covered with a few examples here and there.
I was surprised out of my socks by the practical approach. What I learned in this course made an immediate and huge impact on the effectiveness and the way that I coach. I always thought that there was a toolbox full of sample questions that one can copy and just ask, but I was so wrong. Throughout the course we were involved in the coaching process of dealing with real life. This was truly a liberating experience.
The course content was very well structured and masterfully presented and I would recommend without any hesitation to any coach, novice or expert to definitely do this course. Not only will it enrich their lives, but it will cause a breakthrough in their coaching and with clients. I could successfully apply the techniques learned with astonishing results after the course. This was real value for money. Pure magic and mastery in action.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for the course – it was worth every cent and minute 😊
I coach in a variety of markets, leadership, post graduate students and entrepreneurs and this tool has already proven to be very valuable with all three types of clients.
The course structure worked very well for me. What really worked well was the third day being a week after day one and two. This allowed me to practice my skills, identify areas where I felt I needed more practice.
I would absolutely recommend this course for any coach. Adding the Thinking Partnership to my coaching toolbox is allowing me to help my clients to deepen their thinking and reflective capacity, which leads to clients developing focused action plans to achieve the results they require.
The “Thinking Partnership” training facilitated by Dorrian has been one of the most powerful and inspirational workshops I have attended. This seemingly simple but very powerful process has taught me how important the ten components of a thinking environment are and how valuable they are in creating a space to think.
Limiting assumptions are a real problem for almost everyone. Having the training on how to use the six-part thinking session as a means to ‘unblock’ limiting assumptions is indeed a valuable asset. In addition it has taught me how to question my own limiting assumptions with positive outcomes.
Being in Dorrian’s presence for three days is truly inspiring and an extremely refreshing diversion from everyday life. She is a true professional that delivers the workshop with knowledge, wisdom, ease and grace.