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Today I had the pleasure of talking with Wendy Shaw who is a highly respected mBraining trainer, NLP Master Practitioner and Coach. Wendy is passionate about her profession and upholds a high level of integrity and brings joy and laughter to every conversation!
You can watch our Coffee Chat on YouTube, just search for Donna Burfield Coaches Supporting Coaches or go to https://youtu.be/es2LPx7A65U
Can you tell me a little bit about your coaching journey and what motivated you to become a coach?
As Training Manager, I worked closely with HR and found people came to me with any problems and I was always looking for ways to best help them find solutions that would work for them. When Area Training Manager I was coaching the GMs, HR & Training Managers across the region. NLP courses and CTI fundamentals provided many of the skills, but it was my uncle who said I was a great coach, which made me curious!
Is there a particular moment or memory of your coach training that stands out for you?
The AHA moments when I experienced internal shifts. In particular, an NLP technique that blew away a limiting belief I had about “the boys were more important than the girls” - I was different, not just equal, MORE than equal, and totally good enough!
How would your friends and family describe you?
Compassionate, helpful, kind, friendly. Wicked sense of humor (that only Brits may fully appreciate)
What opportunities have Dubai given you, personally and professionally?
Travel across the GCC countries and beyond. Working within multinational organisations, meeting people from many nationalities. Lots of learning opportunities and self-discovery. Opening and closing a business! Lots of collaboration opportunities.
What would you like people to know about you?
I measure my success by my client's and student's successes. And I have a big heart!
Imagine yourself in three years. What do you hope will be different about you compared to now?
mBraining Master Coach (October 2022) and will be adding even more techniques for the ANS & Pelvic brains into my toolbox! Collaborating with and growing the mBrain.me Community. Contributing more to mBraining global initiatives and specializations. Making a bigger impact with Purposeful Innovators projects.
Tell me about a time you took an unexpected initiative
Lockdown 2020 - I was very aware of feeling isolated (and alone). With so much uncertainty I wanted to help people. I quickly set up Afternoon PositiviTEA Zoom sessions to help people connect and share over a cuppa tea. I had people join from around the world! It continued for 20 months and a core group in Dubai continues to have Afternoon PositiviTEA meet-ups.
Briefly tell me what the highlights of the past 5 years are? What has been your biggest growth lesson?
1 bad decision (in hindsight!). I set up a new business and got stung by my business partner. So many lessons were learned and I discovered who my true friends were. The biggest lesson was asking for help and then receiving it in so many ways.
What are you really good at?
Listening and asking questions. I don’t remember them, but I’m often told they are really good!
What would you like to get better at?
Marketing myself and my programs, social media, etc… the learning curve is endless.
Tell me about your coaching practice
Always start with a Discovery Session - what is their problem? Are they ready? Are we good to work together or refer them? What would be the best approach and how many sessions will they likely need.
I use mBraining and NLP and depending on the client, I offer choices of tools, exercises, and tasking that will best suit them.
Because I teach coaching, I don’t have a niche. Executive, Relationship, Family, Life, Decision Making, Speeches, Health, Breakthrough sessions… I like them all as they stretch me in different ways.
How do you prepare for your coaching sessions?
Balanced breathing to make sure I am fully present.
When you started your coaching business what was the biggest challenge for you?
I first focused on coaching when with Matrix, and we included coaching for our NLP students, which gave me lots of practice. My first Executive Client the challenge was asking for money! I prepared 2 invoices, for 1 session and 10 sessions! (He paid for 10 at the end of the session).
Can you describe how you were feeling when you coached your first client and what did you learn from that experience?
I wanted to feel prepared, so I created a folder full of possibly useful info, coaching agreement, definitions of the techniques I was trained in, wheel of life, values sheets, exercises… it was a BIG folder! What I learned is that “dancing in the moment” was far more important.
How did you feel when you got your first paying client?
Grateful, that they trusted me to be so open and vulnerable. Amazed that they appreciated the value.
Can you tell me of an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of?
A school was built in India as a result of coaching my client around his frustrations working on a collaborative project. He wanted to take action and make it happen and realised there was nothing to stop him!
What attracted you to Coaches Supporting Coaches - Dubai?
The FB posts and really supportive comments, FOMO, curiosity, meeting like-minded people and wanting to help others.
For more information on how you can work with Wendy please go to https://linktr.ee/mbrain.me
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If you are interested in finding out more about Coaches Supporting Coaches – Dubai then grab a coffee and book a FREE call with me, Donna Burfield (Founder), via my Calendly link below