Personal & Career Coaching Case Studies

“I thought, I’m not sure I can make this work. I’m going to have to commit one way or the other,” says Sally. “I felt constrained by the limitations as I saw them at the time.”

At the civil service, Sally found that higher level jobs were out of her reach because she wanted to keep her two-day week schedule. But the thought of having to sacrifice the time she spent on her art business put Sally in a mild panic.

“Something deep within me thought that wasn’t right at all, and I felt trapped.”

Sally had tried coaching before but hadn’t been able to resolve any of these issues. Understandably, she was unsure whether further coaching sessions would be a good investment of time.

“The thing that’s very different about Julia, is that she’s got a genuine interest in people, in the whole totality of who they are as a person.”

“I felt that other coaches sometimes just went through the motions, depending on me to find solutions through our discussions.”

“But with Julia, we had a really good initial session where we just chatted. She wasn’t following a script and was really interested to find out who I was and what motivated me, beyond what I did at work.”

Sally remembers that, at the time, she didn’t discuss her art with anybody at the civil service, “Most people had no idea I did it.”

“Julia was the first person to connect those two parts of my life as interlinked. It was a real revelation.”

The solution

“Connecting the two parts of my life was hugely important, and I’m so grateful for those conversations. They helped me to see that it wasn’t a clear-cut case of one being more important than the other, or having to prioritise one above the other.”

Sally had been concerned that people at work might judge her negatively for having a separate career that could be seen as holding her back from her civil service career.

“Julia gave me a huge amount of confidence to start seeing it as a strength, rather than it being something I needed to make an excuse about, or to justify. So, it was a real turning moment for me.”

Now Sally openly shares her experiences as a working artist.

“It’s hugely benefited me both in terms of the way that people see me, and in how I feel.”

“I’ve written blogs that people have found really inspiring. I’ve had emails from colleagues who’ve decided to work fewer hours so they can dedicate time to other passions, saying how my blog has helped them. It’s been heart-warming.”

“I was also asked to sit on a senior panel to talk about careers, specifically focussing on how I’ve managed to do these two separate jobs.”

“It’s turned something that I was perceiving as quite negative into a real positive.”

The outcome

In that same year, Sally got promoted to a new role that she was able to do two days a week.

“Before that, there hadn’t been any two-day roles available at that grade. I forged a bit of a personal campaign, talking to people about the possibility, and after a few months an opportunity came up that fitted my skillset perfectly, and the role was flexible.”

Sally got the job without having to increase her civil service days. “It was like the holy grail for me.”

And the benefits extended to Sally’s art business. Not only was she was selected for the prestigious Royal Society of Portrait Painters competition, but soon after, she took part in Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist Of The Year programme, where she made it to the final.

“It was incredible, and I can trace it back to the conversations I had with Julia, because it was all about having the confidence to put myself in that position.”

“People at work followed my progress through the Sky Arts competition. It felt so nice that those two things came together so positively.”

“Julia’s experience in the public and private sector meant she saw connections between things that were really useful. She helped me see that my skills were hugely useful.”

“Julia’s a very positive and perceptive woman with a real sense of energy. She helped me totally transform my mindset about what was limiting me, and helped me raise my sights.”

Or read more about her amazing Portrait Artist of the Year success here.

You can also follow Sally on Instagram: @sallywardart

“One of the things I first noticed about Julia was how affirming she was. She was so very positive and supportive immediately, in a way that felt genuine. And that was a lovely experience.”

The solution

Julia’s years of professional and executive experience and insight really helped Kate.

“I could see immediately that she was going to open my mind up to the possibilities around my career.”

“I found the sessions inspiring and a different way of thinking. She gave me the tools to pick things apart and to try and understand them. It all chimed with how my brain works.”

“Julia wanted to understand me as a person; about my life and my values and how I function, so that she could help me work out what would be a good next step.”

“She said a very simple thing to me, which was: ‘Go and talk to people doing jobs that you’ve never thought about doing,’ and helped me see how I could go about doing that.”

“It sounds blindingly obvious, but when you’re stuck, you can’t see the blindingly obvious things.”

Kate met a Maternity Commissioner, and arranged to shadow her for a day.

“I never would’ve done that without having had Julia’s encouragement to open my mind and ask a question.”

The outcome

During the shadowing session, the Maternity Commissioner told Kate that there was a similar job coming up in Kate’s area.

“I went for the job, and got it!”

Kate has continued to find Julia’s support helpful over the years, at points in her career when she’s needed a sounding board or some guidance.

“Julia’s brilliant. She helps me reframe things and gives me a great deal of confidence. She just sort of recalibrates things.”

“Julia thinks bigger than the advice. Her mind is fluent and open.”

“She’s welcoming, affirming, and challenging in a safe way. If you’re off down a rabbit hole, she brings you back and gets you grounded.”

“Without Julia’s encouragement to make that first leap into maternity commissioning, I would never have thought I could do it.”

“And that job has been the springboard to lots of other things that I’ve done. I credit Julia massively and feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her.”

“Sport usually helped, but it became so important to me that it began to feel like work too.”

“I was feeling quite low about myself and I wasn’t in a happy place. It felt like I was a long way from where I should have been, compared to my friends. I was feeling a bit desperate to find help, to find some balance.”

The solution

Daniel’s parents and teachers encouraged him to take a gap year before applying for University.

“It was the first time someone outside my family had noticed that I was stressed, and that I wasn’t coping.”

“Not having to apply to university took the pressure off a little, but the most important thing I did was start working with Julia,” says Daniel.

“We used to speak on the phone. We’ve never actually met face to face. After the first session, it just seemed incredibly right. It felt like a friendly conversation with someone that cared, but who wasn’t involved in the way that my parents were.”

“It was safe, and secure and friendly. It felt like exactly what I needed. We could talk for a whole hour, or just have a quick conversation about something I was struggling with.”

“We talked about emotions and some practical tools to help, including some meditation, but mainly it just really helped me get everything off my chest – things that had been building up since I was 14 or 15 – and to reflect on those thoughts.

“Julia’s a great, great, listener.”

“At the end of the call, we’d go back through our conversation and, together, we’d work out what was important to take home from the session. Julia would note these down and send me the bullet points in a text message.”
“I used these bullet points to keep me on track, to help me cope. They covered everything from academic work to sport.”

The outcome

“I used those checklists for a long, long time. It shows how good my meetings with Julia were.”

“They showed me how to be a more balanced and happier person. They helped me put things in perspective and keep the right mindset for whatever situation I was in.”

“They created a change in me, and now I feel that I am who I should be. I never felt that way before I worked with Julia. She helped me take a huge weight off my shoulders.”

Eventually Daniel had more good days than bad days. He learnt to take the pressure off himself and allow himself to be happy.

“In the past, I wouldn’t even really celebrate each success. I’d just be straight onto the next challenge.”

“But the funny thing was, when I took the pressure off myself, I would suddenly perform really well, and enjoy doing so.”

“I took my exams, and yes there was stress, but I didn’t feel unhappy at all during that time. And during the summer, when I might have been stressed waiting for results, I had a really nice summer and wasn’t worried at all. I knew I’d done my best.”

“Julia doesn’t tell you how you should feel. She helps guide you to find out how you want to feel. She’s really adaptable and helps with whatever feels right at the moment. She’s like a guardian angel.”