Christine Gilkes / Change and Development

I love to challenge my thinking and the way I do things and encourage others to do the same. I’m constantly fascinated by what makes us tick and love to use my learning to help others make changes that will give them the results they want.

What I’m good at

I have loads of energy and optimism, which is often very contagious! Oh and I’m relentless in establishing a purpose – what do you want to achieve, what is your goal, what will that give you.

How I make things stick

It’s that purpose again for me. I find if I have a strong enough reason, my why, then my motivation rockets and I find lots of ways. I always have a Pritt Stick, Post-it note and some blu-tack to hand too.

How I behave

I’m a facilitator at heart and love to explore options with my clients. But don’t be fooled, as I am also a hard task master and goal achievement is very important to me, as is delivering and getting a return on your investment.

My Best Behaviour

Seeing the best in people and situations

My Worst Behaviour

Spend too much time ‘perfecting’ things that won’t make a jot of difference to the result or should it be Spend too much time ‘perfecting’ things that won’t make a smidgen of difference to the result?

A life changing moment

Leaving behind my corporate life to work with such brilliantly diverse businesses and people – love it!

What else?

Never stop learning or finding learning in your life. You are never too old, too young, too fat or too thin, too clever or naïve to learn new things. When you wonder “should I” – do it!

Martin Miles / Business Coach

I love associating reality with stories. I naturally have a story for almost every situation. The ‘ah hah’ moments stick in my memory too and plan to create many of those, generated by the people I am coaching.

What I’m good at

Like Chris, I have a good record of facilitating others. Whether it be larger or smaller groups, or on an individual basis, it doesn’t matter as long as we achieve the purpose – and we do!

How I make things stick

I am a huge fan of getting stories embedded in people’s minds. I can tell you stories just once that will ‘stick’ for you to retell later without having to think very hard. How? Because the story will be Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and wrapped in a story format.

How I behave

Probably a little impatiently, keen to see some quick wins, to see some real results.

My Best Behaviour

Magnanimous—happy for others to do well and demonstrate what they are good at.

My Worst Behaviour

I have been called Victor Meldrew – something about ‘grumpy’ – not me!

A life changing moment

Doing the highest bungy jump in the world.

What else?

I really enjoy the language part of NLP. Using the right language, appropriate language, reframing what we say to make it positive.

Recent addition – I am a registered and approved Growth Coach for GrowthAccelerator helping ambitious businesses achieve rapid and sustainable growth by providing tailored expert advice.

Carol Costello / Training and Development Consultant

After five years working for Next Retail Ltd in personnel and training roles, I started my freelance career 15 years ago. One of the things I love about being out on my own is the variety of clients I get to work with, in all sorts of industries from the high-end motor trade, manufacturing, government bodies, volunteer groups, retail, insurance, telecoms and my favorite so far, a swanky cupcake company!

What I’m good at

While I have a number of qualifications in training delivery and learning, I base my sessions in the reality of the workplace and life in general. This makes my sessions real, practical and therefore easy to understand and implement.

How I make things stick

I firmly believe that we learn more when we’re having fun so I plan my sessions to be interactive, practical and fun: with plenty of sweets! Then I work with my learners to make sure that they take things away from the session that they can transfer to their work and really make a difference.

How I behave

I have a facilitation style that is enjoyable, inclusive, inquisitive and one that loves to explore new possibilities with you. Whether you are the CEO or a team member that works at grass roots levels you’ll appreciate my enthusiastic and professional behaviours.

My Best Behaviour

As my photo shows, I always have a smile on my face! I find this relaxes my learners and they find me approachable and easy to interact and work with.

My Worst Behaviour

I can be too curious! Once I get into a subject I want to dig deeper and deeper. I have to make sure I stay disciplined to ensure I stick to my timings.

A life changing moment

When my wonderful friend Heath died on his 42nd birthday. It made me realise how short life is and I vowed only to work in areas and with companies that I really want to. I’ve stuck to this and it means that my passion for what I do has grown and I enjoy my work even more.

What else?

I was robbed of the right to be in the final two of “The Weakest Link”, by tactical voting. I have been known to tread the boards of the York theatres with York Opera and I have completed The Great North Run three times.