Maximizing Performance Testimonials

“Coach Vickie has a very practical approach. While she understands the theory and concepts, she consistently works with her clients on simple, practical tools that can be immediately applied for results. I have begun initiating a culture change within my organization that focuses on employees strengths, rather than only their developmental gaps. This culture change is all because of Vickie. It all started when she worked with me, to better understand my strenghts and those of my employees and boss! We are now beginning to introduce this concept in the design and implementation of our leadership development and career development initiatives."

-Director, Leadership & Organizational Development, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC

“I was promoted from managing a small marketing and bid response team to head a separate Business Unit with $12 million in revenue. To a degree, I felt like an entrepreneur. This team had been through a massive upheaval the previous year. My task was to rebuild the team and rejuvenate the staff so that we could grow the business.

Enter Coach Vickie. I called her even before assuming my new position because I knew that I could become quickly overwhelmed in this job.

Coach Vickie helped me determine my short term and long term areas of focus. She worked with me to identify and use my strengths to change employees work habits and performance, while allowing the employee to experience the self-realization that these changes were needed. The employees’ confidence grew as they created the new work environment for themselves. This entire process had resulted in strong communication, trust and empowerment for the entire team.

Coach Vickie’s ability to stay neutral on issues and to focus on my progress has been invaluable to my success. Specifically Vickie helps her Clients to:

• Understand themselves better – what inspires and excites them.
• Get to the underlying, often hidden, issues that can be so difficult to address.
• Ask open ended question to spark discussion, then drill in on the key answers.
• Define what success should look like for any given situation and create a plan to get there.
• Focus on the result, not the efforts.

It has been fantastic to have an outlet for the frustrations, an ear to listen to my problems and a voice to help devise the plan to move forward."

-Director, Business Unit, Global Software Company

“Coach Vickie, thank you so much for sharing your time, insights and experiences with me. Through our time together I have:

• Secured my first State Government contract
• Learned the value that I really bring to the table
• Gotten bigger Clients and am finally charging what I am worth!
• Helped empower me to take my business to the next level

I know that every one of your clients will enjoy the benefits of such an enriching experience.”

-Entrepreneur

“These are my thoughts about the benefits of working with Coach Vickie:

• She listens to my goals (which are usually conservative and within reach) and then she asks me to think about them “Try this on …”, “How do you feel about having another meeting with ________ before you __________”?
  
• She gets me out of my head and invites me to think about other people’s communication styles. Vickie gave me an assessment tool for use with my team. This assessment was great for my Vice President because it was very straightforward-easy for her to see herself.
  
• Vickie pushes me out of my comfort zone but in a gentle, firm and progressive manner. I am able to achieve more in difficult times than I thought was possible.
  
• I never considered myself to be intuitive; go with my feelings. I’d always heard other people said that they went with their gut feelings. I always second guessed mine. In our coaching sessions, you asked me my feelings about certain situations and I felt that this helped me practice and have confidence in my intuition. Totally new.
  
• The way we talk, I’m able to not only talk about ideas but we develop concrete action plans, which I like. I like having written plans. I’ve read lots of self improvement books but with coaching, I’m able to try things out.”

-E-Learning Manager, Nursing Home Oversight Agency

“I thought coaching was very helpful to have an “outsider’s” perspective. It helped me to take different approaches to solving issues. Working with Coach Vickie made me more motivated about doing my job and working with my Clients. She always gave me a different perspective that I hadn’t thought about. By review of my Disc assessment and my business goals, she was able to direct me in areas I was less familiar and /or comfortable with, in an effort to build new behaviors and adapt skills/traits to achieve the desired outcome.”

-Regional Sales Manager, Cellular Communications Company

“Vickie’s coaching has always been delivered in a professional manner. She has helped me move forward both in my business and personal life. As recently as eight months ago, I was very unhappy in my professional life and felt that I could be providing more strategic value within my organization. More importantly, I felt frustrated by issues of work/life balance.

Vickie’s probing questions and the fact that she held me accountable for making the changes—both mentally and behaviorally—that I needed to make, have resulted in my being significantly happier in my work life. Furthermore, I am providing greater strategic value to my organization and being more productive in fewer hours.

She has helped me create a strengths-based organization that capitalizes on the individual strengths of my employees, lending to both increased motivation and productivity on an individual level and an increased sense of team spirit. She has provided me with timely and relevant reading material that supports the issues we discuss through our coaching discussions. Finally, through Vickie’s example, she has encouraged me to step outside the box of my job description to pursue an adjunct coaching role within my own organization.

I would (and have) recommended Vickie as a coach to friends, acquaintances and strangers! I will continue to work with Vickie because I know the value she adds."

-Director, Proposal Center, Global Software Development Company