philosophical nature
What do you love most about
living in Auckland?
I like the diversity of a big city. I love
being by the water and the Hauraki Gulf
inspires me - we have a place on Great
Barrier Island which I adore. But so much of
the practical side of Auckland underwhelms
– the public transport for starters and over
the years so many beautiful buildings have
been pulled down.
Describe yourself in three
words:
Honest, Investigative, Creative
What are your hobbies?
Fishing, Mahjong, Writing and Blogging
(www.theWTFProject.com),Vegetable
gardening, Stand Up Paddle Boarding.
What was your first job?
Part time - Snowfreeze girl at Woolworths
when I was 14
Full time - I was the office junior at an
advertising agency at 18.
How are you pushing yourself
to think in new ways …
'outside the box'?
My whole life is about living this way.
My blog www.theWTFProject.com records
my progress – my guest blogger, niece Jenna
does the Music section to make sure I listen
to new sounds. I am always searching and
interviewing for new inspirations, and I have
a "play up' section which challenges me to do
new stuff every week.
When did you make the change
to be self-employed?
When I had my daughter 17 years ago.
I was Managing Partner of an Ad Agency,
she was being brought in for breast feeding.
I would get home at 6.30 pm, tired. And to
top it off, I had to 'apply for holiday leave'
through some young person in accounts. I
thought to myself – someone else seems to
be driving my life.
What is the greatest barrier
women in business face? And
how can we overcome this?
Self-limiting beliefs, so I recommend
working in partnership with an executive
coach!
How can corporates retain
top female clients?
Simplistically, for all to admit and
appreciate that women are different from
men. I wish more women would admit
to this. Women are not the same as men.
They are not better or worse. They are wired
differently.
Can you talk about how ego
can get in the way of effective
coaching?
Well 'ego' is about sense of self and it's
where judgment of yourself and others sits.
This sense of self is constructed from past
experiences. Coaching is about looking and
moving ahead. Often people have very set
beliefs and judgments about themselves,
others and how the world works. So building
self-awareness is critical to help one become
transcend ego and become an observer.
As an executive coach, what
is the most common question
you are asked?
"What do you do?" People do not really
understand how coaching works and mistake
it for mentoring or counseling. Coaching is
a forward focused change partnership that
supports people to be and achieve what they
want. Sometimes they need help defining just
what it is they do want, but the answer lies
within the client not the Coach. Coaching
unlocks your potential to optimize your
performance in any area.
How does the critical, selfsabotaging internal voice
(the voice of self-doubt or
lack of believing) limit your
clients?
They choose to follow it even though they
know it's an imaginary voice in their head.
Clients learn how to turn the volume down.
"I am interested in the
philosophical
nature of who we are
and how this is expressed
in all realms including
work."
www.h e rmagaz in e .co.n z | 27
