Thoughts from the trenches…

Since reactivating my coaching/mentoring business, I have been doing some of the things I usually recommend – like writing a business plan.

And as always, it’s an illuminating process.  I ended up revising my thinking – I wasn’t writing a plan just for Mentor Works – I was writing a plan for Me Inc i.e. a business-eye view of all the various things in my life. Because in addition to Mentor Works, I also have Sunbrims New Zealand and 2 directorships – and I’d like a part time job in a suitable organisation.

And I did think long and hard about my niche in coaching. 

Years ago, I worked for KPMG and one of the most important lessons I learned as a consultant was that you have to work out what you specialise in.

Initially it seems as though you can do almost anything. 

Could you do a review of a small rural hospital? Yes, I could do that. 

Could you do some costing training for community services? Yes, I could do that.

But if you can’t say I specialise in X and Y then people often don’t know what to ask you to do.  Sure, you can do (almost) anything – but is that where you add most value? Probably not!

I ended up specialising in consultation with senior medical staff and strategic planning!

In my coaching practice, I’ve coached people from all sorts of industries in the past – mining, an environmental consultant, someone who had been an elite athlete – and I think that my experience is wider enough to be able to offer good value to people in all those settings.

But where do I think I really can add value – it has to be in the health sector.  That’s where I’ve spent most of my time and where my heart really lies. I managed clinical staff in a variety of setting for more than 10 years. I taught leadership courses to new nursing and midwifery managers and to more senior nursing managers for a similar period of time.

So, if you’re a health manager reading this, my message is If you have staff in need of supervision in management or leadership, please think of me. That’s my specialty and I can help!

If you’re in another industry, get in touch - let’s talk. No promises but let’s see if I can help.