“The coaching I have had with Maureen has been an extremely positive experience. I have been enabled to take a fresh look at the skills I have and explore how I can maximise my skills together with my experience to ensure I am fulfilling my potential.
Maureen has helped me to ask myself some difficult questions, and has encouraged me to seek the answers to those questions. I think coaching has been a great ‘growth’ tool for me. There have been some challenging moments, but I appreciate that this is an integral element of the growth process. Maureen’s caring and professional attitude has however made the journey much easier for me”
Douglas Russell, Programme Manager, Adult Social Care Commissioning Team, London Borough of Merton
“For someone at the start of their career, Maureen helped me to ask self-searching questions which crystalized my aspirations for the future. When you’re starting out, working out what you want to be many years down the line can feel overwhelming. But, in Maureen’s sessions, exploring my strengths, my fear of failure and my motivations enabled me to pin down exciting goals for the future and, moreover, to plan clear achievable steps to achieve them. It has fostered my clarity-of-vision and confidence to be the controller of the direction my career takes.
Many thanks again for the support you have given me.”
Sarah Bennett-Jones, Junior Commissioning Officer, Adult Social Care, London Borough of Merton
“One of the most notable achievements of my career was to be awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in August 2000 to research the lack of black producers in film and television industries in the UK. The NESTA fellowship required that I appoint a mentor to support me as I strived to meet my personal and creative objectives. I asked Maureen Salmon to fulfil this role during the first year of my research. By the end of the first year I had made a documentary about the black film festival in Burkina Faso, written the first draft of my report Pitchblack, produced a documentary for Badejo Arts, worked as researcher on a Channel 4 programme about British entrepreneurship, finished a year on the National Film and Television School’s Advanced programme, and had been offered middle-management positions at both the BBC and Channel 4. In my opinion, Maureen Salmon is a gifted coach.”
Paula Gjesdal Filmmaker and author of Pitchblack: A report on the commercial value of Black producers working in British television
Mawuena is currently a teaching assistant with experience of working with young people in formal and informal education context. She is an education and business studies graduate.
Our brief was to provide Mawuena with personal development coaching to help her to build self confidence, understand her potential and put a career development action plan in place to succeed.
“I met with Maureen on the basis of personal coaching. I was going through a very stagnant and confusing period within my life and she was referred to me as someone who could help.
Maureen was very approachable; through meeting with her during a series of intervals she managed to assess my life and some of the causes of my confusion. She then offered very practical solutions and regularly checked to see if I had followed through the actions I needed to take. She led me to useful resources such as books, online video clips and apps that were relevant for me. She even helped me with my CV and job application techniques.
Many times in life we know what we must do to succeed but need that extra support to push us. Maureen is that supportive figure, her approach is very forthcoming, she does not hold back and will push you out of you comfort zone if necessary. Her sessions also had a positive psychological affect on me as I became more confident and assertive as a result of her nurturing.After meeting with Maureen I had a different perspective to the way I approached my job, I became more proactive and since then have moved onto bigger and better things.
An accomplished and experienced senior leader with twenty-five years of working in further and higher education, including eight years as a senior post holder.
Our brief was to provide strategic direction, create momentum for lasting change and transition; explore options for the job market and devise a plan of action to make it happen. We focused on leadership learning, identifying strengths, increasing awareness of personal and unique leadership and management qualities.
“Maureen is an extraordinary coach who has guided me during a time in my career when I began to lose confidence in myself and my abilities.
Through her encouragement and motivation and just being there for me during turbulence times I have managed to make the transition. She supported my skills development and helped me focus on my strengths and leadership qualities which enabled me to recognise and celebrate the great person and a leader I am.
Maureen is passionate about making a difference to learning and helping others fulfil their potential and has inspired me to reinforce, promote and encourage by leading ‘from the front’. She has given me the tools, energy and determination in helping, supporting and leading organisational change.”
Our brief was to help Graeme to improve his performance and personal effectiveness as an artist through building resilience to sustain and lead himself and his artistic practise. We provided practical and professional advice and support in the development and implementation of his personal and strategic development action plan. This included the short term objective to gaining high quality representation in London in 2012 and internationally; the long term objective to creating an art studio and gallery in Jamaica to continue his diaspora legacy.
Our interventions included introducing Graeme to a range of tools including strengths and emotional intelligence assessments; reflective learning through journaling; our extensive network in the UK and internationally including the Biennial of Contemporary African Art, Dakar, Senegal, National Gallery of Jamaica and the Royal Commonwealth Society. The significant achievement for Graeme was two solo exhibitions at the Royal Commonwealth Society during April and May and the Jamaican High Commission between July and August 2012.
In 2013, Graeme became ‘artist in resident’ at the Royal Kensington Palace.
“It is a real learning curve working with Maureen. She has this uncanny ability to tailor her approach directly to the understanding of her audience. In this respect, I feel she completely understands the artist, their processes and fundamental concerns.
I always find it empowering for my arts practice in a one to one meeting with Maureen, as the focus is entirely concerned with practical applications. These applications can be rapidly utilised often with immediate effect, through access and introduction to Maureen’s extensive and comprehensive UK and international arts and cultural network of practitioners and leaders. Her sessions open up the awareness of ones strengths and the actions one can take, to put these inherent skills to be value creative. In very recent important client meetings, I can see the positive difference I have contributed and to put the best of me across. I attributed these successes with a Freshwater approach and using a great deal of Maureen’s language!”
Yasmin is a highly motivated and enigmatic artistic director, passionate about enhancing people’s lives through engagement in the arts.
Our brief was to help Yasmin increase her self confidence and develop as a “natural leader”, and learn how to be intentional in achieving her long term goal of as a creative artistic leader.
Our coaching interventions included: Clifton StrengthsFinder and emotional intelligence assessments, reflective learning through journaling and selected readings.
”Yasmin
“I believe that there has been a massive change in me since embarking on the CLP Mentoring & Coaching Programme. I am more confident and I have a clearer, more truthful sense of where I want to be. The key learning outcomes from my session with my were:
The key learning outcomes from my session with my were:
Being Intentional, this has been useful not only for my professional life but also my personal life and has freed up a lot of my time.
Leading myself first, in order for me to be the leader I wish to be I have to be able to lead myself first, therefore I have to treat myself with respect, dignity and be intentional. Again this has had a massive impact on both my professional and personal life alike.
Reflecting my journey and practice, after my first session I began to keep a journal about my learning and reflections. I have found this a useful way to document my learning and I have recorded various interviews I have had with other leaders and their words of wisdom that I refer to as a source of inspiration.
Emotional Intelligence Awareness, I found completing the EI test beneficial and it highlighted clear areas that I needed to develop.
In order to continue to progress things, I need to ensure that I allocate time to reflect on my learning and to ensure that I am working to my personal development plan, which now needs to be updated as I have completed a lot of my goals over the last 6 months.
The Coaching & Mentorship programme was a really positive experience for me and I think it has been invaluable to my professional and personal development. I had a good rapport with my coach, Maureen Salmon and felt that an open space was created whereby I could speak freely without judgement but with complete support, which has been an entirely unique experience.””
Deborah is an experienced and visionary theatre executive with particular expertise in strategic planning and development.
Programme
Powerbrokers Coaching & Mentoring Programme, Cultural Leadership Programme
Career Development and Transition
The Brief
To help Deborah frame the next stage of her career direction, building on and consolidating previous experience while learning new skills as part of her continued professional development.
We provided Deborah with a range of interventions including strengths and emotional intelligence assessments, journaling and selected readings to help achieve her objectives. The short term objective was to work as an independent consultant; while her medium term objective was to be intentional in achieving her long term objective which was to run a theatre venue. We focused on helping Deborah hone specific leadership competencies in terms of soft skills and behaviours as opposed to technical and functional skills.
Outcomes and impact
Within a year of embarking on her coaching journey, Deborah became the general manager at the Broadway Theatre, Barking in East London. Deborah is now the General Manager, Bush Theatre
”Deborah
“I have learnt a great deal whilst being coached by Maureen. I was able to use the sessions to explore and understand my emotional intelligence and identify my key leadership strengths and how begin to use these more intentionally and effectively. I have enjoyed my mentoring and feel I have developed a good relationship with Maureen. Since ending the official mentoring programme, I have been able to make contact with her to ask advice and this has greatly helped me continue to develop my understanding and application of my leadership strengths. The work we did together has enabled me to more appreciate my leadership strengths and to consciously use them in my new position and recognise them in my team. I am delighted to say that following my coaching, I was offered and accepted the position of General Manager at The Broadway, Barking. Many thanks for all your help and encouragement.”
Deborah is an experienced and visionary theatre executive with particular expertise in strategic planning and development.