After following Steve Allman on LinkedIn for a year or so and enjoying his relevant and funny posts, I decided to bite the bullet and book in a coaching session before starting a new job role - my second charity leadership job.
I wanted to start as I mean to go on, and talk through some areas I didn't feel as confident about. From the start of our session, I felt comfortable and able to be open/honest. I'd informed him in advance of my accessibility needs as a deaf person which he had prepared for and checked that everything was ok (lighting/picture/ sound quality etc).
I felt listened to and understood throughout. Steve's questions were insightful, and were a real eye opener as to some of my thought patterns. He provided useful analogies, tips and strategies and positive feedback which left me feeling much more confident and ready to get started in my new role.
He has the knowledge, experience and insight to understand and comment on the unique features, challenges and benefits of working in the charity sector.
As I'm self-funding sessions, committing to a package wouldn't have been right for me so it was great to be able to book a one-off session - although it won't be my last!
Claire Baldwin, Joint Senior Manager, Manchester Deaf Centre
Steve worked with us recently as a facilitator on our Learn, Test, Change series for local trustees.
I find Steve so thoughtful and curious, just as you’d hope a great facilitator to be – he really wants to get the best from working together.
Steve’s knowledge of our work and the wider sector helped greatly and he brought a sense of perspective and humour to some difficult circumstances. I look forward to when we can work together again.
Alan Webb, Assistant Director, Home-Start UK
We recently worked with Steve to explore our ethical framework for fundraising and investment. It's a potentially challenging topic so I felt a little trepidation but Steve immediately put me at ease.
After introducing the work to the Board he followed up with individual calls with each Trustee to explore their personal perspectives before facilitating a half day workshop to tease out any issues and develop a shared approach.
Steve's style, use of humour and real world examples encouraged everyone to contribute, question and collaborate. He skilfully managed the workshop to help us reach a conclusion that everyone was comfortable with and both staff and Trustees enjoyed it.
Steve's report was a focussed summary of what we'd agreed and we are now using it to build our policies and processes. He was a dream to work with and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Steve.
Kat Lee, CEO, Family Holiday Charity