Helen brings a wealth of experience to Waterline Leadership having worked in a variety of industries since completing university.
I am a naturally curious people person. I love discovering what people have done, are doing and are planning to do. As a coach, my curiosity makes me a natural listener and question asker and gives me the wonderful opportunity to help people truly discover and understand their unique talents.
It took me 22 years to discover coaching and I now love the way it feeds both my head and my heart and the extraordinary sense of purpose it gives me. More importantly I love helping people discover talents they are either oblivious to or simply don't value. I will work diligently with these people to help them grow and consider choices they never thought possible.
When I completed my first coaching certification with IECL, one of my peers kindly emailed me at the end of the course to tell me, "you have the magical ability to make people feel like they are the most important person in your sphere". It wasn’t until I completed my personal Gallup strengths® assessment that I began to understand why.
Thanks to CliftonStrengths®, I discovered that Individualisation® was my #1 theme. This immediately reinforced why I keenly observe people's innate qualities and talents. The other themes in my top 5 are ‘Futuristic®, Achiever®, Developer® and Woo® (winning others over). When I considered how my top five combine, I gained an understanding as to why I was drawn to strengths coaching. I completely appreciate why Don Clifton believed “there is no more effective way to empower people than to see each person in terms of their strengths.” I have since combined my Gallup Strengths Coaching certification with a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centred Coaching certification. The combination of the two allows me to help people understand their blind spots and measurably achieve positive change in less time.
As a coach, I draw on experience across local government, start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises and global brands. Also, having felt it first-hand I fully appreciate the influence and impact of different leadership styles, team dynamics and cultures.
I know what career confusion feels like.
My work life kicked off after I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning. I then spent the next six years trying to find ways to enjoy roles in development control and strategic town planning in four different local government organisations. But the enjoyment never arrived. I became increasingly aware that I didn’t share my colleagues’ enthusiasm and as each year rolled on, I became less and less motivated.
Finally, I found the courage to admit to myself, and ironically to the best manager I had ever worked for, that I was stuck at the end of the wrong career cul-de-sac – I had made the wrong career choice.
I resigned and took on a sales manager role at Hugo Boss. The transition was not an easy one and I soon moved into business development with the international Swiss watch brand Raymond Weil. It was here that I started to find my feet, as well as a renewed sense of self-belief and purpose.
For the next 16 years I worked with a mix of Swiss watch and Australian and European jewellery brands in roles that included national sales, business development, brand management and director of operations. These roles allowed me to draw on my natural ability to create and develop genuine relationships and establish rewarding experiences and outcomes for team members, clients and my employers.
I was able to travel throughout Europe and Asia to trade fairs and factories, meeting and working with talented, innovative and interesting people. I saw beautiful things created out of a simple sketch on a page to an admired piece under lights in a high street store window. The highlight was a leading role in a start-up brand that evolved from a ‘gap in the market’ idea, to distribution in 300 jewellery retailers across Australia and New Zealand. All in all, a challenging, rewarding and highly enjoyable period of my working life.
In 2017 I embraced a new opportunity and moved from the world of luxury goods, to working with Will in Waterline Leadership. I now relish the opportunity to focus on bright people, as opposed to bright shiny objects, and to support them on a voyage to fulfillment through enriched levels of belief and purpose.
I feel so privileged to witness people becoming more motivated and determined as they confidently apply themselves to their work. I think we all know that when an organisation is made up of empowered and engaged individuals, anything is possible.
As a combination, Will and I bring two perspectives, a depth of military and commercial experience and a shared desire to help people. When we see them address their blind spots and start applying their talents, we know they are well and truly on their way.
