Time for a change!

This is just a very quick blog to let you know that my blog is moving to a new address from 1 October.

Why? Well, those of you who follow Pathways closely will be aware that changes have been happening and Pathways Coaching will no longer exist from 30 September! This is actually good news though!! We are re-branding and re-launching with a new identity and a new vision, which is NOT to but greatness into people, but to bring it out... the greatness is already there.

So, if you want to keep up with what's happening in our world, you will need to visit our new website when it launches on 30 September. There will be a link to the new blog page from there too and I'll be looking forward to reading your comments on my posts.... I'll even try to be a better (more regular!) blogger too!

Looking forward to re-connecting with you at http://www.successunbridled.co.uk/

The Morning After...........

Wow, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself, now that the dust has settled!

If you follow my blog and Facebook/Twitter etc, you'll know that I hosted an equine assisted learning and natural horsemanship demo day last week. It's the first time I've put on this type of event and I have to say it was both exciting and nerve-wracking..... will people turn up?.... will they enjoy it? You know the kind of doubts we can have. My limiting beliefs were certainly stretched and challenged!

However, the day was well worth the effort it took to put together. I've learned a lot about how I would do things differently, but 'hey!' we had 50 people there, including guests from the NHS, Prison Service and Pupil Referral Units, as well as a local Councillor and businesses interested in team development activities.

So, Success Unbridled is now firmly on the map and I owe a big "thank you" to people such as Danny Matharu from Hillrich, Henryk Zientek of Huddersfield Examiner and Dawn Lumb from Turbury Equine for their support in getting the event off the ground.

This week, my attention has been on Success Unlimited, Pathways' business masterminding programme. The theme for this month is 'limiting beliefs' and their effect on our ability to move our businesses forward.

Hmmm, limiting beliefs: is there a theme there?

Success Unbridled - what's that all about then?

I love it when a plan finally comes together! Success Unbridled has now officially launched!!

After much angst and heartache, my equine assisted learning and coaching work is finally coming together in one place and I have branded this part of my business as Success Unbridled - hope you like it? It sits very nicely alongside Success Unlimited, my business masterminding programme. Pathways Coaching is rapidly becoming your one-stop-shop for all things success-related!

I now own all 4 legs of Ruby and she has moved to her new home and is settling in with the other horses she'll be working with on EAL projects. She's scrubbed up quite nicely too.as you can see from her photos... it's amazing what a bit of TLC can do. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she performs at our Silversand Horsemanship and EAQ demo day on 8 July too - reckon she's going to be a bit of a star!

By the way, the remaining tickets for this event are now 1/2 price and a bargain at £20 for the full day. There will be lots of interactive activities focused on horsemanship and equine assisted learning. The day isn't just for horsey folks; it's primarily aimed at people who are interested in becoming EAL facilitators, or who might want to use EAL as a development tool for leadership skills, communication, relationships, engaging teenagers in learning, etc, but there's something for everyone. We've got some great trade stands too.

Don't miss out - you can book tickets on-line at http://www.equineassistedqualifications.com/, or you can get them direct from Pathways if you prefer to pay by cheque/cash (Cash? What's that?).

OK, time to stop getting giddy about horsey stuff. I'm just as proud of the other elements of my work too and currently have some great clients working with me for business coaching, life coaching and hypnotherapy, so I'm hard at it on all fronts.

Mustn't forget Success Unlimited too as the business masterminding programme is working really well, with the members experiencing some great results that are helping to transform their businesses on so many different levels - an increase in sales of 25% being the latest notable success for just one member!

As always, if there's something you want me to comment on in the Blog, please feel free to let me know - otherwise I'll just sit here rambling on to myself............

Success Unlimited, Success Unbridled, whatever next?

What a month I've had! In fact, firstly I feel I should apologise for my lack of effort on the blogging front over the last few weeks - sorry folks!! I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that I haven't been sat around idling my time away - I hope not, anyway. So, just to bring you up to speed:

On the Success Unlimited business masterminding front, I've been busily preparing Tools and Strategies presentations, as well as making contact with lots of accountancy practices to see how they feel about helping their clients to become even more profitable. Success Unlimited is such a great forum for business owners to talk business matters in a business environment. No fluff and waffle, just practical support aimed at moving our businesses forward.

Equine Assisted Learning (equine assisted coaching) has been a hot topic this month, with a MASSIVE amount of interest from people in areas such as leadership skills, youth offending etc.

I think I've come up with a name for my EAL work, that sits nicely alongside Success Unlimited: Success Unbridled - feedback would be much appreciated.

AND, I've bought a horse!! Ruby will be joining me in the next few weeks to become part of my 4-legged team up at Turbury Equine. I'm sooo excited.....

Anyway, I aim to make up for my lack of presence over the last few weeks, so I'm not going to waffle on too much now. I'll be updating you with regular snippets about all things coaching, including Success Unlimited, Success Unbridled (?) and Ruby's home-coming.

Watch this space ;o)

When is a Coach not a Coach?

I threw a bit of a hissy fit the other day!

Whilst perusing one of the local business publications, I came across a company promoting its services, amongst which it listed 'business coaching'. Now, I know this particular organisation well, therefore I know that they are not 'business coaches' by any stretch of the imagination. This set me thinking about all the other companies I've come across lately who appear to be jumping on the same bandwagon and who, frankly, would struggle to coach a business out of a paper bag!!

I'm not one for maligning the competition, so I'm not going to name names. However, life is tough out there at the moment, whether you're a business looking for support to get through the current economic crisis, or whether you're a REAL coach looking to provide that support.


So, I'd like to offer a few thoughts as to what a good coach will and won't do for you, your people, or your business - so you can make an informed decision before handing over your hard-earned money to a wrong 'un!



The Won'ts

• A coach won't come into your business, spend a day interrogating you and your team, then come back at you with a glossy report telling you where you're going wrong and what they want you to do about it.
• A coach won't tell you where you should be with your business, or how to get there.
• Nor will they spend significant chunks of time floating around in your business on a regular and ongoing basis, ensuring your ship is in order and that you don't make any critical decisions without them.

There are lots of names for people who offer this type of service - some of them perfectly legitimate. BUT, they are NOT coaches!



The Wills

• A coach will work with you to help you identify your strengths, goals and objectives.
• A coach will help you design your own action plans, that fit with your timescales and commitments.
• A coach will hold a series of review meetings, lasting 1-2 hours, the purpose of which is to help you monitor your own progress, support you in identifying obstacles and creating your own solutions, whilst encouraging you to stretch your boundaries.

Ask yourself a simple question before engaging in any ‘coaching’ contract: Is this person telling me how to run my own business? Or am I being encouraged to retain ownership, accountability and responsibility, whilst being supported in finding the best way forward for my business?

In short, it’s do it their way versus finding your own way… Simples!!

Equine Assisted Coaching and Silversands Horsemanship Demo

You've heard me talk about natural horsemanship and equine assisted learning/coaching, but would you like to find out more?

The best way to get a good understanding is to be there and see the experts in action! So, here's a date for your diary: Thursday 8 July, Turbury Equine, Greetland, Halifax.

Pathways Coaching and Turbury Equine are hosting an exciting demonstration, in conjunction with the leading experts in the fields of horsemanship and equine assisted learning.

Steve Halfpenny is the founder of Silversands Natural Horsemanship, based in Australia. He will be touring Europe later this year and we are very fortunate to have persuaded him to do a demo and clinic for us here in Yorkshire.

Tricia Day is the founder of Equine Assisted Qualifications, the only organisation in the UK offering facilitator training that is accredited to the Open College Network and which also gives clients/learners the opportunity to receive OCN credits for their work. I was very lucky to come across Tricia and EAQ when looking for my own equine assisted learning facilitator training. Tricia will be demonstrating the use of equine assisted learning as a model for personal development and learning.

For more information about this fantastic opportunity, keep an eye on my blog, or contact either heidi@pathways-coaching.co.uk or centre@equineassistedqualifications.com

Tangible Benefits of Business Masterminding

I'm often asked about the tangible, measurable benefits of belonging to a business mastermind group.... as if increased productivity, efficiency and profitability aren't enough?!

One of my Success Unlimited mastermind clients summed it up really well for me this week when he told the group how great it was to get away from the 'yes boss' environment in his business. Think about it; how often do you try to bounce an idea around with your team, employees, spouse, etc, to find that they just agree with you because they believe that's what you're looking for?

And what are the tangible benefits arising from this? Well, in the last month alone, as a result of having a group of fellow business owners to discuss his thoughts with, the same client has implemented changes that have resulted in a 25% increase in sales leads and improvements in product quality. More importantly, his business has not only survived, but it has also thrived and grown, during a period when his significant competitors have fallen by the wayside.

So, you may have different issues to address in your own business, but tell me you don't want to make more sales, be more efficient, or generate more revenue and profit. You don't? Are you mad?

Success Unlimited - be my guest; what have you got to lose?

Equine Assisted Coaching - Why Horses?

I've recently been asked about how equine assisted coaching/development could help with a number of specific situations, such as to help kids who have been, or are about to be excluded from school. I've had a similar enquiry from a Youth Offenders programme. It's also great with leadership skills, confidence building, eating disorders, people with autism.... the list goes on!

Just thought this might give you a taste:

For me, the interaction with ponies, almost as a third party, takes the pressure off the learner (client) by diverting attention away from them and resolving behavioural issues in a much less confrontational way. For example, I'm aware that a lot of kids who have been or are about to be excluded from the education system suffer with ADHD and don't understand the impact that their behaviour has on other people.

Ponies respond only to what they see and feel at any given point in time. So, if they are presented with someone with ADHD they will pick up on the high energy levels, as well as the physical behaviours and are likely to become unsettled and distracted themselves. This presents a great opportunity to ask the learner to think about how they can help the pony to become calmer and more settled by bringing down their own energy. The pony will usually respond to this very quickly and become much calmer. Initially, the learner will see that they have 'helped' the pony. However, we would then go on to talk about how they could work with this new skill (calming themselves down) to help in other situations. Indirectly, we have helped the learner start to acknowledge and address their own behaviour issues, without becoming directly confrontational.

This is just one example of how EA learning can be used as a support tool.

Coach and Horses!

As a life-long horse lover, I'm really excited this week to be training in Equine Assisted Coaching. This is going to be such a fantastic addition to my coaching business because it gives me the opportunity to work in a very different and unique way, by using horses as a medium for developing leadership skills and working on communication and confidence.

Equine Assisted Coaching, Horse Assisted Development, call it what you will, is wonderful for working with a wide range of people, but has been shown to be particularly effective with teenagers with eating disorders; autism/ASD; team development; leadership skills and so much more.

As there's no riding involved, clients don't even need to be horsey-types to get involved and make real changes.

How does it work? Well, horses respond purely from their natural instincts. They don't judge you by what you're wearing, or how many qualifications you hold. You can't make a horse do something just because you think it's a great idea! You have to use natural, animal-based communication to win the horse round and develop it's trust. Once it sees you as it's leader, you will be amazed at the things you can achieve....

Last week, whilst working with my favourite pony at my local riding school (ironically she's also called Heidi - and quite a grumpy mare she is too!), I built up enough of a bond with her that she would follow me around the arena at a trot, with no lead rein, stopping instantly the moment I stopped jogging around, with her nose just at the side of my shoulder for the whole time. It might not sound like much, but I can tell you it was a very moving experience.

So, watch out for my next blog, when I'll be telling you how I got on with my formal training.... I'm also looking out for someone to work with as a case study, so do let me know if anyone springs to mind.

Masterminding - the whys and wherefores!

People often ask me 'what is the purpose of a mastermind group?', as if it were some mystical creation of the modern world. In fact, masterminding has been around since Adam was a twinkle in his father's eye.

Masterminding is simply the coming together of a group of like-minded people to share their thoughts, views, opinions, ideas and methodologies... nothing more complex than that.

Masterminding groups are also commonly referred to as peer support groups, or round tables (as in the legendary King Arthur) and I'm sure there are countless other 'labels' out there too.

Today, we often use masterminding in a more structured way, particularly in the world of business, where we constantly strive to find new and interesting ways to grow and develop our businesses. As a business coach, one of my most enjoyable activites during any month is the Success Unlimited mastermind sessions that I run for my business clients. This is a forum where masterminding really comes into its own.

Group members meet together on a monthly basis to take some time out to look at their businesses, rather than being caught up in it. Whilst the groups are intentionally small, even a meeting of just 6-8 business owners will generally have upwards of 150-200 years-worth of business experience around the table. How fantastic to be able to tap into all that knowledge and experience to support each other in resolving current business challenges! There's always a wonderful atmosphere of energy and enthusiasm too, as the members get a real buzz from supporting each other's business development.

As a concept, masterminding may be as old as the hills.... but it's the way forward!