Württembergische UK with major reinsurance exposure to the Twin Towers site, was critically affected by 9/11.
WürttUK had to change its strategy drastically, and downsize; coaching was introduced at an organisational level for staff retention and to sustain morale and performance through post-9/11 turbulence.
Though it was clear that some external support was required to generate skills internally, the coaching itself had to be internal, by Württembergische’s Head of Human Resources, Verity Lewis, who selected the Meyler Campbell Business Coach Programme for its business focus and flexibility.
This flexibility made it possible for Verity to combine the Programme with her demanding job. When there was a calmer period, she would press on with the Programme but when the stress in the business got too great, she was able to “freeze” Business Coach briefly, and get through the next weeks or months just using its Supervision as support for her own coaching. It was also very helpful to plug into the Business Coach community – going to learning events with others on the Programme provided a valuable networking support.
The internal coaching programme that Verity subsequently ran at WürttUK has resulted in tangible business benefits. Critical and tough business targets including staff retention were met. One coachee cited the coaching programme as a key success factor in increasing premiums by 20 per cent. Another attributed to it hitting a personal development objective – extraordinary under the circumstances – of 30 per cent planned growth.
After a successful career in law, Geoffrey Hand’s participation in the Global Challenge, the ultimate experience for any amateur sailor, had a totally unexpected personal and professional impact on him.
Geoffrey’s experiences of team dynamics and the importance of self awareness and human relationships on the boat changed his priorities. Noticing that the first three of the twelve boats past the line had adopted some sort of coaching, and the winning crew had been given access to their sponsor’s in-house business coaching team – Geoffrey was struck by the power of that coaching intervention and its obvious application to people in business.
Geoffrey enrolled on Meyler Campbell’s Business Coach Programme. His priority was to be completely focused on coaching within the business community and preferably within the professional world in which he had spent his career to date. For Geoffrey, Meyler Campbell excelled in providing a course that was ideally suited to his needs. The teaching was “exemplary” and the wide range of extracurricular educational events “very stimulating”.
Commonality with his fellow students was “far beyond my expectations – everyone I have met as either student or alumni throughout my association with Meyler Campbell has been outstanding in their personal, professional and academic qualities.”
As a result of Business Coach, Geoffrey has a successful coaching business, Peer Professionals Limited, and now sees his own coaching clients heighten their self-awareness, objectivity and clarity of strategic direction.
