Client Stories

Client stories

ONE courageous decision entirely changed the company culture & dramatically improved results

What would make this session a turning point in your life? This simple question created a conversation that allowed Stella to totally change her plans for the next few years.

Context

José, co-founder of a digital company operating in 10 countries, called me to help him increase his focus and support him on his decision-making skills.
José is based in London overseeing the European operations while the other co-founder, Stella, is based in Argentina where the majority of the staff are located.
The relationship between the two co-founders was reaching a point where the business was in jeopardy due to diverging management views.

The key session

We were 3 sessions in and I felt we were not addressing the real issue. We were not at the root of the issue. I then asked Jose “What would make this session a turning point in your life?” From this simple question emerged the difficult relationship with the other co-founder. Someone who is a serial entrepreneur fostering a culture of “no pain, no gain” – A dominant personality where Jose always feels inferior.
As we got deeper, we realised that this broken culture and vision was costing a lot to the business: Retention rate was low, people were often sick, and there was a lack of engagement.

The plan

The difficult conversation with Stella had to happen… It had to be prepared.
We spent 2 sessions agreeing on the best approach. Jose preferred to ask open questions to understand why Stella was so tough with her team.

The conversation

Jose was scared to have this conversation; he had kept his eyes closed on this for years. Not having the courage to face Stella.
The conversation happened, tears were shed, it took 2 hours and was deeply emotional. From this conversation, Stella & Jose agreed to totally change the way they were going to work together.

4 weeks later

Stella decided to talk to all the employees in the office and totally changed her way of interacting with people. She also decided to take time off to reflect and assess how to create a culture driven by inclusion and respect.

From that moment, the business took a massive upward turn.

From a kitchen table to operating in 20+ countries

Context

As a London-based mum, Nikita realised that the French lessons available online for her children were not interactive and attractive. Her children were not interested to learn French anymore. She thought there was a business opportunity.

Start point

Our first coaching session in 2018 was to start framing the vision. How to teach French grammar in line with the French educational system while keeping it all fun?

The biggest challenges

The biggest challenge, by far, was to believe it was possible. How to reconcile the vision to operate in multiple countries while starting with a few Excel spreadsheets on a kitchen table.

The journey

An entrepreneurial journey is made of big successes and failures. Along the journey, a large part of my role was to create a mental foundation to support the complete transformation of Nikita’s life. The biggest work for me was to help her harness the growth mindset: How can you constantly improve?
Becoming CEO and managing a team, selecting priorities, creating a culture, developing the marketing while keeping an eye on expenses and generating the necessary revenue…

36 months later…

Her website is a success and is used in 20+ countries in the world. Schools in the USA, UK, Germany, and Switzerland have access to the programs created.
She feels alive, proud of herself, and has a very busy life but a life worth living.

The Coaching view

As a coach, I am fully invested in the decisions of my coachees. This coaching journey allowed me to see first-hand the power of determination. We quickly rooted it in a purpose-driven business where the service will be offered to charities that support children with difficulty. This purpose allowed Nikita to stay strong during the multiple storms she faced.