Online Coaching for Project, Programme, Change and Transformation Roles

Melanie Franklin- Agile Change Management Trainer

Meet Melanie

I have been a senior leader for 30 years, starting my career as a Business Analyst, becoming a Project Manager then Programme Manager and then Global Head of Project and Programme Management before taking a CEO role in a UK and Middle East consultancy company. I am currently assuring two transformation programmes, one in government and one in the private sector.

I am an independent adviser to a number of boards, I am the Chief Examiner and Scheme Owner for the globally recognised Agile Change Agent qualification and I am the Co-Lead of the UK Change Management Institute.

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Building your capability to lead change

Scope of my coaching assignments

Coaching is a very personal experience, creating insight and moments of discovery that unlock solutions for the personal being coached professionally and personally.

My area of expertise is transformational change. This includes building internal processes, developing staff and addressing the culture of the organisation. I have a deep understanding of the methodologies and best practice in project, programme, portfolio and change management. 

I host thought leadership panels in change and transformation with highly experienced practitioners all over the world, so can bring a wide variety of current examples into our work together.

I have a strong commercial focus. My years as a Chief Executive mean I am going to bring the bottom line, the benefits, the return on investment and the costs into our discussions. This ensures that the solutions we develop are capable of getting the support of others in your organisation.

Approach to my coaching assignments

Coaching is a structured, two-way conversation. I provide the structure, working out a path through your problem, and different routes to finding the most impactful solution.

The most obvious skill for coaching is listening, actively, respectively and with curiosity. I am genuinely interested in what you have to say. At this point, a coach is supposed to say “I believe you have the idea inside you and it is my job to coax it out of you.” 

This approach puts a lot of pressure on you. I think the value of my coaching is that you tap into my extensive experience. I have had many successes and disasters and I have learnt from them all. I am happy to share the things that work and give very honest answers about why things haven’t worked and what to avoid making the same mistakes. Change is incredibly difficult, and I can show you different options for how you address your challenge. 

My mantra for my work is “ask, don’t tell” as there is little benefit on either side of dictating to senior leaders how they should lead. I am regularly praised for my insightful questions and my willingness to ask thought provoking questions, so I believe I have a track record on delivering “ask, don’t tell”.

Following our debate, you can make an informed choice, debating the experiences I share. We examine the similarities and differences between my examples and your situation to formulate an approach that is relevant, practical, pragmatic and you feel confident to undertake.

Impact

Every situation is different so I thought I would let those I have coached describe the impact my coaching has had on them. Confidentiality is very important so I am not going to share their names or their organisations, but their voices are genuine.

  • Mel’s exceptional coaching skills, extensive knowledge and ability to break complex theory into straightforward visuals and actions have both honed and strengthened my skills and capabilities.”
  • “I found your coaching invaluable as not only has it given me so much to think about and ideas on how to put this into practice, but it has also given me more confidence to go ahead and get things done.”
  • “She helped me clarify issues I didn’t even realise I had and I often find myself reflecting on what she said and what I think she would say if I talked to her today. “
  • “She has given me new and very useful insights into a complex issue that had been playing on my mind for some time. She led me through a reflective process to understand each of the strands of the issue and clearly brings a wealth of experience which enables her to synthesise and present a variety of solutions which in turn helped me find my own way forward.”
  • “She has this amazing ability to pay so much attention to our words & our body language”
  • “Melanie cuts to the chase straight away and provides direct, effective feedback which is appropriately challenging and very high impact. “

Follow up

At the end of each coaching session we will plan the actions that you are going to take, who to involve, what activities to get started with, what can come later and how long things are likely to take.

After your coaching session, you will want to get off and running, feeling inspired and energised. To help you do this, I will follow up with additional materials that are relevant to what we have been discussing. This is all included in the fee and helps to ensure that our coaching was not just a conversation, but makes a difference to how you are able to work, increasing your productivity, your creativity and reducing your stress.

Examples of the type of materials I provide include the visuals and diagrams we create when we are developing your solution, checklists of criteria to apply to decision making, example presentation materials, reference materials and sample communications for you to use with your stakeholders.

FAQs

I charge for a session, and there is no obligation to buy multiple sessions. I encourage you to have one session and then we can decide on the best approach after than. 

Each session lasts between 2 and 3 hours. I do not rush you, equally I do not keep the session going if we have achieved what you need. Experience tells me that 90 minutes is too short and that after 3 hours we have lost focus.

I ask for a bank transfer in advance of the session or you can pay by credit card via the website.

No contract is required, but if your organisation is paying, then I will send you a booking form so that you can generate a Purchase Order number which triggers the invoicing process.

Yes, I might keep handwritten notes during the session, but these are scribbled words and ideas that I raise with you as we are going along. I am happy to destroy these in front of you at the end of the session. If your organisation is paying, I will confirm that you attended the session but I will not provide any details on what was discussed.

Book your Online Coaching Session

Enquire

Contact Melanie and arrange a brief call to find out more about Coaching for you or your team.

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Book & Pay for a coaching session online. Melanie will contact you to arrange a suitable time for your session.

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