“I recently had a series of Executive Coaching sessions with Annette Kirby through my workplace. While I had been successful at work, I recognized I needed to address a couple of leadership and interpersonal issues in order to advance my career to the next level. Annette was instrumental in helping me along this path. I feel I made progress from the first session to the last with her, and believe my recent career advancement would not have occurred without Annette’s guidance. I am truly grateful for the opportunity I had to work with her.”
Head of Investments, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
“My executive coaching engagement with Annette was highly rewarding both from a professional and personal development perspective.
I came to Annette to fine-tune some leadership and executive presence skills required for a new role but found my newly acquired insights and behavioural skills applicable to other aspects of my life as well. Annette’s practical and attentive approach to coaching provided the structure and forum for self-discovery while ensuring clear business objectives were met through courage, humility and self-discipline.
Annette created a customized coaching plan based on 360 feedback designed to take my performance to the next level with a strong focus on me understanding my personal triggers.
Annette is a great listener and sounding board who allowed me the time and space to arrive at my own discoveries while gently nudging me out of my comfort zone. She incorporated various coaching tools and techniques to increase my awareness and understanding of habitual behaviours and environmental triggers and come up with useful strategies to address self-limiting thoughts and behaviours. I highly recommend Annette to anyone looking to increase individual effectiveness and impact.”
HR Executive, Financial Services, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
“Annette Kirby has been a trusted advisor of leadership development for Enhance Group of Companies since 2014. Based on thorough research and understanding of our business and strategic business priorities she made a few targeted recommendations for leadership growth for our top leadership and middle management team. With Annette’s guidance, she helped us develop the Enhance Executive Leadership Program (EELP), an investment in leadership development which has yielded the business impact we were aiming for. In our recruitment and discussions with leaders within the Group they frequently comment on the attractiveness of (EELP) on their career path, making us an employer of choice. It has been a genuine pleasure working with Annette. She has provided outstanding executive coaching within Enhance Group of Companies and sourced for us some really excellent providers for the modules with our EELP.”
CEO Dominic Myers, Enhance Group of Companies, WJ Towell Group
As the most senior woman in my organization, a leading U.A.E. company in the financial sector, I was given the opportunity to enhance my leadership skills by working with a leadership coach on a 1:1 basis early in 2016.
From the first, ‘chemistry’, meeting it was very clear that Annette was a very special coach , with an approach focused on addressing the most profound inner self of the coachee, not on external behaviours. That was exactly what I was looking for, so I did not have to think twice about choosing her as my leadership coach.
The fundamental transformation that has emerged in me from the coaching process has been one of the most important and profound experiences of my personal and professional life. Annette designed a leadership programme specifically tailored to my needs, leveraging on deeply felt values and a desire to make a lasting difference for those around me and my organization.
At the heart of Annette’s approach is the emphasis on the leader’s transformation journey, from a reactive to a creative state, through personal growth that emerges from within one’s inherent potential. It is not a matter of becoming different from who we are, rather to evolve into a higher version of ourselves. An important effect of the inner transformation journey has been a material, positive change on my effectiveness in the workplace and in the personal sphere.
While the coaching engagement has come to an end now, thanks to Annette’s approach my transformation journey will continue, as I seek to continue evolving and improving as a leader.
I have no words to describe how deeply grateful I am to Annette for opening the doors to such a profound transformation in my professional and personal life!
Senior Leader, Financial Services, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
I worked with Annette over a period of approximately 6 months, primarily to focus on building better relationships with peers and more senior managers within my organization. Annette provided a very structured and logical approach in exploring my issues and the background to these issues. When I found that I couldn’t really see the way forward, Annette came up with alternative ways to look at the problem, which allowed me to overcome the obstacles. She suggested books and a variety of sources to support my learning which also helped me move forward. She provided a great deal of encouragement and also subtly prompted me to do my ‘homework’ before our next session. I’m not someone who finds it easy to discuss my relationships and emotions, but with Annette, I found it much less stressful than I usually do.
The outcome of the coaching has been extremely successful. I have built far better relationships at work. This was made very clear to me during my annual appraisal this year, when my boss told me that she had received spontaneous, positive feedback from quite a number of people across the organization. Also, having explored my personality traits through the coaching, I’m also more comfortable with who I am as a person.
Douglas Smith, Director, Global Pharmaceutical Company