success Archives - Melanie Pritchard

Executive Coaching: The Fortune 500’s Best Kept Secret

Posted on 19th August 20229th March 2023 by Melanie Pritchard

“For years, CEOs of some of the most successful and largest companies have relied on executive coaches. Henry McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, and David Pottruck, CEO of Charles Schwab & Co., are just a few who rely on a “trusted adviser”

The Business Journal

Did you know that between 25 and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches to help their leaders peak perform? I was surprised this figure was so high — not because I don’t understand why successful companies would invest in coaching for their CEO’s and C-Suite — but because it’s one of the best kept secrets around.

These clandestine connoisseurs described an average return of more than $100,000, about six times what executive coaching costs them. That’s the equivalent of six round the world business class flights.

But that doesn’t explain why savvy business leaders invest in something that sounds suspiciously like mumbo-jumbo.

Maybe because “executives and HR managers know coaching is the most potent tool for inducing lasting personal change”.

So what makes coaching so special?

The answer is simple.

It’s because of what it’s not.

Instead of being another top down programme forced on over-stretched employees, coaching empowers people to develop their own solutions to issues and goals, with a dash of mentoring thrown in. This increases the chances of action tenfold.

In other words, it’s the missing link to high performance leadership success.

So what are the benefits?

“Workers at all levels of the corporate ladder are enlisting coaches for guidance on how to improve their performance, boost their profits, and make better decisions about everything from personnel to strategy”.

Whether strengthening business development, presentation and leadership skills or facilitating target attainment and peak performance, coaching increases confidence, self-awareness and resourcefulness, bolstering company growth, profitability and market share.

But if, like some initially sceptical clients, you still think coaching sounds a little like hot air, you might change your tune when you learn:

The business demand for coaching is nearly doubling each year. Out of the $80 billion being currently spent on corporate education, FLI Research estimates that $2 billion is spent on executive coaching at senior executive levels in Fortune 500 companies.

Not only that:

IBISWorld research reports that the size of the US and UK corporate wellness industry is now more than $8bn — and growing.

If you’re still not convinced, that’s ok. I had to see it to believe it myself.

But when I did — let me tell you — the idea of being a hot shot lawyer became far less appealing than helping professionals transform their lives and businesses.

Want to find out more? Book a discovery call with me here.

Podcast Episode 12: Why Becoming a Mother is the Perfect Time to Start A Business

Posted on 22nd February 2022 by Melanie Pritchard

Episode 12 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! An inspiring and eye-opening deep-dive into why becoming a mother is the perfect time to start a business!

This interview with the accomplished Leadership Coach, Author and Workplace Wellbeing Creator, Sabine Matharu, teaches you:

– top tips for overcoming the limiting beliefs that stop people from launching their own businesses;
– what’s really going on in new mums’ inner monologues when they go back to work;
– myth-busting around the risks of launching your own business;
– how to use adversity to laser-focus new career goals and expedite health, wealth and happiness; and
– how organisations can better support working parents

This is also for you if you have an interest in how to optimise career clarity before making a change and how to find the killer weapons required to start and scale a business fast. This is also for you if you’re not sure what a Leadership Coach is and the main benefits of investing in one!

In this super informative interview, Sabine shares her expert wisdom from years as a management consultant turned successful author and entrepreneur working with women across a whole host of industries whether new mums, aspiring entrepreneurs or leaders in their field.

You can find Sabine at www.instagram.com/sabine.matharu/ on Instagram and at www.theempowermentportal.com. Her recent book, “Shift – A New Era Begins” can be found here: www.learnmoreabout.info/shift.

Full podcast episode here!

From New York Journalist to Farmer’s Wife: What The Dirty Life Teaches Us About Happiness

Posted on 22nd February 2022 by Melanie Pritchard

What are you?

A professional or an entrepreneur, a country bumpkin or a city slicker, a conformist or a free spirit? Or are you a hybrid – a suited and booted banker or lawyer with the ‘perfect job’ but a niggling desire to explore less well-trodden paths? Or maybe you’re just plain confused about where you fit and what really drives you.

Whatever category you fall into, most of us from Generation Y were bred by folks with far less opportunity than us professionally. With more conventional views of what constitutes a ‘proper’ job, our parents may have inadvertently left us stuck between a rock and a hard place – between what we should do and what we want to do. But ‘should’ is where it all goes wrong.

Expectations versus reality

Nobody knows this better than Kristen Kimball, author of ‘The Dirty Life’ and former freelance journalist and Harvard graduate from New York. After a chance interview with a hunky farmer, she upped sticks to set up farm with her green-fingered interviewee, leaving the city lights and life as she knew it in her wake. You heard right – East Village in favour of mud and veg in the middle of nowhere. This is a story of two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of an intellectual glamour-puss’ life – one with farming and the other with a man who milks cows for a living. A striking tale about love, happiness and the power of instinct, ‘The Dirty Life’ is a must-read for anyone feeling a little disillusioned with the daily grind or what life’s all about.

The product of a neat, middle-class world, Kimball’s novel charts the mental and physical challenges she faced leaving the glitzy world of ‘convention’ in favour of rural slog. ‘Writ[ing] with precision, authority and gratitude about what is evidently, despite its rigours, an idyllic life’ (New York Times Book Review), Kimball challenges our views about wealth, success and love, giving food for thought as compelling as the gastronomical delights she chronicles.

Kimball’s union with Mark, a rugged hulk of a man with a passion for food and farming, is a world away from the corporate sphere she might have settled into. But as with the different kind of ‘wealth’ she finds farm-side, Kimball takes us on a journey full of surprises, a journey which exposes some stark ironies about our perceptions of ‘success’ and ‘happiness’ of City life.

Does success equal happiness?

‘The Dirty Life’ makes us question our ‘values’ as we know them. In Kimball we find a cosmopolitan New Yorker who, like many of us, supposedly ‘has it all’. A woman with all the trappings of refinement, yet one who is, by her own admission, blinded by ignorance. Openly admitting her surprise that a ‘salt-of-the-earth-type’ person such as Mark could talk with dexterity and intelligence and that ‘the physical world – the trades’ was not in fact ‘the place you ended up if you weren’t bright or ambitious enough to handle a white-collar job’, Kimball shows us the danger of defining people by what they do. In Kimball we find a highly educated woman who has travelled the world with her job, yet whose eyes are opened by an entirely different world, stunned by the happiness she finds ‘pulling warm eggs out of a nest box’.

Shake things up…

So, what is the moral of the tale? Keep meeting new people, keep an open-mind and be true to yourself. Work out what is important to you and don’t be afraid to question reality as you know it. Have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expect of you and remember, the most successful life is one which unearths what makes you truly happy. Fulfilment goes far deeper than an impressive job title and it will bring you fruits that money can’t buy.

Watch an interview with Kristin Kimball here.

‘Shift: A New Era Begins’ – Featuring Melanie Pritchard in a New Book About How to Turn Adversity into Success

Posted on 1st December 2021 by Melanie Pritchard

Success Coach & Corporate Wellbeing Trainer, Melanie Pritchard is sharing her story of lockdown and the Covid pandemic in a story entitled “Coming Home”.

Just before the pandemic hit, Melanie had a sixth sense she needed to leave London fast. When national lockdown was announced, with no home in sight, she dug deep into her coaching toolkit and looked for the “probortunity” – the opportunity within the problem. On a geographical and spiritual quest to find her true north, she embarked on a deep dive journey to the rural wilderness, re-visiting sacred reminders within herself of what was important to her; boundaries, routine, rest and reflection. Testing her in ways unimaginable, Covid19 was a true wake-up call, reconnecting Melanie to her true self and her soul’s calling.

Read the full article here for top tips on what to do at moments of transition and change in life.

Career Mistakes or Regrets? Top Tips for Changing Jobs Without the Stress

Posted on 23rd November 202129th November 2021 by Melanie Pritchard

“Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers”

M. Scott Peck

If you went to bed feeling anxious about your work week ahead in a job you dislike, or you’ve woken up feeling sick about another day in an environment or role that simply doesn’t fit you, don’t despair.

That fear is a barometer for much needed change and scary as taking the leap can feel, it’s much easier when you break it down into bite size steps.

If you relate to the above, check out my feature in @refinery29 in the link in bio, ‘I Changed My Career & Regret It. Now What?’, for the ultimate guide to making that big leap – and not looking back.

From the four steps crucial to avoiding career change regret to how to sell a misstep on your CV, it’s packed full of solutions to common pain points clients fret about whether midwives, financiers, lawyers to graphic designers and marketeers. The pain is often the same and the paralysis analysis can often feel crippling without simple steps forward.

Here’s a teaser:

Don’t dive in headfirst. Whether you’re considering changing careers for the first time or feel that a recent change isn’t right for you, step one is making sure you don’t rush your next decision.

“The most important thing in the transitional phase,” says Melanie, “is not to panic and just jump into something else quickly because you can. You need to get clear on what you need to be happy and what your key frustrations are. Because if you dig beneath frustration it’s usually a barometer for exactly what you need more of.”

Read more top tips to career change via the link in my bio and feel the stress dissipate 🪴

Remember, you don’t have to get it perfect, you just gotta get it going ✨

#career #fear #stress #job #wrong #coaching #careercoaching #happy #life #happiness #peace #fulfilment #joy #hope #change

Hot Air Or Life-Changing? How Coaching Banishes Stress & Transforms Lives

Posted on 23rd November 20211st December 2021 by Melanie Pritchard

“Attention energises, intention transforms”

Deepak Chopra

Ever wondered why you’re unable to make change despite feeling frustration, boredom, anxiety or depression about your current life?

Here’s why..

To make any big change in your life, you need to do more than recognise discomfort – you need to create the time, space and resources to get real clarity. From there, change becomes easy.

Ever wondered why people telling you what you should do rarely works? Because sometimes it comes more from a place of projection, protectiveness and bias than objectivity and real listening – truly sitting in the moment with you and really hearing what lies beneath is usually quite different, leaving you feeling heard, understood and pumped to uplevel your life.

This is exactly what I thought coaching wasn’t when I first started out. Honestly, I was hoping it was a quick fix involving talking to a wise owl who could help me cut corners and expedite change fast.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I heard it was being guided by the coach asking a series of questions to help me work out who I was and what I wanted, I thought it sounded like hot air.

Then we started practising coaching – and I ate my words fast..

I quickly realised helping someone connect to who they truly are and what they truly want versus telling them what they should do, is where the magic happens.

I see this kind of magic happen daily with clients – whether midwives moving into project management, financiers moving into consulting, lawyers moving into coaching or graduates moving into advertising and beyond.

It’s not rocket science, but boy does it work.

As a wise friend on Mindline once said, really active listening is like developing a sixth sense.

So I say again – attention energises, intention transforms. Finding space to be truly heard and to deconstruct what’s really going on for you is an essential component to creating the intention required for change.

So if you’re feeling misaligned with your life or career, what’s stopping you?

And if you’re still feeling stuck, remember, nothing changes if nothing changes 💫

#coaching #life #career #change #listen #plan #goals #transform

Podcast Episode 10: How to Re-Wire Your Sub-Conscious to Transform Your Life

Posted on 5th July 20215th November 2021 by Melanie Pritchard

Episode 10 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! An inspiring and eye-opening deep-dive into how to re-wire your sub-conscious to achieve transformative life changes from weight loss and fertility and relationships to career success and beyond.

This interview with the accomplished founder of Anna Lancaster Therapy, Anna Lancaster teaches you:

– how stress works in the brain and why the brain can change;
– where our thoughts and beliefs really come from;
– why re-programming our internal monologue is critical to true happiness and success;
– why early childhood is so key in shaping our identity and top tips for parents;
– the 3 root causes that lie at the heart of all dysfunction and how you can upgrade your life through re-wiring your sub-conscious

This is for you if you have an interest in what makes us us, why we behave the way we do and how we can uplevel our lives to achieve true mastery. This is also for you if you’re not sure you have what it takes to change your life and don’t know where to start

In this super informative interview, Anna shares her expert wisdom as a Licensed Rapid Transformational Therapist and Certified Hypnotherapist working with clients across a whole host of industries and with a whole host of sticking blocks to reveal why transforming your life may not be as hard as you think

You can find Anna @www.instagram.com/annalancastertherapy/ on Instagram and at www.annalancastertherapy.com/

About Me: Coaching + Workshop Specialisms

Posted on 11th May 202124th August 2021 by Melanie Pritchard

A lawyer turned Success Coach and Corporate Wellbeing Trainer at Melanie Pritchard Success Coaching, Melanie helps clients peak perform in their personal and professional lives.

Melanie has a particular interest in the high-stress culture of our increasingly ‘always on’ lives and the growing need for successful wellbeing strategies. Having worked in a variety of cultures and organisations and with a range of clients across the world, she’s skilled at stepping into different people’s maps of the world, helping to uncover what makes you tick and how to activate lasting change.

Coaching Specialisms:

Fast-Track Coaching: Empowering young professionals and middle managers to conquer obstacles, achieve professional goals and move towards promotion.
Performance Coaching: Helping professionals at all levels optimise performance in the workplace by supercharging confidence, resilience, communication, leadership and personal branding.
Career & Exit Coaching: Supporting professionals who are unsure of their role fit to explore options, develop a clear vision and strategise for change whether optimising the current role, moving within the industry or a total career shift. Includes CV, application, interview and LinkedIn coaching.
Life Coaching: What happens at home impacts on work and vice versa which is why supporting employees in the round breeds results. Whether optimising personal relationships, bolstering wellbeing or improving confidence or resilience, happy employees are productive employees.

Coaching Approach:

Melanie’s approach is integrative, which means that she tailors her training and experience to your personal and professional development needs, whether coaching, NLP or mental health related. Melanie believes that once you understand what drives you and what’s keeping you stuck, you can create an action plan which really works and change your life from the inside out.

Corporate Workshops:

A Mental Health First Aid Trainer (Mental Health First Aid England) and a certified Telephone Counsellor with Bristol Mindline, Melanie’s interest in wellbeing extends from individual stakeholders to team coaching and wider organisational effectiveness. She delivers corporate workshops including:

Certified Mental Health First Aid Courses: 1/2 Day Awareness Course, 1 Day Skills + Awareness Course + 2 Day Mental Health First Aid Course
Manage the Conversation: A half day workshop designed to help managers spot the difference between stress and poor mental health and how to start and manage conversations with a complex workforce in a supportive way. It also equips managers with a toolkit to optimise their own leadership style and bolster their own and employee wellbeing and performance.
Mindfulness + Resilience Masterclasses (2 Hours)
Bespoke Careers Bootcamps: For universities and schools.

Clients:

Melanie has successfully worked with clients including Osborne Clarke, Simons Muirhead & Burton, BP Collins, The Bar Standards Board, Chadwick Nott, Network Rail, EDF, Nato, Shell, Ford, Microsoft, The Natural History Museum, Hearst UK, Balfour Beatty, The Princes Trust, Bluefin Group, The London School of Economics and Political Science, BPP Law School, The University of Law, The University of Bristol, Imperial College London and HM Prison Service.

Kind Words:

“The last time I felt this inspired after a coaching session was when I was lucky enough to join a group coaching session at Google with the in-house coach, usually only reserved for very senior employees. Mel’s energy is infectious. I cannot emphasise enough how finding her has made all the difference”

Star | In House Counsel

“I was referred to Melanie at a point when my I felt trapped in a frustrating role and working environment. She proved to be a lifeline and a joy to work with. I could not recommend her enough”

Vanessa | In-House Lawyer

“I was constantly stressed and feeling overwhelmed in both my professional and personal life, unable to clear my mind and change my practices. Upon one session with Melanie, I was able to recognise my strengths and identify patterns within my own behaviour that both help and hinder me. Obstacles have now been removed and my thought process has completely changed. Within weeks, I was performing better at work and am no longer ‘taking it home’ with me. Seek opportunity. Melanie has genuinely shifted the way I think and feel about myself and the life I am living. The things I want are clearer and within reach now thanks to her guidance”

Chloe Chambers | Careers Consultant | Imperial College London

“I signed up with Mel after reviewing a few firms within the London area. I found her program to be the most comprehensive and proceeded accordingly. Her personal experience working in a corporate and then undergoing a career switch was very relevant to my own journey. Her positive energy and professional / structured demeanour really helped me clarify who I was, what makes me ‘tick’, and gave me an approach for my job search. I would highly recommend Mel. Her insight and capability were second to none”

Sandrine Palmer | Business Development Associate | Amazon

“Phenomenal. Best training attended”

Gavin Jones | Head of Immigration | Osborne Clarke

“Informative, educational and inspiring! Superb tutor!”

Matt Calladine | Land + Development Director | Barratt Developments PLC

“Excellent, dynamic presenter, clear, pacy presentation slides and good amount of interaction”

Maryann Devally | Station Support Manager | Network Rail

“Mel was very personable and spoke with real passion and experience”

Mark Walker | Head of Assets | Network Rail

Qualifications & Certifications:

Qualified family lawyer (Mishcon de Reya and Burgess Mee)
Certified coach with the Coaching Academy, the world’s largest training organisation for coaches
Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner with The American Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming
Telephone Counselling Skills Certificate for work on Bristol MindLine, a confidential freephone helpline providing a safe place to talk for people in distress
Certified Mental Health First Aider with MHFA England and MHFA Trainer. This helps clients identify, understand and help a person who may be developing a mental health issue, reducing stigma and financial cost in the workplace
Member of The European Mentoring and Coaching Council, The International Coaching Federation, The Career Development Institute and The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services
First Class Degree in English Literature and French, a Distinction in International Business and a fluent French speaker

Press & Publications:

Melanie writes a variety of articles on mental health and wellbeing for the FT, The Huffington Post, Grazia, The Lawyer, Legal Week, HR Zone, The Law Society Gazette and Elephant Journal and produces The School of Success podcast on a range of topics from relationships and careers to confidence, resilience, communication and wellbeing in the workplace.. She has recently co-authored a soon to be released book, Shift: A New Era Begins.

Podcast Episode 8: Insider Secrets to Nailing a Successful Global Business From Scratch!

Posted on 3rd February 202127th April 2023 by Melanie Pritchard

Episode 8 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! This insightful interview with George Bramble, Founder of the award-winning eco-pet company, Beco, gives inspiring insight into how to build a successful global business you’re truly passionate about!

My chat with the accomplished, tenacious + resourceful, George, is not to be missed if you want to know:

– how to find a business idea that inspires you + makes great money;
– what the best route to entrepreneurship is;
– why mindset is key to success;
– common myths that will keep you stuck;
– insider tips on how to scale a business; +
– top tips for effective selling.

This is also for you if you’re not sure you have what it takes + have no idea where to start.

In this super informative interview, George shares his expert wisdom from over 10 years’ experience building an extremely successful global business that saw him go from sticking stickers on dog bowls on a roof in the dead of night to becoming the leading compostable poop bag specialist + a supplier of eco-friendly pet products to over 43 markets worldwide in a pet industry worth over $99 billion in the US alone.

You can find George @beco_pets on Instagram + at www.becopets.com

In the words of Beco, love your dog, love our planet!

Listen here!

Podcast Episode 7: How to Create a Killer Brand like Apple!

Posted on 3rd February 20219th March 2023 by Melanie Pritchard

school of success podcast marcel bittencourt

Episode 7 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! An inspiring deep-dive into how to build your business brand from the ground up!

This inspiring interview with the gifted Brazilian Brand Strategist + Creative Director, Marcel Bittencourt teaches you:

– what branding is and its core components;
– why branding is so important;
– what killer brands like Apple + Tesler are doing differently; and
– how you can build a powerful brand in a competitive market

This is for you if you have an interest in setting up your own business one day or if you’re chomping at the bit to bolster your brand and see profits skyrocket. This is also for you if you’re not sure you have what it takes to create a brand with an edge and have no idea where to start.

In this super informative interview, Marcel shares his expert wisdom from working with Fortune 500 companies on the absolute dos and donts that key movers and shakers apply to their brands.

You can find Marcel @marcelbranding on Instagram and at www.marcelbittencourt.com
💎
Be warned, Marcel is an inspiring example of creativity, commerciality, innovation and more!

Listen here!

Tag: success

Executive Coaching: The Fortune 500’s Best Kept Secret

Podcast Episode 12: Why Becoming a Mother is the Perfect Time to Start A Business

From New York Journalist to Farmer’s Wife: What The Dirty Life Teaches Us About Happiness

‘Shift: A New Era Begins’ – Featuring Melanie Pritchard in a New Book About How to Turn Adversity into Success

Career Mistakes or Regrets? Top Tips for Changing Jobs Without the Stress

Hot Air Or Life-Changing? How Coaching Banishes Stress & Transforms Lives

Podcast Episode 10: How to Re-Wire Your Sub-Conscious to Transform Your Life

About Me: Coaching + Workshop Specialisms

Podcast Episode 8: Insider Secrets to Nailing a Successful Global Business From Scratch!

Podcast Episode 7: How to Create a Killer Brand like Apple!

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