Steph qualified as a coach in 2011 with the Centre for Coaching at Middlesex University and has coached regularly since then.  For the majority of that time, Steph worked at the Open University coaching members of staff at all levels and in a variety of roles, to help improve their performance at work and maximise their potential.  She provided coaching support to a number of leadership and management development programmes, helping to embed the learning on the programmes back in the workplace, as well as providing support to deal with specific challenges. 

Steph is a qualified Action Learning Set facilitator and has provided group coaching support to numerous teams by applying the Action Learning Set model.  She is also a mentor and helped set up a mentoring programme to run alongside a women’s leadership programme. 

In addition, she designs and delivers career development workshops to support individuals to take responsibility of their development and achieve their career aspirations.

Steph is currently a Delivery Manager on the AUA’s Postgraduate Certificate in HE and is also a Practice Tutor on the OU’s MBA programme.

Steph has coached me through both personal and work related issues over the last 5 years and I have found these coaching sessions to be both valuable and enlightening.  Steph has an amazing questioning technique, it seems she doesn’t have to ask many questions to have an impact;  the questions she asks are really thought provoking and seem to unlock a whole stream of thought and a different perspective on the issues.

Steph also manages to strike a great balance between gently pushing you outside of your comfort zone while remaining compassionate and aware of your feelings.  I feel I can always rely on Steph to reflect back what she is seeing in a very objective way which has definitely helped me to shift my thinking on many occasions!

As learning and development colleagues I have observed Steph’s significant coaching expertise on many occasions over the years.  Working competently and sensitively with both groups and individuals up to Executive level, I have seen Steph demonstrate excellent active listening skills, prompt action and ‘hold the mirror up’ as a tool to provide gentle but effective challenge.  This has enabled the people she has worked with to move forward with clarity and confidence, generating greater productivity and impact in their working lives.

As Steph’s former line manager, I have also had a number of coachees volunteer to me how impactful working with Steph as a coach has been.  I am sure she will go on to make a real positive difference in many people’s lives moving forward. 

Pete Quinn is a coach and mentor used to working with teams and individuals in Higher Education in the UK and Hong Kong. As well as supporting personal and professional development Pete is experienced in enabling diverse teams and individual progress. As well as his own coaching and mentoring Pete has developed ‘Diversity Mentoring Programmes’ and works in authentic allyship and disability confidence.  Pete has CMI accreditation in Professional Coaching & Mentoring.  He is MHFA, ASIST and safeTALK trained and has enhanced DBS certification.

Pete worked at Oxford University in the Disability Advisory Service and was Deputy Head of EDI when he supported a Diversity Mentoring Programme with colleagues that featured in ‘Developing Successful Diversity Mentoring Programmes: An International Casebook’ published by McGraw Hill. This was alongside helping to devise and develop mentoring systems for students and employees with Autism, Chronic Conditions and Mental Illness. At the University of York Pete participated in co-coaching networks, mentored colleagues and students and subsequently provided coaching and mentoring in Hong Kong to teachers as well as 1:1 coaching for teams and individuals in UK HEIs

Outside of HE, Pete mentors and supports men’s mental health initiatives in York, in particular ‘Menfulness’, as well as mentoring student entrepreneurs and social enterprises.

Pete is a one-off. He is highly supportive as a mentor and extraordinarily perceptive on the issues faced by people with disabilities at all stages of education and work. His insights are extremely helpful in working out how to negotiate difficult personal and professional issues from an access point of view. He is breaking new ground by taking on complex cases and situations, and working out “first time around solutions”. I highly recommend him and hope his international portfolio grows substantially.

I would recommend him wholeheartedly in any role requiring a diversity and disability specialist, or as someone with lived experience of being an ally, champion and critical friend within senior management at Board level.

Jan Shine is an experienced coach who works throughout the UK higher education sector with individuals, teams and organisations contributing to personal, professional, and organisational development.  Jan has an accredited professional Certificate in Coaching gained in 2013 through the Centre for Coaching/University of Middlesex.  She has a wealth of experience of coaching and mentoring individuals across all levels and categories of staff in higher education.  Other relevant qualifications include a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management as well as being qualified in MBTI and BPS Levels A and B occupational testing.  Jan has enhanced DBS certification.

During Jan’s HE career she worked at the Open University where she designed and managed a mentoring programme within an academic unit as well as providing 1:1 development coaching to staff at all levels across a wide range of issues including, personal development planning, line management, life-balance, professional transitions, working relationships, role applications and moves, embedding learning following training, and reflective practice.  Jan has extensive experience as a mentor of professional services staff and has experience of providing mediation in the workplace.

Outside of HE, Jan provides 1:1 development through clinical supervision of professionals working in post-adoption support, as well as providing 1:1 support to adults affected by adoption as an intermediary.   Jan is in her final year of counsellor training.

I met with Jan for 1-2-1 personal coaching at a time when I was seeking change. The main purpose was to consider the options and opportunities available to me (in the short and long term) and did not necessarily mean a change of job role or workplace.

Jan assisted with providing tools to allow me to review my current skillset and experience in my own time, to use to as a prompt for our discussions. In particular, I found her summary notes very useful for reflection and potential actions.

I found Jan extremely professional; maintaining a warm and engaging, non-judgemental approach. I felt confident in opening up to her and trusted she would maintain confidentiality. I would not hesitate to recommend her to others.

The outcome of our coaching sessions was extremely positive. I really valued this time together which allowed me the opportunity to pause and reflect on my own personal ambitions and career goals.

I have benefited from Jan’s very natural and incredibly supportive coaching style. Throughout some turbulent and pivotal times during my career in Higher Education, Jan has been more than a solid and reliable sounding board, she has helped and inspired me by encouraging me to recognise and celebrate my achievements, consider what I really wanted and take appropriate steps forward.   Jan has a calm, patient and receptive manner which enables self-reflection and ‘internal stock taking’.  Her ability to actively listen, comprehend and enable is quite exceptional. Jan inspires you to be fair to yourself, reflect, be brave, learn more about your own strengths and limitations, be confident, aspirational and find your own solutions…don’t ask me how she does this, she just does.