To contact the truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves.
A. H. Almaas
Testimonials
As a professional coach and facilitor, Cathy posseses a clear, almost instinctual
insight into the issues presented to her by her clients. She is able to draw profound
insights from her clients with crystal clear and often very direct questions, but always
expressed with warmth and humour. Coupled with a bubbly and energetic style, Cathy is a sheer joy to work with. And I always look forward to working with her!!
Anna, Company Director
"I've been focusing a lot of my attention on assumptions recently - a direct consequence of the True Colours Workshop. I realised that I had been dreadful at jumping to conclusions and, rather than challenge people - or at least to check my understanding of something they had done or said - I had had a lifelong habit of mulling it over privately ... and tending to catastrophise.
These tendencies have, I feel, been interpreted by some people at work as an "insecurity" - and some have shown an unwillingness to let me take on roles which I know I can do, and do well - because they seem to fear there will be risk (to myself and others) if I don't succeed. That has led to impatience and distrust of their true motives on my part. But I realised that the main problem was that I was assuming they were making those interpretations of my behaviour. They might not have been, but I was probably giving off a vibe that said "I know you don't think I can do this, and maybe I can't" instead of "You may be doubting that I can make a success of this, but I know I can, and I will show you I can".
Today, for example, I have been delighted with my "guts" in standing up to a forceful character who was sidelining me unjustifiably. I put my case, cited previous achievements, challenged the person to give me evidence for where I had not delivered in the past and generally stood up for myself. I haven't necessarily got the outcome I am after (I won't know that for a while yet) but, simply having spoken up for myself and not gone away to lick my wounds in silence (which some people obviously interpret as sulking), I can hold my head up higher. I've made a stand, caused people to think twice about what I am capable of, and invited them to think again rather than discounting me. It feels good! I can directly link this back to the "challenging assumptions" element of the workshop - challenging my own assumptions about myself and my abilities, as much as being bolder about checking/questioning the assumptions others may have been making about me."
Anon
"It is without reservation that I sincerely recommend a number of sessions with Cathy as a matter of course. I found all my sessions insightful and very much thought provoking. On a personal level, I found myself actually talking about what my own values, aspirations and goals actually were, rather than the unconscious thinking that I would normally carry out. The excercises that we undertook allowed me to focus, prioritise, plan and subsequently decide on goals that I genuinely wish to accomplish, rather than achieve goals that I thought I wanted to achieve. Cathy's counsel has given me a new and much improved clarity of purpose."
Colin, Civil Servant
"Cathy coached me through an uncomfortable phase and helped me to confront difficult issues in order to move on. She has an empathetic and 'safe' style whilst being straightforward in the way that she communicates with me as her client. She calls on her intuition and life experience to bring really helpful and new insights. I will always appreciate how she has helped me."
Liz, Consultant
As a coach I found Cathy to be incredibly astute as she helped me challenge my thinking beyond my normal parameters. Cathy enabled me to look beyond my learnt corporate behaviours and explore my real strengths and motivations. Cathy's coaching style is gentle but strong, warm, incredibly focussed and inspirational. Her style of coaching enables exploration and stretching of new ideas and motivations. As a corporate HR Director I cannot recommend her approach strongly enough - she creates a new dimension of individual thinking. "
Jane, HR Director
Cathy has facilitated a number of events for me and has always achieved a successful outcome. She is particularly adept at getting groups to think about the actions they need to take, diverting them from concentrating on external factors which they can't control. She is extremely good at judging the mood in the room and getting the energy flowing in the right direction. Equally at home with senior executives or junior teams, she adapts her style to get the best out of the people she is working with. Cathy is a thorough professional and I'd be happy to recommend her to any group, company or organisation that needs a top quality facilitator.
Helen, Senior Manager
"Cathy Dean colourfully coached me for half-a-dozen sessions through the autumn of 2009. Coaching was a new experience for me – and as such always worth trying. My background as both a teacher of yoga and of literature is very deeply concerned with analysis and understanding, and so I was interested in what an external voice could help me to learn about myself.
The process required a very honest investigation of the self, and Cathy was always supportive, sensitive and reflective in her inputs. She judged accurately when to prompt, and when to let me lead myself. She listened as effectively as she spoke – and that’s a rare quality!
The sessions were carried out with the professionalism one would expect – but also with a great deal of humour and warmth which made them a pleasure rather then a chore to attend.
Thanks, Colourful Coach!"
Adam, Teacher
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