Coaching testimonials

Gai represents a new wave of coaching today that rivals will struggle to   match.

Her impressive commercial background (and networks) combined with her passion for human psychology means that Gai has significant depth in life, business and personal coaching and she traverses these boundaries with ease for the benefit of the client. I’ve worked with Gai for about 8 months now and she has taken me through a process that ensured we canvas the issues, explore the unsaids and set out a plan that is actionable and achievable. I would definitely recommend Gai and am happy to be contacted for more information.

Jodi Tong, NZ Strategy and Marketing Consultant; Freelancer

Gina Garvey on Executive Coaching with Gai Foskett

After 15 minutes of sitting and talking with her, Gai wisely and intuitively discovered that I had another reason for being there, possibly known to me or possibly not. I had a creative project I had been putting off that meant a great deal to me. Gai has helped make that journey from feeling stuck and fearful of change, of taking action of what would happen if I did do what I wanted to do, to doing it. What sets Gai apart from other coaches is the incredible amount of tools she brings to each individual. Her own extensive business experience, she has been there and done that. She has hard skills in coaching and a methodology and it works. She has compassion and empathy. It is who she is and she has experienced major change many times herself and knows how it feels. She also has amazing skills in NLP, and knowledge on how the brain works to make changes.

She helped me understand my beliefs, use my strengths. We set some creative dreams and goals. Some were incredibly scary but I achieved that and took another leap to write, produce, direct and star in my own show. It got great reviews. It was fantastic, but more important than that was the feeling that I had climbed my Everest. The thing that had felt impossible for years and I had achieved it. I could not have done it without Gai, no question. If you have a dream that is just a little secret that only you know about, ring Gai.

Gina Garvey

Working with a personal coach makes perfect sense

Working with a personal coach is nothing I would have thought of doing previously however when you think about it, it makes perfect sense – It’s all about stepping back, reflecting and working “on” your life rather than just existing “in” it. Gai absolutely gave me the tools to identify where I wanted to end up and the path to get there. Her friendly easy approach (whilst still keeping me on track) was a pleasure to work with and I would recommend her and the process to anyone that wants to succeed – no matter what “success” means to them.”

S Ferris
Head of Product and Logistics

I now have a clear understanding of my vision and how to get there..

I worked with Gai during 2012/2013.

Gai won’t take flakey answers. She revisits her questions until there is an insight or idea that is valuable and useful.

I love the way Gai coaches….strong when it matters and a hand to hold during the entire journey. Gai has given me a raft of tools and processes to use as I address/move forward in the next exciting stage of my planning and career.

Gai’s impact for me was very strong. Gai sets very clear boundaries that allows her to maximise the gains in each session. Her follow up and assistance after the session is fantastic, particularly for someone like me who although is planned is always finding it hard to create the time. The guidance notes and paperwork really assist in jogging the memory and focusing on the key points from each session.

From the coaching I have greater self-awareness and understanding of what makes me tick. I now have a really clear understanding of my vision and what I need to do to get there.  I now have a rich box of tools to use and apply in future.

 

Bradley Tong, NZ

I am thrilled with the growth Gai enabled for both my business and for me personally

Working with Gai for the second time as my Coach allowed me to make some tough decisions regarding my business that I had been delaying for far too long. Gai has an innate and very well honed ability to get to the heart of a matter, facilitate decision making and inspire confidence to move ahead. I am thrilled with the growth Gai enabled for both my business and for me personally and have since recommended Gai to a number of my friends and colleagues.

Belinda Cordina
Director, My Invites - Sydney Australia.

She has a wealth of knowledge

“We have been working with Gai across 3 different businesses. During this time, she has provided coaching, training and facilitation services covering a wide variety of topics. Gai has proved to be a fantastic resource to call upon, when we have had to motivate, train and inspire our team, or to help steer the direction of our various businesses.

“She has a wealth of knowledge in many aspects of both business and personal development and personally, I have found this invaluable. It is our intention, that Gai remains an integral part of our company development structure and as such, I would recommend her services to any business, no matter how large or small.”

Andrew Pullen
Chief Executive Officer, Vortex Spas, vortexspas.co.nz

The certainty to say no

I was fortunate enough to have Gai as my coach as I had decided to leave a busy role, and was contemplating my next move (more family time / bigger role / start a business).

The process that Gai guided me through and the conversations that took place over the months of our sessions, resulted in a clarity of purpose and confidence in personal direction that I had not previously experienced. This clarity was such that soon after finishing coaching with Gai I had the certainty of direction to turn down an opportunity leading a large NZ sales team. The role was exciting but the timing was not right – I would have made the wrong decision and taken the role had it not been for the coaching.

Now I could not be in a better position, my personal direction remains clear, and I continue to be excited about the future.

John Ferris

I can not speak more highly of the services that I have, and continue to receive from Gai

“I have been working with Gai Foskett for the last 12 months. I was introduced to Gai through a very satisfied third party referral, following a business seminar we had both attended.

“I met with Gai, on average, once every fortnight and she acts as my coach and, to a very large degree, my mentor in the ongoing development of my Wellington and South Island Businesses.

“Gai is a very unique Lady. Strong, sincere, honest and forthright are a few adjectives that would best describe my experiences of her over this period. Gai has an ability to draw from me the ideas that I have for my own business. But most importantly, she draws on my own experience to make those ideas become a reality.

“As a direct result of the work I have done with Gai in this short time, I have renewed focus on some key objectives within my business. I have finally realised that I have a family that is important to me and that they also require my time and I now have planning processes in place that helped lead me to a trading result which outstripped forecasts by a significant degree in 2006/07. And even better – I had a two week, uninterrupted holiday that I would never have had, had it not been for Gai.

“I can not speak more highly of the services that I have, and continue to receive from Gai. I had a great deal of value in the sessions we have and would sincerely and unreservedly recommend Gai to any party seeking a coach and mentor with the commitment, integrity and skill that she possesses.”

Graeme D Smith
Senior Operations Manager , Compass Group New Zealand Ltd

Gai had many tools and resources that I found very useful

I found Gai to be extremely flexible around my changing circumstances, supportive and encouraging. The initial 12 weeks ended up being spread over several months as a result of career changes and other areas of change. I found the process to be enlightening and enriching.

“I discovered many things about my personal beliefs and values through her facilitation. Gai challenged and pushed me when appropriate and I not only achieved the initial goals I identified but also achieved a couple of others. The work I did with Gai has proved to be a very useful foundation for a number of areas in my life which I have continued to build on. I would highly recommend Gai to anyone who is committed to self development and awareness.

“Her previous work experience in corporate management was very useful to me as I felt I was talking to someone who could understand the situations I was facing in relation to the day to day challenges of corporate life. Gai had many tools and resources that I found very useful and still use and she referred me to other books and websites that have proved useful references. Coaching has had a very positive impact on my life.

“I have developed far greater self-awareness, clarity on direction as well as implemented some positive new habits – both personal and work related.”

Tracey O’Callaghan

My life has really turned around

“I have been working with Gai as my coach for the last year and it has been an amazing year! My life has really turned around and the coaching I have received has been a big part of that.

“Early in the piece Gai helped me set a goal for my business of “working where the juice is”. I already had a business but was less than inspired about some of the work I was taking on. Gai helped me take an objective look at the work I was doing and worked with me to develop greater clarity about the kind of work that would be really ‘juicy’ for me.

“I have now started a new business which brings together my passion for Adventure with Coaching – and it is called ‘Adventure Coaching’!

“The reasons that Gai’s coaching really made a difference for me were:

She kept me very focussed on clear and achievable actions

She provided strong accountability so that my old procrastination and ‘slippery fish’ did not get away with doing nothing

The tools that she provided in terms of decision making and thinking I now use all the time

She is always friendly and fun

“I recommend Gai as a coach if you really want to take a leap forward in your life.”

Sarah Wilson
Director, Adventure Coaching Limited

Gai will coach you towards your highest level of potential, and then some!

“To make my life and business reach new heights, I chose a coach who takes coaching to new heights. I chose Gai Foskett. There are no buts about it, Gai will coach you towards your highest level of potential, and then some!”

David Savage
Elevate Coaching, New Zealand

My success and growth in business has been incredible!!

‘I my time working with Gai as my business coach I received many understandings about myself. The greatest gift was the understanding of the immense power I had as an individual to effect my actions and behaviour through the way in which I chose to think! With the help of Gai I was able to whoosh away my cant’s, and shouldn’t and replace them with amazingly powerful ‘I can’s’ and ‘I will’s’. As a result my success and growth in business has been incredible!!

“The knowledge of the practice of NLP is embodied in Gai Foskett. Thank you Gai.”

Sarah O’Connell
Transformational Entrepreneur, Speaker

We worked through a range of executive coaching, leadership coaching and personal leadership coaching.

I’m a nurse in my 50’s working in Australia in the remote outback at the northern most tip of Western Australia.

Less than 2 years ago I was working in Wellington the capital of New Zealand in a government organisation. I had been working in government for about 8 years or so. I started my coaching relationship with Gai Foskett and we worked through a range of executive coaching, leadership coaching and personal leadership coaching exercises.

Gai introduced me to a number of tools that helped me to better understand myself  and how I ticked so I got to look at what my strengths were, what I valued and how I tackled things. I learned a great deal about myself and then we worked through a number of processes. I started looking at my goals and along the way I had some very challenging work issues to deal with. Gai supported me with those and gave me some great tools to help me deal with them.

We worked together for a number of weeks and eventually I worked out that I didn’t really want to be working in government organisation.  So I looked at what I wanted to be doing and what I wanted to be doing was going and working in a remote area and dong some very meaningful nursing work and that’s what I am doing now.

Coaching gives you tools to help you with the rest of your life. With  personal leadership coaching you’ve got decision making tools, you understand yourself, you understand your values and so you can think, ’right, does this fit with my values. does this fit with what gives me meaning?”

I find that I am much more able to make decisions that are good for me and make me happy and focus on me.  It doesn’t mean to say that when you’ve got coaching and you’ve got all these enablers that your life is going to be wonderful and smooth sailing but it does mean that you’ve got tools that you are able to tackle things with.  I’ve still had a lot of challenges come my way but I have been able to deal with them and reflect on things and think ‘no, this doesn’t fit with my values, I’m going to move on and find something that works better for me, so I’m feeling very happy and very content and I have a great deal of meaning in my life. Just little things like I’m more fit and 40kgs lighter than when I started coaching, so my life is very, very different and I feel very positive about that.

Faith Roberts

I am delighted with the outcomes of my personal goal

“I was coached by Gai in 14 sessions over a six month period in 2005. I was very keen and interested to experience coaching although I knew very little about what this really entailed in practice.

“Gai was very clear and structured from the outset. She was firm about the need to set clearly defined goals – both work and personal ones – and about the need to bring a certain amount of discipline and rigour to the process. While daunting, this was essential and ensured that I committed to the process and the work it required.

“I had not thought through what I hoped to achieve from the process and it was very valuable to be required to think about this at the. Having the scene, I found Gai to be incredibly patient and supportive. Knowing that she was committed to me and my goals, spurred me on to commit to do the work and follow up on our discussions wholeheartedly.

“I realised that I was not doing the agreed actions for fear of “being told off” (a driver I’ve often recognised in myself) or “because work are paying” but because of ’enthusiasm and commitment to the goal. Although she was very keen to maintain the structure of our sessions, she was incredibly flexible when issues arose that I urgently needed to address.

“Two particular situations needed specific attention and both provided opportunities to experience how the theory behind the coaching process could be put into practice. I was able to learn how to manage a difficult conversation and a daunting meeting powerfully and with confidence.

“The coaching process guided me through these challenges and has enabled me to develop new, more supportive habits in my everyday . I would thoroughly recommend Gai as a coach and I recommend the methods she bases her coaching on. I have grown enormously as a professional over the last six months.

“I have far more courage to speak out and make my views known; I am clearer in my communications and have become more decisive in terms of prioritising my time. At home, I am delighted with the outcomes of my personal goal; a mosaic mirror and a mosaic drinks table. Both took some time to complete, but I am very proud of my ability to “do them properly” rather than cut corners and can thoroughly enjoy them as works of art.”

J.I, PhD
Policy Manager, Public Service, NZ

I unconditionally recommend the value and benefit of coaching and in particular Gai’s

I recently completed a course of coaching with Gai Foskett. She came highly recommended which encouraged me to participate and overcome my initial reaction to the concept of coaching, being that I did not need coaching. I discovered many things about myself with the benefit of her guidance in my thinking and also about coaching itself.

This is a great journey for people, especially successful business people, to undertake and I would be very surprised if you did not learn something of great benefit along the way. Gai is not there to teach you, advise you or tell you what to do. She is there to help you think deeply about the things you want to change in the many facets of life and then guide you in achieving that change.

I unconditionally recommend the value and benefit of coaching and in particular Gai’s open approachable coaching manner. Besides being highly qualified and experienced in the business world she is easy to talk to and I felt very comfortable opening up to her and have her there on this journey with me.

Jane Stevenson
Partner, Kapiti Law

I’d strongly recommend Gai to anyone

Six months’ worth of coaching with Gai has proved to be a wise, worthwhile and highly enjoyable investment that has, and will continue to make a significant difference to my on-going personal and professional development.

Not only did her professionalism, generosity of spirit, commitment and patient support help me to set and achieve three important goals: she has also been the ideal role model of the skills and qualities it takes to be an excellent coach.

With her strong solutions focus and a toolkit bulging with techniques, knowledge, wisdom and experience, I’d strongly recommend Gai to anyone looking to set and achieve inspiring, even life-changing goals. Thanks Gai … and for the many laughs we had along the way!

Katherine L
public servant July 2008

I am forever grateful of connecting with Gai

Gai, is an Inspiration when coaching. She shows you how to change your mind set with amazing tools and self-awareness. You start to Believe that you can achieve anything You want.

You feel the changes happening within and around you and you start to recognize those moments of “bliss”. Gai has an incredible knack of making You an Inspiration to Yourself. I am forever grateful of connecting with Gai, to obtain the guidance that I needed to make changes within myself and in all areas of my life.

Jane Madigan
Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, Canada