About me

Inner Life Skills
Master Coach
2023

Inner Life Skills
Enneagram Coach
2023

Inner Life Skills
Empower Coach
2023

Qualifications

University of Stellenbosch
B.Eng (Chem)
1986

University of Stellenbosch
MBA (Cum Laude)
2003

T.R.E.D.

Think. Reflect. Explore. Discover.

This is pretty much a summary of my approach to coaching. First of all - I don't have the answers! Coaching is not about a coachee coming with a list of questions to life's challenges and the coach providing the answers. This is not what coaching is about. A coach is a FACILITATOR, a PARTNER, a CO-TRAVELER on the coachee's road of discovery. In order to achieve this, we THINK together, we REFLECT together, we EXPLORE different possibilities and options, and we DISCOVER the best way forward.

I furthermore believe in pushing the boundaries with a coachee. If you are serious about growth and development, you want to be pushed hard to think, reflect, explore, and discover. This is what I call PROVOCATIVE coaching. I will at times push you to think harder and deeper. To get past the "lazy thinking" and the "lazy doing" that we often get used to. By challenging you, we can climb higher mountains, get a better view, clear away the clutter, and get to the essence of what is really true and important.

I believe we all have the answers inside of us. We know best what is best for us. But sometimes we are uncertain and doubtful, sometimes we are scared to go there and be truthful with ourselves, sometimes we take the easy road out and don't want to do the hard work. Sometimes we need a push, a nudge, a prod. Sometimes we need a THINKING PARTNER to listen to us and help us get clarity.

That is how real growth and development, and sometimes life-changing and transformative change, takes place.

My Philosophy and Approach

Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.

Been there, done that, got the
t-shirt

I'm an experienced Manager and Leader, and a qualified Chemical Engineer and MBA-graduate (Cum Laude) from the University of Stellenbosch.

I have more than 35 years of experience in manufacturing, including: detergents (Unilever), fertilizer (Kynoch Fertilizer/AECI), plastics (Macbean Plastics), glass-fibre (Flowtite Vectus/Owens Corning), ammunition (Somchem), and printing (Rotolabel/Bidvest).

I held many different positions as Process Engineer, Factory Manager, Operations Manager, Project Manager, Manufacturing Director, Managing Director, and currently I'm a Managing Executive.

During my career I have led highly specialised teams in a project environment, and have run companies with multi-disciplinary teams (sales and marketing, production, engineering, technical, health and safety, finance and accounting, human resources).

I'm therefore an experienced Manager and Leader, having learnt and honed the skills through education, training, and real-life experience of successes and failures.

EXPERIENCE

The full story
For those who made
it down this far.

I am a qualified chemical engineer and hold an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch. I have more than 35 years experience in different manufacturing environments and in many different leadership roles. My current full-time role is that of a Managing Executive in a label-printing company with about 180 staff members.

Throughout my career as engineer and manager, I have had to work with and through people to achieve a great number of business-related goals. I understand the importance of goal-setting, building a team of competent people through selection and training, aligning team members to a common goal, motivating and leading a team to achieve these goals, giving recognition, engaging with individuals and groups, having the difficult and uncomfortable conversations with team members, and all the other tasks and responsibilities expected of a leader.

My definition of leadership is simple: achieving results through people! I believe in the potential of one and the power of many. I believe that each person in the organisation, irrespective of his/her position or job title, is an important and critical cog in the organisational machinery. Each person deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity - even when difficult conversations are necessary. Even when a conversation leads to a parting-of ways, the person deserves to be treated respectfully.

I believe in the power of leadership engagement. This is a leader's responsibility. And engagement does not mean sending out emails and memorandums. It means one-on-one, one-to-few, and one-to-many in-person engagement. It means really listening, checking in, giving a hug, giving a smile, sharing a joke, having a cup of coffee, sharing experiences, telling stories. Nothing beats face-to-face, in-person engagement!

Working with people, training them, encouraging them to be their best, walking besides them when times are challenging, mentoring, and coaching them have always been part of the way I lead. It was therefore a natural extension for me to become a qualified coach, not only to improve my skills in my workplace, but also to assist others to become better versions of themselves.

At the start of 2023 I enrolled in the Master Coach course at ILS (InnerLifeSkills) and qualified a few months later. I also completed an advanced course (Empower Coach) and later completed my Enneagram Coach qualification through ILS.

Now that I'm nearing the end of my working career and will be retiring from the corporate world in a few years, I wished I had a coach when I was younger and sometimes so uncertain and doubtful about the next steps in my life. Although I had good mentors (mostly bosses) during my career that helped me tremendously as an engineer and leader, I now know that I would have benefitted hugely from coaching. Although I'm happy with my decisions and choices in my life, I have this nagging feeling that I probably could have done better if I had more guidance. It feels like something is missing, and coaching could have helped me to do better in many areas of my life.

I believe that I have the knowledge, experience, and wisdom (and the scars and the t-shirts) to be able to share with others and help others to become better versions of themselves and more fulfilled.

I believe that all growth and development start with the SELF. Whether you want to grow and develop as a leader, as a team member, as a partner or parent, or whether you are faced with difficult decisions about careers or any form of transition, it all starts with individual growth and development. You cannot be a better leader if you are not a better SELF. You cannot be a better partner if you are not a better SELF. Any journey of improvement or betterment starts with the SELF. Individual growth and development leads to growth and development in other areas.

My "noble goal" is linked to this: to help others to become better at whatever it is they want to do, by first becoming better as individuals. And in the process of growing and developing as individuals, my hope is that these persons will go forth and play a massive role in making our world a better place to live in...

Book a
discovery call

Let's get to know each other and help me understand your needs — no strings attached.

Once I get your message, I will send you a Calendly link to choose a meeting day and time (South African) that is convenient for you.