Maria Hicks

"Working with Maria has been a really eye-opening experience and she has a great knack of asking the right questions to make you really think about your values and approach to work (and life). She also has some very useful insights into how to consider different perspectives and to work more effectively with others. My time with Maria has helped me remove blind spots and has challenged how I think and react in certain scenarios. On top of this, Maria is a thoroughly nice person and facilitates open and honest dialogue with ease. I look forward to our sessions."

"Just a note to thank you again for our 121 session. It was absolutely what I needed to help me navigate myself out of this place of "decision paralysis by fear". You have an absolute talent for this! Thank you again. Really looking forward to working with you in our group sessions."

"Thank you so much for such a brilliant experience… Your counselling was really helpful, enlightening, honest and second to none. You have a great manner consisting of warmth and empathy."

 "Maria is a sensational coach. When I started working with Maria, I had just left a role and was unsure of my next career move. Through her guidance and support she provided me with skills and techniques to reflect, plan and set clear objectives. After the three months, I felt more prepared and confident about my direction, purpose and most importantly, my value. She’s incredibly kind, patient, also so much fun to work with! Would highly recommend her services." 

"Maria helped me massively in terms of helping to prepare for an interview for career progression that I was successful in achieving. I do feel that I have benefited in terms of my mental health and home life from spending time talking to Maria. I have learnt some techniques that I have used at home and for the first time in years I have openly talked about some of the stresses and complexities of my home life with someone outside of my immediate family. This felt like a big weight being lifted from my shoulders" 

 "Since becoming a leader in January 2021, once of the biggest challenges I faced was having conversations with my team. How do I get the best out of them? It was then I got involved with with Maria. Maria changed my thought process from being a mentor (and providing all the answers), to being a coach and empowering my team to think for themselves and allowing them to lead the conversation. It's so easy to fall into the mentoring trap, but coaching gives you the skills and confidence to ask questions, to lead a conversation without leading it, allowing you to get the very best from your team."

 "Maria listened to what I needed rather than following a prescribed format, particularly given I was at quite a difficult point where I couldn’t think straight enough to tie down specific goals. Overall, (coaching) moved me to being back more in control and understanding what was critical to me and I needed to be effective, allowing me to share this with others. " 

"Those who work with me probably think I am a loud,  brash, sometimes annoying person who has no problem communicating with people.  But like many, this is only one facet of the person that is me.

Another facet is imposter syndrome, which I have spent my entire working life managing in every role that I have had.  It was a particular problem for me when talking to people at management level. 

In a relatively short period Maria was able to help me see the root causes of my concerns and help me identify key things that were plain as day but I could not see, things that are beacons of my skills and abilities that have totally changed my outlook.

I am still the same me, but now the demons have gone and my future has expanded beyond belief."

"My coaching sessions have been fascinating; I’ve found some of the exercises quite challenging, but by trusting in the process, and yourself, I have learnt a great deal about how important it is to reframe situations and view them from multiple perspectives. 

I feel comfortable being very open with you, and this, combined with the wide range of subjects we’ve discussed, has helped me understand more about myself, how I tackle my work and the emotions I feel along the way. I have already started putting some of what we’ve discussed into practice. 

I am enjoying the process of seeing how this is changing my approach to delegation and control at work and also how I can establish a better balance of time for my home life along with feeling calmer."

"I have had two career coaching sessions with Maria, who I thought was extremely motivating, understanding, and clearly qualified to help me on my journey. I wanted help with making decisions, accepting difficulties faced during tough times in my career, and moving on towards a more positive and calm future. 

Maria offered great support with this and sent me exercises I could do outside of the sessions to help. She also worked out a payment plan that suited my needs, which was very accommodating and kind. Overall, Maria was reassuring and helpful and I won't hesitate to return if I need more support."

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