Syntagm > Developing People > About Us | Valerie Fawcett

 

Valerie Fawcett, Principal Consultant BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), Assoc CIPD Certified Learning Practitioner with TrainerBase

I have been facilitating people in their performance development and personal development since 1990. I have a pragmatic approach, taking from my research and experience what I feel will be most helpful to each individual or group of learners. I provide training or coaching in face-to-face group or individual sessions, and individual telephone sessions. I find that there are three main areas which people at any level may need to address to learn and make changes:

 

• Actions/behaviour - this may involve conscious awareness and decisions to change behaviour and/or skills training
• Thoughts/attitudes - awareness of how people's thoughts and attitudes are affecting their behaviour and emotions is often an important step in achieving change and realisation of potential.  In order to "think outside the box" people need to become aware of their own personal box!
• Emotions - emotional awareness of self and others and the ability to manage emotions can be a key factor in personal development and successful leadership.

My own professional training enables me to make use of psychological resources such as cognitive-behavioural techniques, personality profiling and Transactional Analysis as well as skills teaching in my work.  I have been privileged to work with some of the leading personal development trainers in the world and I regularly extend my skills with research and training. 

I am licensed to provide profiling in the Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) for individuals and teams, the Type Dynamics Indicator (TDI) for individuals, the Management Team Roles Indicator (MTR-i) for teams and the 15FQ+ personality traits profile for individuals.

For details of my approach to one-to-one coaching see my Coaching page.

For an overview of the training courses I offer, see my Home page.

 

My qualifications include:

Degrees in Psychology and English

Postgraduate Certificate in Social Sciences from the Open University

Certificate in Training and Development from the ITD (now the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)

Diplomas in Coaching and Mentoring at levels 5 (Management) and 7 (Executive) from the Institute of Leadership and Management

National Open College Certificate in Designing and Writing E-Learning Content.

Certificates for three years of training in Transactional Analysis

Primary Certificate in Occupational and Organisational Stress Management

My previous experience

Before moving into training I spent 15 years in educational publishing, where I rose through the ranks to become a manager responsible for planning and producing a publishing programme to a projected turnover. I therefore have experience of managing others and of setting and working to budgets and business plans. My work involved influencing others in a team both inside and outside the organisation and required good interpersonal skills and organisation.

Writing and editing of training/educational materials/e-learning

Alongside my training and coaching, I write and edit training and educational materials including e-learning (see also my E-learning page).  I use my experience in educational publishing with my training skills and professional training in e-learning, and can also combine these to produce blended learning programmes.

My professional memberships: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, British Psychological Society, Association for Coaching

Comments about me from participants on my courses:

• "Excellent. Very high quality."
• "An excellent facilitator, helpful, firm, discreet, open, great timing, and an admirable and intelligent player in this role.”
• "Helped to create a good learning atmosphere."
• “Very professional – excellent coaching skills.”
• "Well organized, well prepared and obviously experienced."
• "Friendly, approachable and made us feel at ease."
• "Enjoyable approach - good mix of theory, anecdote and practical."
• ”Very helpful with individual issues brought up during course of each day.”

Testimonials from training clients

"Valerie designed and ran an excellent workshop on team working for my department at the Open University. Her careful research, consultation and preparation, together with skilful facilitation, meant that the day was very well-received. The activities Valerie put together were thought-provoking and specifically suited to our own needs. I am sure our working practices will be enhanced as a result."
Karen Kear, ICT Department, Open University.

"A highly-organised and thoughtful professional who gains a good understanding of the needs of her clients. Her style is inclusive and outcome-driven and she manages to achieve the right balance of formality and informality in her sessions. She inspires confidence."
Sue Bale, Publishing Director, Macmillan Education

“Valerie's work has a depth and insight based on careful research and thought. She is not afraid to challenge assertively and earns respect for this. The words integrity, quality and challenge come to mind. She also has a realistic awareness of organisational needs when working at a personal level with individuals which I find helpful. “
Rosie Hawkes, HR Manager, OPP

Testimonials from coaching clients

"Valerie gave me some managerial coaching recently.   Her perception built on many years of personal experience, allied to a sound understanding of the psychology of management, greatly assisted me in managing several highly unusual and problematic issues I was dealing with at the time.   I would have no hesitation in recommending Valerie to other managers in the hope that they would benefit similarly."

Wylie Horn, Section Manager, NSMS (Network Systems Management Service), University of Oxford

 

 “Personal coaching has been very valuable in supporting my learning and development.  It has refreshed the inherently positive energy which sustains growth and given me strategies to use when I lose ‘the brighter picture.’ “

Eleanor Wadge, Senior Manager, Quality and Curriculum, Oxfordshire Adult Learning

 

“I thought it was incredibly valuable.  I didn’t really understand the concept of coaching in a business sense, and I thought it was great.  I would definitely recommend the process, and Valerie Fawcett, to other people who wish to progress.”

Victoria Pace, Senior Client Manager, Sport England

 

“I went on a standard management course about four years ago.  I must say that personal coaching has proved to be much more useful and has, I think, greater ‘stickability’ because I could learn directly from my own experiences.  ”

NHS Senior Manager

 

“I feel very pleased with the way it went.  I feel that I have more insight into why I react as I do in certain circumstances and have acquired some tools to deal with my reactions.  I am also aware that this is just the beginning and that I need to go on working at these different ways of thinking if I am not to lose what I have started to understand.“

Project Manager, Publishing

 

The courses outlined on these pages were developed to meet client needs and I am happy to tailor new courses. Recommendations from previous users are available for all courses. Clients range from local government and NHS trusts to some of Britain's largest publishers, manufacturing companies and retailers. (Click here for a list of clients.)