It is a great pleasure and honour to share my experience as a coachee with Lesley Lee. When I contacted her, I was asking for guidance, to free up some mental space and find clarity in my many personal projects and professional goals. I remember, as if it was yesterday, describing the “tsunami” of ideas and feelings I was experiencing, with a new married life, a new baby, an exciting but demanding managerial position (and considering advancement and perhaps new profesional horizons) while looking to have a healthier life style, amongst other desires and needs. And all of that was to flourish in happiness and peace of mind.
Nada mas? This was not too large of an order for Lesley! We established regular sessions (weekly) and an ultimate goal and a tentative plan to address these, little by little.
And here we are now, 7 months after we started, and I see the progress made on all fronts. I have more clarity on my deep motivations to act in given circumstances, to respond to a stressful situation, to get organized, or not, to adopt or to fear authority, to provide all answers to colleagues or help them find their own, etc. The good news is that what i discover and improve on the personal side necessarily improves my professional life, and vice versa, because in the end, I am the same person in these different realms!
Lesley is extremely creative and resourceful. To invite me into self-exploration, she tries different routes according to where I am, whether i am tired from a stressful day at work or not. That includes holding the sessions in both English and Castellano, however it feels! She even helped me once solve a migraine problem by doing meditation and visualization. But her talent that impresses me the most it is her incredible listening capability. She can recall specific situations I have evoked months ago and make a link with what I am discussing at present in a session. I noticed that it is powerful and has helped me make linkages. Since we started working together, i am threading the pieces of my own puzzle. I now see a fabric in the makings and clarity emerging, giving me as I go a little more mental space to maximize my creative solving capacities. Ultimately, this will allow me to tackle my many personal and professional dreams and feel more fulfilled.
Thank you so much Lesley!
Pascale T. Deputy director in an International Development organization