Testimonials

Executive Coaching

  • I had been aggressively recruited by a much larger competitor to grow their market share and turn around their slowing growth in sales. I brought a clear vision for change to my new firm and, as part of my package, was offered 6 months of executive coaching to help me assimilate into the new company. I was not sure I wanted this but coaching was something the CEO really believed in and it turned out to be a great experience. My coach helped me frame a transition plan to assess the culture and its readiness for change. This showed me that I would need to modify the approach I had planned. She taught me to use open ended questions to obtain the relevant internal and external data for decisions and helped me build credibility across the organization. She helped me identify several performance improvement opportunities which gave me visible success within the first six months.
    VP Marketing, Consumer Products
  • I had been promoted and now previous peers were reporting to me. I was also responsible for integrating a new acquisition with a very different culture from ours. My coach gave me the support and reinforcement I needed and helped me plan my transition to this new role. She helped me listen more carefully to my staff, old and new, and we were able to bring the organizations together successfully very quickly. My peers, at first resentful about my promotion, are now working effectively and successfully under my leadership.
    VP Administration, Financial Services
  • Alison and Lisa were fabulous at clearly articulating ways I could start to break down silos across the organization. We have made significant progress this year and morale is much better.
    New Divisional President, Consumer Products

Leadership Development

  • You really helped me understand the changing nature of my role in my new position so I could successfully delegate tasks I would have done myself. I was able to concentrate on the bigger picture, the strategic aspects of our company plan. I am now confident in my role and I was rated "outstanding" in my last performance appraisal.
    Director, Real Estate Conglomerate
  • I would never have been as successful in making the change into corporate management without you. Thank you for all your advice and insights. I appreciated the candid feedback about my time management in particular.
    Manager, Manufacturing

Career Coaching

  • Alison helped me and my team reduce turnover and make smarter hiring and job filling decisions by really looking at people's natural abilities and where they would contribute most and be most satisfied in our company. We have been able to reduce our hiring costs significantly in the last three years.
    President, Manufacturing

Pre-Retirement Coaching

  • I had no idea what I would do in retirement, all I knew was work. I had been with the same company all my career but we had mandatory retirement at 65. I was in great financial shape but what would I do? We explored the 15 retirement success factors and developed a personal retirement plan including interests I had not thought about in years. We also developed a plan to transition my work areas of expertise so that my company could fully benefit from my legacy. A great feeling and, one year into retirement I am busier and more fulfilled than I was at work. I never thought that could happen.
    Retired Financial Services Executive

Finance For Non-Financial Professionals

  • Alison made learning the fundamentals of finance easy to understand and made it relevant to our business. She really took the time to give us examples from our business and I now understand how I can support my manager better through our budgeting process.
    Branch Manager, Education
  • I really got a lot from the CFO speak seminar and the practical examples Alison used from our business helped me understand the relationship between what we do in the branches and the financial responsibilities we have to our shareholders. Also, Alison sought me out in the break to make sure I had understood her answer to my question. That was above and beyond my expectations.
    H/R Director, Pharmaceuticals

Impactful Presentations

  • I had always been afraid of public speaking and no amount of courses designed to help did. I would get a little better for a short time but nothing stuck until I worked with Alison Sommers. She worked with me over a six month period, reinforcing tips and techniques she taught me and using real presentations from my work. I never expected the breadth of support I was given and in my recent review my new boss cited presentations as one of my strengths. Little does she know and it is thanks to Alison.
    VP Finance, Financial Services

Powerful Communications Skills

  • I was so frustrated with my team. We would make decisions but no one would follow through and nothing would change. Alison helped us understand our different working styles through the personal inventories assessments and demonstrated one on one with me how I could communicate more clearly. I had no idea that I was sending mixed messages and not hearing what others were saying. Now we are making progress and I'm getting on great with my kids too.
    Plant Manager, Manufacturing