coaching

Know Limits offers a diverse range of coaching services tailored to your needs depending on your individual circumstances, we can support you in your personal life, business or group setting.

Coaching is unlocking your potential to maximise your own performance.

Know Limits partners with their clients utilising a thought-provoking and creative process, that will inspire you to maximise your personal and professional potential.

Know Limits acknowledge their clients are the experts on their personal and professional issues. Know Limits consider their clients as resourceful and creative people from the outset. Choosing Coaching with Know Limits means you can utilise a range of methods including the following: face to face, online, individual, couple, relationship, family, team, business, peer and group. Note, family is who individuals view as their family and may include, but is not limited to adult to adult relationships, guardian/ dependent relationships, sibling and extended family relationships.

When is comes to business coaching, Know Limits prides itself on working with whole systems in organisations to have a wide reaching and sustainable effect.

life coaching

  • In Life Coaching the focus is on you and not the coach. You provide the agenda and bring your own life experience. As a professional Life Coach, Mandy uses a combination of different tools, powerful questions, techniques and theories that offer you a structure for achieving long term results in your life.

  • • Personal vision for your life.

    • Identifying your Values and goal identification

    • Examination of habits and attitudes.

    • Change of perspective to support your vision.

    • Making life choices that enhance fulfilment, satisfaction and balance.

    • Changes and results that impact positively in all areas of your life. e.g. Career, relationships, family, physical/emotional/ spiritual health, money, fun, leisure.

    • Creating a life where anything is possible.

    • Confidence and motivation in making the right decisions.

    • A passion for living life.

  • You are viewed as a holistic person and Mandy draws upon her wealth of experience to apply the relevant coaching techniques tailored for you.

    One of the many strengths of Know Limits coaching offering is its flexibility, enabling people with different demands and time constraints to take advantage of the process. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two. The advantage of virtual is you can be in any geographical location within the UK and the rest of the world time zone dependent.

    An initial coaching package requires a commitment of 4 months averaging 3 sessions per month (this agreement would be entered into post initial consultation to ensure Know Limits are the right fit for you). You will also have access to Know Limits Life Lessons created from personal and professional experience, to support your learning and development.

  • Relationship Coaching can help individuals and couples learn the tools to make relationships thrive. It can help you overcome current challenges to create a bigger vision, and potential for the future. It is solution focused and for a couple requires a basic level of understanding and emotional intelligence.

  • For an individual, Coaching can increase their chances of attracting the right partner, expand their communication skills and dating tips. It can also provide a reflective space to get clear about what it is a person really wants and values. The relationship an individual has with themselves first is priority so they can increase their chances of attracting a partner who will align themselves with common goals and vision. A newer couple may come to Coaching as they want to prepare themselves to develop their vision for the future, align their goals and values.

    You will explore your partnering and family tree styles and how these impacts on your developing relationship. An established couple may want to re-discover their purpose, vision and love language.

    You may gain a renewed sense of hope in looking at what dreams need to be given time and space to emerge. New ways of communicating may be explored to help a couple identify what the relationship needs and not lose sight of each other in the process.

  • You are viewed as a holistic person and Mandy draws upon her wealth of experience to apply the relevant coaching techniques tailored for you.

    One of the many strengths of coaching is its flexibility, enabling people with different demands and time constraints to take advantage of the process. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two. The advantage of virtual is you can be in any geographical location within the UK and the rest of the world time zone dependent.

    An initial coaching package requires a commitment of 4 months averaging 3 sessions per month. You will also have access to Know Limits Life Lessons created from personal and professional experience, to support your learning and development.

relationship coaching

business coaching

  • This could encompass coaching for individuals within a business, teams, businesses as a whole, leaders, board members, entrepreneurs wanting to start a new venture or business owners who want to level up. Business coaching is all about the pursuit of work goals and business relationship development.

    Know Limits also brings experience of developing their own business over a number of years and their holistic professional experience. This may include relationship skills, conflict resolution and profiling tools.

  • • Strategies to work on the business rather than in it.

    • Objectivity and feedback on blind spots.

    • A listening ear and advisor.

    • Skills to enhance work colleague relationships.

  • Mandy draws upon her wealth of experience to apply the relevant coaching techniques tailored for you, your team or business.

    One of the many strengths of coaching is its flexibility, enabling people with different demands and time constraints to take advantage of the process. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two. The advantage of virtual is you can be in any geographical location within the UK. An additional fee will be added when travelling to a business premise direct.

    There is an option that the Enneagram Profiling Assessment Tool can be utilised within Coaching and Therapy.

    The Enneagram supports the deep work of Coaching and Therapy by providing a Knowledge base that offers a unique awareness of the clients inner experience. It may help clients to quickly identify where they habitually focus their attention and energy. It can also identify inner obstacles and a path for individual change. When used in an intentional way the Enneagram helps create more possibilities for desired results, to be more aware of your impact on others and to be more compassionate with yourself.

    Integrating the Enneagram adds an additional cost to the Coaching and Therapy work. This is flexible and can be utilised at any point in the service.

    LEARN MORE ABOUT ENNEAGRAM

  • The Know Limits Parent Coaching Programme teaches and coaches parents to have positively passionate relationships with their dependants.

    Being a parent/guardian is a lifelong commitment, as dependants change and grow parents/guardians need to evolve with them.While the primary relationship remains the same, the ROLE needs to change for the parent/guardian as their dependant develops.

  • It will teach and coach parents/guardians how to;

    • Connect with your dependant(s)

    • Negotiate without shouting

    • Not get caught up in who is right and wrong

    • Develop and reach your potential and NOT become attached to the problems and behaviour

    • Develop your parenting style to communicate more effectively

    By including the role of active coach, parents can create a space for their children to safely explore their own sense of self, and to help them find meaning in who they are and what they do.

    The skills parents/guardians will develop are;

    • Speaking clearly

    • Listening to understand their dependants viewpoint(s)

    • Staying open to many possibilities

    • Reserving judgement when you do not agree with others viewpoints

    • Promoting responsibility and nourishing independence

  • You are viewed as a holistic person and Mandy draws upon her wealth of experience to apply the relevant coaching techniques tailored for you.

    One of the many strengths of coaching is its flexibility, enabling people with different demands and time constraints to take advantage of the process. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two. The advantage of virtual is you can be in any geographical location within the UK and the rest of the world time zone dependent. An initial coaching package requires a commitment of 4 months averaging 3 sessions per month.

    Parent/guardian coaching may take place as individual, parents as a couple or group sessions. Sessions are initially weekly and then the frequency is mutually agreed depending on need. Each session will cover 8 basic qualities, your own parenting styles, family philosophy and values, while assessing and monitoring progress utilising a range of worksheets. Parents will be encouraged to include their children in gaining feedback on the process where appropriate.

    Organisations who work with parents may want to buy the programme in house. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two.

parent/guardian coaching

  • The Coaching Teens Programme helps teens understand who they are and the unique qualities they have to offer. This means they are more likely to make choices based on THEIR needs and wants, NOT ADULTS needs and wants.

    This in turn will help them to develop their own sense of self-worth, and to help them find their true identities as individuals. This is one of the greatest gifts teens can experience as it will set a great foundation for the rest of their life.

  • The Coaching Teens Programme can benefit the Teen in the following ways;

    • Help them to feel valued as a human being

    • Help them respect and appreciate themselves first. This is turn will allow them to mirror true respect and appreciation for others

    • Help them learn the skill of listening to others

    • Help them develop a desire to interact with others

    • Help them learn when and how to negotiate and compromise

    • Help them want to reach out to others in a more compassionate way

    • Help them feel an important part of society

    • Help them embrace life’s challenges

    The Programme focuses on developing 'transferable life skills' that will impact both in and out of the classroom. It is these fundamental skills that are the foundation for pupils to be able to 'learn' in school as opposed to being 'schooled'.

    The possible outcomes in class are;

    • Increased concentration

    • Engaging with the work and a desire to want to learn and be curious

    • Increased eye contact

    • Engaging respectfully with pupils and teachers

    • Looking forward to coming to school

    • Viewing school as a meaningful and worthwhile place

  • This programme easily complements other initiatives like; PSHE Circles, INSET day workshops, Citizenship modules, Healthy School curriculum, Mental Health in Schools Initiative.

    The Coaching Teens Programme may take place as individual or group sessions normally over a term if in school. If part of other young people’s projects this time period can be negotiated. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two.

    If a parent/carer/guardian buys coaching for their teen a three-way agreement is created from the outset and clear expectations are set. They can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two.

teens coaching

teacher coaching

  • The Know Limits Coaching Teachers programme has 3 options to choose from;

    1) Coaching Teachers to coach pupils

    2) Coaching Teachers to coach their children

    3) Coaching Teachers to coach pupils and children

    Second to parents/guardians, teachers have the biggest influence on the pupils they teach. Most adults can think back to the two teachers they remember at school. One that they really liked and made them feel good. The second is one that made them feel frightened or at worst disinterested in the subject being taught. As a teacher what would you like to be remembered for?

    At Know Limits we believe all teachers go into the job for a number of reasons mainly;

    • Wanting to make a real difference to kids and teens lives

    • Feeling they are doing something worthwhile

    • Enjoying working with kids and teens

    • ‘Living to Work' as opposed to 'Working to Live'.

    • A lasting and meaningful career

    Know Limits provides a Coaching Programme for schools that all staff can be trained in called Dramacoach. Dramacoach combines creative action methods from drama, and coaching tools such as powerful coaching questions, motivational techniques and understanding others Point Of View (POV).

    Creative action methods can include story making and telling, improvisation, role play, movement, mime and props to name a few. In addition it uses a coaching developmental model of 8 qualities and skills covering respect, listening, understanding, appreciation, support, trust, responsibility and independence.

    As a coach having worked with teachers what Mandy sees too often is;

    • Teachers weighed down under paperwork

    • Teachers weighed down under systems over which they feel they have no control

    • Teachers feeling their role to 'teach' has become so much more they cannot cope with it e.g. counsellor, pastoral support, advocate, mediator and so on.

    • Teachers needing to have a wider range of skills to hand to cope with the increasing complex needs of the pupils they are meeting

  • You will learn how you can apply the programme to your own setting and adapt to the young people’s needs including themes such as peer pressure, bullying, exam pressure, dealing with negative thoughts, anxiety, mental health issues, self-harm, low self-esteem, and anger management.

    You will also gain a wider range of skills to cope with the increasing complex needs of the pupil you are meeting. This in turn will increase a sense of agency and influence. The powerful combination of creativity and coaching opens the potential to be open to learning in a practical, thought provoking and fun way. It’s a bit like having two great recipes for cakes. We have taken the best ingredients from both and come up with a fantastic cake.

    Teachers who are parents/guardians themselves also have an added pressure. This is to be seen as the 'expert' with their own children. Teachers will have the same issues to deal with as any other parent but the pressures on themselves and their own kids and teens will generally be higher.

  • Face to face coaching and training days can be established in house or individual staff members can attend external training days.

    Teachers may also fund sessions privately or gain financial school support. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two.

    Coaching Teachers can take place as individual or group sessions.

COACHING HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE PROFESSIONALS (HSCP’s), EMERGENCY & FRONTLINE STAFF

  • This Coaching Programme has 3 options to choose from;

    1) Coaching HSCP's to coach young people they work with.

    2) Coaching HSCP's to coach their children

    3) Coaching HSCP's to coach young people they work with their children

    Coaching HSCP's may take place as individual or group sessions

    As an adult, next to parents and teachers you have the potential to be the biggest influence on the young people you are working with. Know Limits believe most professionals working with young people go in to the job for a number of reasons mainly;

    • Wanting to make a real difference to kids' and teens' lives

    • Feeling they are doing something worthwhile

    • Enjoy working with kids and teens

    • 'Living to Work' as opposed to 'Working to Live’

    • A lasting and meaningful career

    Know Limits provides a Coaching Programme that all staff can be trained in called Dramacoach. Dramacoach combines creative action methods from drama, and coaching tools such as powerful coaching questions, motivational techniques and understanding others Point Of View (POV). Creative action methods can include story making and telling, improvisation, role play, movement, mime and props to name a few. In addition it uses a coaching developmental model of 8 qualities and skills covering respect, listening, understanding, appreciation, support, trust, responsibility and independence.

    As a coach having worked with many Health and Social Care Professionals (HSCP's) what Mandy sees too often is;

    • Colleagues weighed down under paperwork

    • Colleagues weighed down under systems over which they feel they have little or no control

    • Colleagues needing to have a wider range of skills to hand to cope with the increasingly complex needs of the young people they are meeting

  • You will learn how you can apply the programme to your own setting and adapt to the young people’s needs including themes such as peer pressure, bullying, exam pressure, dealing with negative thoughts, anxiety, mental health issues, self-harm, low self-esteem, and anger management.

    You will also gain a wider range of skills to cope with the increasing complex needs of the young people you are meeting. This in turn will increase a sense of agency and influence. The powerful combination of creativity and coaching opens the potential to be open to learning in a practical, thought provoking and fun way. It’s a bit like having to great recipes for cakes. We have taken the best ingredients from both and come up with a fantastic cake.

    Nurses, Social Workers and Police who are parents themselves also have an added pressure. This is to be seen as the 'expert' with their own children. They will have the same issues to deal with as any other parent but the pressures on themselves and their own kids will be generally higher.

  • Face to face coaching and training days can be established in house. Or individual staff members can attend external training days.

    HSCP’s and frontline staff may also fund privately or gain organisational support. You can have virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two.

    Coaching HSCP’s and frontline staff may take place as individual or group sessions.

  • Know Limits provides Head Teachers, Deputy Head Teachers and those in a leadership role an opportunity to reflect on their practise and work.

  • • A safe space to explore the challenges and isolation that can occur with headship and lead roles.

    • Support and an opportunity to develop your mental well-being and resilience.

    • Dedicated time to help support the purpose, passion and values of the leadership role.

    • An opportunity to develop strategies enabling effective work life balance and practice stress management techniques.

    • Time to reflect, assess and evaluate leading effectively and focus on effective leadership styles, including an option of using the Enneagram profiling assessment tool.

    Find more about Know Limits Enneagram services here!

  • You can have individual virtual coaching, face to face coaching with some additional e-mail support, or a combination of the two. These are normally monthly to start with and then flexibility to suit need.

    You can also consider Group Coaching and Action Learning Sets for a number of Schools interested. An Action Learning Set (ALS) is where a group of people within a workplace meet with the intention of solving workplace problems.

    The key aim is to come away with a set of realistic actions that will help solve or understand the issues at hand.

COACHING HEADTEACHERS, DEPUTIES AND LEAD ROLES

what do our clients say?

“I’ve been working with Mandy on a one-to-one basis for three years.

 As someone who had never worked with a life coach before, I wasn’t sure what to expect or if I even needed it. 

 With a mixture of insight, patience and humour, Mandy’s sessions have enhanced my life.  I always feel it’s with a little bit of magic that she is able tease out the root of any issue by listening and asking probing questions that enables you to take a step back and really think about how you feel.  Once you have this knowledge, changes can be implemented.

 Mandy is a very special person and I’m so grateful that I’ve had the privilege to work with her.”

-KAREN BREWER PCQI, PRINCIPAL QUALITY CONSULTANT, ESP LTD

“I have worked with Mandy as my coach over 2.5 years and find her support invaluable in terms of both my personal and professional growth.  First and foremost Mandy shows up as an authentic and kind person who is highly skilled in coaching.  Mandy is professional, containing and challenging in the right proportions, she always has the right questions, reflections and challenges.

Whatever ‘issue’ I bring to a session she skilfully and knowledgably enables me to navigate the biggest of challenges.  Over time Mandy has enabled me to develop my strategic thinking and leadership skills, but most importantly my confidence and self-belief.  Often we are challenged by work-life balance. However, I have been supported in finding balance, harmony and attunement to my actual priorities. I have been able to  recognise my resilience, perseverance, capabilities and potential whilst being kind to myself and finding that ultimate balance, whatever is in my personal or professional ‘in-tray’.

I am now far more able to look more objectively. Mandy is able to support a 360 approach to all that is discussed, a skill that I am developing across the range of professional challenges that I meet. I am delighted that I have developed the skill of noticing my strengths, I am now less likely to give my attention to the uncontrollable factors or my own perceived limitations. It is a powerful position to work from.

I can unreservedly recommend Mandy as a Coach.  My journey has been truly enhanced by my coaching experience.”

-Miss Danni Lacey , Deputy Headteacher, Ashleigh Primary School and NurserY

Mandy Gutsell hosted and presented the Event Creating Courageous Coaching Conversations for Association for Coaching 11th June 2020

I found her style of delivery to be warm, clear and informative. I particularly loved how she dealt with the slide share challenge and it made me really warm to her from the start! I also really enjoyed her personal sharing of her own challenges as it brought the session to life. I always enjoy time in breakout rooms so that really worked for me too.

-Julia hayward; Director of Daisy Chain Consulting Ltd

“Mandy - what a star she is!

2024 was a tough year for me on many levels and by chance, Mandy came to my networking meeting. She was lovely, sparkly and something about her made me feel YES, I can speak to her about my concerns.

I chatted to Mandy and booked a 12 week program and I am so glad I did as she has helped me change the way I look at myself...and other ...as well as dealing with matters in a more caring way to myself.

Though my programme finished last year, I have now booked a monthly touch base meeting to ensure that I keep on track.

Thank you Mandy - you have genuinely changed my life hence more than willing to recommend you to others and I have :)”

 -Karena Ellis-greenway, owner, green chameleon chartered surveyors

“I received coaching and support from Mandy Gutsell over a period of 3 months, which consisted of 3 coaching sessions, a telephone consultation and daily email/text support, as required. I had recently taken on a new role and was experiencing difficulty in establishing myself in that role and had lost some confidence in my own abilities.

 In general I found Mandy very responsive to my needs, (for example, giving telephone support when tackling a particular problem) encouraging and motivational. She was clear that I had responsibility for my own learning and practice.

 Through the  support I received I have:

  • increased my confidence in my role and the contribution I make to the team

  • achieved a better work/life balance

  • increased my creativity in my work and  taken up creative leisure pursuits

  • become more aware of the importance and effectiveness of having tough conversations in certain situations and more confident in initiating them.

  • become more assertive and able to ask for help

  • increased my awareness of my value base and its importance in underpinning my practice

 I would highly recommend Mandy as a Coach.”

 -Senior Manager, Children’s Services,  Barnardo’s

“I have attended the West Midlands Co-coaching forum from its inception several years ago and continue to do so, each month.   Mandy Gutsell has led these very successfully, always bringing in different elements eg creative ice-breakers, coaching articles etc, whilst consistently maintaining the generic co-coaching format.

The forums have always been led very professionally but with a light touch and relaxed and engaging approach, with a great depth of knowledge and with humour, as appropriate. New attendees from other areas, have commented on how they find this forum to be more enjoyable and effective than others they have attended, and it helps me personally, to connect with other coaches at various stages of their own development.

As my active coaching is now somewhat limited, I attend the forums to ensure my coaching skills are maintained and often pick up different approaches and new insights, even if subtle at times. There are always new learning points and Mandy’s closing questions on these, are always thought provoking and very relevant.

Also, having run workshops based on shifting consciousness and innovative thinking, the forums have also provided the opportunity to gain valuable input on their relevance to coaches and stimulate other insights for future inclusion. 

I very much look forward to the forums and will continue to attend, to maintain my own continuing professional development.”

-Steve Tonry, Renascence Coaching, Performance Coach, EFT Master PractitioneR

“I have worked with Mandy as my coach and, more recently, my supervisor, for over four years.

In our coaching, Mandy has hugely helped me to effectively stand back from, and work through, various scenarios from small irritations to larger life decisions.  She is very sharp and picks up on cues that I may not have noticed, and certainly holds me to account without fear when she notices me being slippery! Mandy adapts her style with huge empathy and intuition, from bringing creativity and light-heartedness in some scenarios through to compassionate and quiet understanding in others.  

In our supervision sessions, Mandy brings a no-nonsense practical approach that helps me to overcome my inner critic and bring more courage and clarity to both my coaching and my business.  

I would recommend Mandy to anyone in need of coaching for anything from a gentle review to a life kick-start.  Thank you, Mandy!”

Dr Tracey Stead
Leadership Development Consultant, Facilitator & Coach

Phone: +44 (0) 7951 229941

Email: mandy@knowlimitscoach.com

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