After completing my Honours degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, I spent 3 years as a teacher and then 10 in Sales and Training in the field of Presentation Skills and Effective Communication. Over the last few years, operating as a member of Avocado Vision, and then an independent coach and consultant, I have become a specialist in helping clients understand the fine art of interpersonal communication. This includes insight into personality styles, cultural diversity, generational theory, presentation and facilitation skills, managing conflict and other aspects of the communication moment.

At present I manage the development and training arm of Avocado Vision, preparing and delivering course material and designing tailored learning interventions for clients, as well as one-on-one coaching. I am certified in the ‘Results’ coaching methodology, and am also passionate about helping clients to leverage their own potential by becoming the most effective communicators they can be.

To select me as your coach e-mail Carla-jo Barry.

I have been a coach and/or manager for eight years. I have always used coaching as the most important tool in my management toolkit and I have combined management and coaching in every role that I have ever had.

Coaching philosophy / approach:

I believe coaching is about helping people find their own tools to enable themselves and their teams to shine. A coach is there to help an individual discover their strengths. It’s important for me to understand who my coachee is as I get to know you better, it’s so much easier for me to help you unlock your personal keys to success. I try to be as straightforward and truthful as I can so that people can grow from the feedback I give them.

Strengths as a coach:

I am good at listening: probably the most important thing a coach must do.

What makes me passionate about coaching:

There’s nothing more exciting for me, than having the privilege of being invited into someone else’s world for a while, and being allowed to have the objective, outsider’s point of view. And then there’s the part where people have those ‘aha’-moments that change their personal paths forever. I feel that it’s wonderful to be able to walk with my coachee’s through those moments.

To select me as your coach please email Carla-jo Barry.

I’m a Business and Sales Coach with a wealth of hands on experience in these fields and I coach across various different industries.

I have a passion for developing people to enable them to reach their full potential. Specialities of mine include personality matching, developing talent and recruitment.

I have extensive experience in managing sales teams, both direct sales people as well as third party and relationship selling, having been a Provincial Manager at Sanlam and a National Sales Manager at Absa.

My passion for coaching has encouraged me to learn more about the field; I have done the Coaching to Excellence course through UCT Graduate School of Business and the six month Associate Coaching Course through the Centre for Coaching New Ventures West (USA) (current). I have been accepted to do their one-year Professional Coaching Course through the same institution, which is an internationally recognised qualification, required to become a master coach.

My other qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wits University and a diploma in Marketing Management through the Institute of Marketing Management.

I am currently coaching in the corporate and SME environments.

To select me as a coach e-mail Gill.

I am passionate about the self management and interpersonal skills development of myself and people I work with. This is what drives and motivates me because at the end of the day, those skills are, what I believe, the deciding factor of success in life. There is nothing more rewarding for me as a facilitator and coach to know that someone has changed some aspect of their life, through our interaction.

There are two areas of focus that I enjoy and where I believe that the right self management skills can make a difference.

The workplace:

We are no longer guaranteed a job for life in today’s working environment. Gone are the days where we could just do our jobs and expect a pay check at the end of the month. Therefore we need to ensure that we are taking control of our own marketability and employability.

The bigger picture:

I love to help people take a holistic look at their lives, where they are at and where they want to be. To be successful you need to take responsibility for your own choices, career and life. At the end of the day, you are the CEO of your own life.

My strengths as a coach:

My strengths as a coach are my ability to truly connect with my client and step into their vision; my creativity; my intuition and my ability to stretch you.

Why should I be your coach?:

My reply is that I have twelve years of experience in consulting, training and soft skills facilitation. Over the past three years I have been developing my skill set to empower myself as a life skills coach and I believe that I have knowledge, experience, ability and passion in this field. My relationship with you will be based on honesty, respect, confidentiality, professionalism and my unwavering believe in your unlimited potential.
If you’d like to have me as your coach, please e-mail Carla-jo Barry.

I suppose if my wife is the BCIC, I must be the TCOLAPS - Token Coloured Oke Looking After People Stuff , in other words HR!!!(its always got to be a competition!!)

So, who am I ?

At work….a pretty hardworking oke, with a passion for growing people and pips alike.

Stuff I do…People stuff (HR processes), account management, sales, facilitation and consulting

My strengths… Focus, Strategy, Collecting Useful (at least I think so!) info from various sources around the Web (Google is Ubercool!!!) and the world at large…after all, you’ll never know when you might need it, and then something they call Significance…this basically means I really dig hanging out and sharing mind space with other clever folk in the world. So there’s me in a nutshell!

Why Avo? Your strengths are capitalised upon, your vulnerabilities nurtured in a safe, caring environment and people ain’t scared to laugh at themselves when they’ve really cocked up!

What else to tell….well, I adore my babies, Luca (2) and Jordan (4) and my spare time is made up of a collection of gym, running, training and spinning with my two Uber sexy gymbabes (Tracy & Jeanette). If I have more time on my plate, I do enjoy socialising with friends nad listening to really cool jazz and blues (I’m coloured after all!)

What am I really passionate about in life? Family, wellness, health and engaging at a strategic level with diverse groups of people in order to help them find solutions to issues around work, career and productivity in an ever changing global society.

So, to sum it up….. please engage me in thinking stuff you think might be interesting and let’s chat soon!