My initial reluctance to engage in the process could best be described as non-cooperative, as I refused to even contemplate the challenges facing me – namely a transition from a fulltime professional career to retirement, and a change in residential location from one continent, where I had lived for some 10 years to another continent, which I knew only from short duration holidays.
It is a testament to Devendra’s skills of persuasion and perseverance in the face of my significant hostility, that the project moved on at all; from that point onwards, it was his listening skills, initially and then his critical questioning technique which convinced me to participate fully.
At the end of the project thru’ his leadership, I came away with a “mini” campaign, to utilise my existing professional skills to participate my new community on a volunteer basis. Which is a significantly more structured approach to my transition than the usual “take up gardening”.
I attended twelve coaching sessions with Dev. The timing was perfect. After our first session I realized my hunch that coaching was something I needed was confirmed. I had a mixed bag of issues I wanted to tackle: small and big, short term and long term, covering work, well being, relationships and work. We tackled them all head on and gave each issue the attention it deserved.
Dev was not only an attentive listener; he was meticulous about writing things down, going back to themes regularly and charting my progress. The forms he made me use before and after session became an essential reference for me. In our last session I highlighted sections of them and came away with a short list of concrete achievements and a huge sense of relief.
Dev questioned my logic and self-limiting beliefs. He gave me frameworks, strategies and ideas, which I tried on for size. Many of them fit just right. He asked me to think about contradictions and encouraged me firmly to deliver on my promises. It was hard to say no. He is a mix of friend, taskmaster, non-judgmental listener and always in your corner cheering you on.
I enjoyed very much our coaching sessions and they were important to me to overcome a difficult period of inactivity at work: it was the first time since years that I had nothing to do and an entire day before me and it was not that easy.
I found your help and your support very effective and empowering and I appreciate most of all the possibility you gave me to better focus on my needs and expectations and to really find the right way to achieve the goals I set me. After the conclusion of our sessions, I had to manage with our HR dept again and I was able to negotiate in a satisfactory way (for me!) some conditions they wanted me to accept.
Last but not least, you were able to enhance my level of trust not only in general, regarding subjects we were working on, but also regarding my self-confidence about my English level and my ability to speak more or less “fluent” (which was a hard job indeed!!!)
Thank you, Devendra, for giving the moment to reflect and look at different perspectives
Devendra is a good listener and able to provide constructive comments and feedback to me to help me grow as a leader. I am especially grateful for his acknowledgement of my current efforts and sharing with me a simple framework for me to apply in different working situations and communications with my colleagues. I am sure many other emerging leaders will benefit from an experienced coach like him.
Thanks, Devendra for being a patient coach and working on my areas of weakness. It has not only helped me grow as a person and leader, but also those staff around me who rely on me for their own improvement journey. A big thank you to you, and hope you will be able to help many others in a meaningful way to them!
Devendra was helpful, experienced and helped to provide an independent view that was backed by his own experience.
Devendra is very patient and professional. An enriching and enlightening journey.
Devendra is a very observant and sensitive person. He has noted my mood change during the 3 sessions. He is able to reiterate the importance of concepts through real life examples, it helps.
Devendra is an experienced coach and a very good listener. His wealth of experience provided good insights into the challenges and emotions that were discussed during the coaching sessions. He does not impose and puts me at ease to share concerns candidly. Thank you for a fruitful learning journey!
Devendra coaches from the head and heart; from his long experience in career and coaching. He peeled layer by layer to address the inter and intra personal aspects and let oneself see the probable solution. I left the sessions feeling that some substantive changes must be made for better leadership: from the simpler operational ones of projects oversight to challenging ones of staff management. And that to fall back on certain core strengths that one already has of doing what is right.
Devendra was very patient and provided a good listening ear. He asked probing questions to help sharpen my perspectives and provided valuable suggestions for consideration
Devendra guided me in facing and thinking about issues that I could have put away through self-denial. Through his questions, I was able to come to some realisation myself and consider the possible actions, which we then discussed at the next session. He was able to pick up some issues I might be facing and would suggest discussing the issues. He was non-judgmental and was open to share his own experiences, which helped me consider other perspectives. Thank you, Devendra.
Crossing paths with Devendra has been one of the best things that happened to me and through his advice-filled sessions, he put me in the right mindset to navigate a challenging phase, shortly after graduating university and beginning full-time employment while juggling a pandemic. After every session, my levels of motivation, energy and determination were at their peak. Not only are the tools he provided central to how I now approach my time but also helped me gain the right perspective to live life to its fullest.
Devendra listens carefully, pays considerate attention to what is said in-between the lines and personalises his teachings to suite the student. Once again, thank you Devendra for offering your time, it is an honour to know you.
I had the fortune to be able to be coached by Devendra over a period of 6-8 weeks. During our sessions, we discussed particular areas and situations that were blocking my career path. Through a series of 1-1 sessions and exercises, Devendra was able to identify solutions and steps for me to take to avoid internal career politics whilst also helping me analyse my key strengths and objectives. It was extremely useful to leverage Devendra’s experience and insight, especially in the world of banking and finance. He helped me to take a step back from the immediate office environment, evaluate my career goals in a clear and concise way and build a set of achievable objectives.
Absolutely fantastic. Deep insights and very approachable. Highly recommended.
Dev was professional, prompt and non-judgmental. He was able to guide the conversation based on what he heard. And reflected these ideas back to allow more concrete ideas to form. Certainly, changed my ideas about what coaching can do even if it was in a limited time.
Assisted and guided me to make the decisions and take firm actions that I’ve put on hold for a while.
Devendra listens without prejudice but also shares his experiences (both positive and negative) unreservedly; he asks probing questions while giving me space to reflect upon my responses. Am thankful for the very meaningful time spent with him.