“I have been working with Sue Dwan since I started in my senior management role around three years ago. The sessions that I have with Sue have been invaluable in assisting me to develop as a manager. Sue has been wonderfully skilled in assisting me to gain perspective on issues and has supported me to work through possible strategies to arrive to the best outcome. I have really appreciated Sue's objectivity, availability and support and will take the learnings I have gained from her forward with me into all future roles".

MC, Dunedin. October, 2011

 

“I had the privilege of working with Sue for 3 years as my mentor. Sue’s approach is very person-centered and she draws out skills from within you that at times you were unaware you had! Sue is able to reflect her own experiences to offer insightful methodologies to approach situations; she is able to identify your strengths and encourage you to build on these, whilst gently shaping, developing and stretching you to increase your line of sight and think more strategically. Sue is supportive, an advisor, a consulter, an evaluator and mediator, all fantastic assets to have in a mentor for a new manager in a Government Department. I have treasured my time working alongside Sue and have seen the benefits in my own professional growth. I would definitely recommend her to anyone”.

Lauren

 

"Thank you for all the advice, support and encouragement you have provided during our sessions. Your skill in introducing me to concepts and ideas has been inspirational and one that I have utilised myself with my staff. I commend you on your professionalism."

KB, Service Manager, Blenheim.

 

"Sue Dwan has carried out a variety of projects and contract work for CPIT, e.g. coaching for managers, coaching support for teams, change management workshops, seminars on a number of topics. Sue is highly professional and maintains the strictest confidentiality. She is clear in her communication and analysis, and particularly practical and ‘real’ in her interventions. Sue is very skilled in the field of management, in particular human resource management, and is objective in the assessment of the issues raised. She focuses on the outcomes for both the staff and the organisation".

Patsy Gibson, Director, Human Resources, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology.

 

"I have contracted the services of Sue Dwan on several projects to write course material for the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development. I have found Sue’s work to be extremely professional, innovative and appropriate for our learners. A recent project developed a Leadership course for The NZIM Certificate in Management. The brief was to create a highly interactive New Zealand focussed set of learning notes that enabled the student to work independently and create for themselves a pathway to improved leadership ability. Sue’ material more than met this brief. The course is now considered an exemplar of effective learning material and the model is being used on consequent courses.

I have no hesitation in recommending Sue to any organisation that requires a writer and developer of a high standard who exceeds the brief to create a superior product."

Chris Matthews, Principal Lecturer, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Open Polytechnic

 

"Sue is able to recognise the uniqueness of each person’s experience and helps you to understand and feel more at ease with your reactions and emotions following a stressful event. She has the ability to see things holistically and help you focus on what is really important in life (not just in work). Through discussion, discovery and understanding, Sue helps you to clearly identify where you are at and the steps required to move forward. Her empathy, sense of humour and practical advice have been an inspiration to me."

CC, Timaru.

 

"Sue Dwan is a professional coach who has the rare qualities of humour, intelligence, knowledge, compassion and skill, combined. My professional development has been enhanced by her ability to identify issues, help me set priorities and assist me to plan throughout the year in a sometimes difficult, complex environment. She has been a wonderful inspiration and mentor."

RL, Wellington.

 

"Fantastic course and fantastic instructor who had the ability to make it fun as well as educational; Sue was a very well prepared and effective communicator and was also very humorous and entertaining; there is nothing that could have made this workshop any better."

Participants, day-long Time Management Workshop

 

"Having worked with Sue Dwan for the past four or so years on a number of large eLearning projects, I can honestly say she's been brilliant to work with. Not only is she probably the best content developer and writer I have ever worked with because she's accurate, intelligent, experienced and writes beautifully, but most important of all she delivers on time every time. What sets her apart is her professionalism and absolute commitment to quality and excellence, all of which is managed with great good humour and a distinct lack of preciousness or defensiveness. She actively pursues new opportunities to learn and is always willing to have her work critiqued and amended to meet requirements. Best of all she's great fun to work with."

Keith Tyler-Smith, TANZ Project Manager.

 

"As a new manager in the education sector, I gained valuable insights and thoroughly practical ideas from Dwan & associates coaching programme. Sue's ability to draw out my own strengths and to help me apply them to a wide variety of situations allowed me to adapt quickly to my new role. We focused on planning techniques and time-saving hints and had many discussions on the process of changing current patterns of workplace activity. A wide variety of management tools were offered when relevant and these were always helpful. I also really enjoyed Sue's encouraging manner and her regular, challenging questions that propelled me towards many key decisions."

PJR, Christchurch

 

"Sue gave me the knowledge and confidence to handle a difficult management environment at my school. She showed me how to structure and tighten school management procedures to ensure requirements were met and timelines achieved. I learned a lot, professionally, from her coaching and, personally, from her calm and knowledgeable support."

P. Towl, Principal, Kaikoura High School

 

"Sue's energetic and vibrant personality, coupled with her intelligence and acumen have been critical factors in the success of our relationship. She has the ability to utilise these talents while dealing with people in their current realities. I have found her to be a powerful influence in my career development".

A. Trotman, Service Manager, Department of Corrections

 

"You have supported, challenged and encouraged me to take the next step and continue my development as a manager. You have never been afraid to deliver both the positive and the difficult messages, but do so with great integrity and professionalism. Your advice and coaching has always been sound and has provided a way forward for me."

L. Sandford, Area Manager, Barnardos

 

"It is extremely helpful having one on one coaching focusing on your current issues/problems. It is also good to have the follow-up and support. I found this more valuable than a three day theory course".

K. Beal, Group Leader, MAF.

 

"Sue's work has been invaluable to us as it has enabled us to revise our school policies and procedures and to move forward after a school tragedy. Her focused highly skilled management approach gave us direction and helped us to move our attention to future developments. Her work has helped us to become a better managed and focused school."

M M Henderson, Rector, Waimate High School

 

"Sue Dwan is a competent and very professional personal management trainer with an extensive knowledge and understanding of educational management issues. She is appropriately challenging and fun to work with."

M Lynch, Principal, Villa Maria College

 

"Within three months of the inception of personal management training, I was able to clearly identify tangible benefits, by way of measurable outcomes and would not hesitate to recommend Sue for organisational change in any personal management training activity."

D Park, Manager South Island, Air New Zealand

 

"I have had the pleasure of working with Sue Dwan both on a personal and company level and found her counsel to be commercially productive, insightful and always beneficial. I recommend Sue without hesitation and admire her business acumen."

L McFadden, Franchisee, Harcourts Gold Realty Group

 

"We undertook a review of our employment contracts, company policies and procedures, cultural diversity, an employee induction programme and a risk management review. Sue was selected from a number of consultants as her approach was refreshing and centred on developing the programme in-house and her role as coach and researcher identified appropriate procedures and policies and assisted us to tailor these to Chemstock's culture. Her excellent manner and infectious enthusiasm made the projects fun to work on."

D Billcliff, Manager, Chemstock

 

"Staff taking part in the Management Coaching pilot programme found it very worthwhile indeed. We did appreciate the range of skills and experience you brought to this pilot and found your humanity, sense of humour and trustworthiness as qualities that made it safe to explore new ways of doing things."

P Carnaby, Head of Division, Christchurch Polytechnic

 

"A restructuring of roles left me without a job, low self worth and in a distressed state. Sue provided me with coaching and support throughout this process and I came away feeling positive and with the tools to cope with the change management process. To have an independent expert help in this way has been invaluable."

H Marley, Christchurch

 

"We contracted Sue to assist ITM Support Office in reviewing and restructuring our human resources. I found her to be particularly perceptive in identifying problem areas, effective and with a genuine concern for all people she is dealing with. I found her communication very supportive through a most difficult period and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Sue Dwan to anyone needing management advice or support."

K Marevich, CEO Independent Timber Merchants, Auckland

 

"I've found it useful to talk through management issues with Sue who provided a sounding board for me to discuss ideas and strategies, and challenged me to consider the options. Her skills kept me focused on achieving organisational goals, her clarity and perception enabled me to sort out the issues and what were symptoms of underlying issues. Her support and encouragement assisted me to strive to improve my management practice and has benefited my organisation."

K Riccerby, Manager, CCS, Christchurch

 

"Sue is skilled in providing insightful comments, challenging questions and practical advice. Her sense of humour and solutions oriented approach makes meeting with her motivating and action orientated. She has the ability to cut through issues to the heart of a problem and can also identify when a person is paralysed by a situation and can help unlock and change well-established behaviour."

M Edmundson, Library & Learning Services Director
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology

 

"Two years ago I was in crisis and the Department offered Sue Dwan as my coach. This was not a counselling or therapy role but entirely forward-looking and very practical, working from a vision and objectives that I am able to set and achieve. It takes you out of your comfort zone and yes, you have to work hard to reach your full potential."

B McKenzie, Service Manager, Department of Corrections

 

"I began work with Sue when I was a relatively new and inexperienced manager of 30 staff and a $3M budget. I didn't have time to read through management books and most often found the advice was not applicable to the complexity of the situation faced. Sue had the ability to analyse the areas I was seeking development in and helped me find effective solutions and a variety of options. The strength of her training was in the practical tools she provided. Her warmth, humour and compassion, balanced with a sharp business focus, made a fast learning environment."

J. Berry, Snr Manager, Corrections.

 

"Sue provided me with a wealth of practical advice and professional support for my new management role, helping me to increase my confidence and sense of my own abilities."

S. Turner, Manager, Mental Health.

 

'Starting out in business has been very challenging and in order to operate effectively, I first had to find out who I was. Once I did this, it became much easier to make decisions based on my values. Discovering this information has been absolutely essential for me to operate effectively in business. Without Sue's help to guide me through this process, I wouldn't be in business."

M. Perry, Christchurch.

 

"Management supervision was offered to me as a new manager in a front line role. I had moved into a team which was in disarray and there seemed to be a scorpion lurking under every rock which I picked up. Having regular management supervision assisted me in the following essential ways: having a helicopter view of what was happening so that I could stand back and do some analysis of the issues; being proactive rather than reactive; reviewing processes to ensure that they supported best outcomes; building vision and a team that could meet this; dealing with difficult staff and performance matters; being able to vent in an appropriate forum; getting best outcomes at meetings; contingency planning; celebrating success.

All of this was very useful and assisted me to create a high functioning team. I would thoroughly recommend this process for anyone in a management position."

SP, Senior Manager, Wellington.

 

"I thoroughly enjoyed the Managing the Generations workshop. It provided in depth and thought provoking information about the values and work experiences of each generation. It also challenged participants to think about what their own workplaces can or could do to cater for each generation and still have a co-operating and engaged workforce".

JT, Blenheim.

 

"I commenced coaching/mentoring with Sue soon after starting as a manager in my first management position and we worked together for approximately five years through usually monthly telephone contact. I was impressed with her knowledge of our organisation and her clear common sense appraoch to devolving seemingly complex matters. Sue's independence from our organisation but good knowledge of it, allowed her teachings to relate to specific and actual management issues while allowing her to remain impartial to the organisation's personnel issues, internal wranglings, and development areas. I found our interactions useful for the step by step "how to" approach to addressing daily management challenges and for the converse "bigger picture" oversight that provided some direction and goal setting, for the daily 'crisis management' that sometimes clouded my ability to see beyond the immediate. Sue provided excellence balance in the areas of self development and self worth by being able to summarise my progress and skill base in my management role. Having come into management with very little organisational training, I found Sue's support invaluable".

NM, Wellington.