Dorothy Parker, Glasgow

Executive Coach

My coaching approach is based on my belief that people have a great capacity to grow. I create a strong rapport with my clients and work with them to help them achieve their goals.

I have worked with clients on many issues:

• Approaching a new personal challenge
• Leading organisational change
• Re-energising and re-directing people who are stuck
• Performance management
• Managing difficult relationships
• Support for key events and difficult meetings
• Building confidence
• Achieving a work life balance
• Becoming more creative
• Inspiring a team
• Influencing and negotiating
• Developing authority and power
• Clarifying issues and values

I work in a confidential one-to-one relationship, usually over several months.

Coaching can be particularly effective if done in conjunction with MBTI (Myers-Briggs) psychometric assessment and/or 360 degree input from line manager, peers and reports. I am qualified practitioner of the MBTI instrument and can administer 360 assessments. I am a member of the Association for Coaching.

My background

I am an accredited Executive Coach. I trained with the award winning BBC in-house Coach Training Programme and am accredited by Ashridge Business School. I have coached leaders and mangers at the BBC, Scottish Police College and the Red Cross.

I have many years of experience as a senior team leader at BBC Scotland. I was Editor of the Current Affairs TV series ‘Frontline Scotland’ which won many national awards for investigative journalism documentaries. I recruited and developed a strong team of journalists for the series. I am experienced in strategy development and change management.

What my clients say

Dorothy's tightly-focused coaching style encourages self-reflection and lateral thinking which leads to fulfilled objectives. Dorothy's experience and sensitivity are reflected in great results.

Claire White, BBC

The coaching sessions conducted by Dorothy have been valuable to me in three main ways: identifying behaviours that were inhibiting my general work performance; helping me to develop strategies and approaches to deal with those behaviours; and making a commitment to becoming more effective as a result of those. The sessions were challenging at times, but always focussed, and there was a good balance between discursive analysis and strategic thinking. As a whole, the sessions provided a valuable opportunity to take a step back from day to day activities and really think about my own performance and how it can be improved both to my benefit, and the organisation's.

Gregor Sharp, BBC

A very rewarding experience from which I have learnt a lot. Many thanks.

Fiona Johnstone, British Red Cross

The support and insight that Dorothy helped me find allowed me to find a way through some difficult and evolving relationships and she gave me practical mechanisms to open my eyes to others’ ways of working and points of view.

Absolutely invaluable.

Jennifer Martin, BBC

My coaching has been very, very valuable to me at a very difficult time in my BBC Career.

Senior Producer, BBC News

Dorothy is first and foremost a good listener with the gift of seeming to be genuinely interested in the issues that I raised without being seduced by the content.

Peter McCarthy, British Red Cross