Case Study – David Pilbeam

David Pilbeam has been a coach and facilitator for seven years. David developed his skills with people through his time in teaching, the hospitality industry, and then the health and leisure sector. He is one third of The Talent Network, and is a consultant with the Tom Peters Company.

Typical clients for David are the MD or CEO of smaller businesses, or divisional directors of larger corporations. David works with his clients one-to-one, and often provides facilitation for their senior teams.

Carol Whitaker has been working with David Pilbeam for a year. They met through the Masters Programme David was on at the Oxford Brookes University. There David was introduced to the concept of coaching supervision. The benefits of working with Carol have been so evident for David, he decided to continue working with her. David says coaching supervision is now being recognised for its importance to credibility in the coaching arena.

David spends about 90 minutes every four to six weeks with Carol: it is his opportunity to talk about his challenges in a safe environment. He often brings specific incidents from his coaching sessions with clients to the meetings with Carol. She helps David gain new insights, to explore what he is learning, and understand how he can apply this learning in further sessions with his own clients. Carol is able to suggest very precise ways to respond to critical points in his sessions with clients, such as an aspect of NLP applied in a specific environment.

David had recognised he needed to bring sharper focus to his coaching sessions with clients. Through working with Carol, David can now be sure he is taking a disciplined approach to planning - something he feels was missing previously from his practice.

By working with Carol, David is expanding his network in the coaching community. Through her knowledge and experience, Carol is able to point David towards resources and information, and people to talk to.

David describes Carol as his “wise and trusted advisor”, someone who is warm, knowledgeable, a good listener, and very experienced … but with a hard edge when required.

Would David recommend Carol? Yes, without hesitation or reservation.

“Working with Carol has enabled me to step back from my work and take a broader view of my practice. I have been able to get a fresh perspective on the challenges I face in my client sessions, which has allowed me to develop at a faster pace than I ever could on my own.”