Former Virgin Chief to inspire York business leaders

The free Business School lecture entitled ‘Workplace coaching: a journey of personal development for organisational change’ will be given by internationally renowned speaker, writer and broadcaster, Carol Wilson.  Carol’s interactive session will share thought provoking models for developing managers-as-coaches.

Carol draws on first-hand experience of a coaching culture through a decade working at Virgin at board level alongside Sir Richard Branson.  She has also developed coaching and leadership programmes for organisations including IKEA, Olympic Construction Consortium, Arts Council, the BBC and many more.

Says Carol, “Increasingly, in businesses large and small, people are so busy at every level and have less support than ever.  Leaders don’t have time to micromanage, so it is essential that they can empower their teams to take more responsibility in the workplace.  I learned the value of coaching culture from my time with Virgin and have seen how it can create work environments where people are motivated, can achieve more and where performance is greatly improved. 

“This lecture will draw from my experiences and give delegates insights into their capability as leaders and how to realise that capability for the benefit of their business.”     

David Chesser, Pro Vice Chancellor (Resources) at York St John University, says, “Carol has a wealth of experience of coaching to share with delegates.  The session will explore various coaching mechanisms and their effects on motivation and performance.  Delegates will take away specific practical skills which they can put into action immediately and might spark their interest to learn more about coaching culture.  It promises to be an enlightening session; thought provoking and inspiring for those who attend.”