GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Getting to Know
Muffy Churches
What inspired you to start your
business? What are your goals
and values?
I reached a beautiful point in life where
I made the choice to work in ‘purpose’.
I’m referring to that place in ‘Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs’ where we become
our altruistic self- the self that focuses
on being a support to others, within a
space of our own personal passion.
For me this space is ‘executive
coaching’- guiding senior managers to
maximise both their professional and
personal potential.
My goal is to prime leaders to function
as the exquisite role models they
choose to be, by their own definition. I
highly value confidentiality, vulnerability
and a sense of fun.
What was the driving force
behind your decision to
specialise in this area of
business?
I was magnetised to the one-on-one
coaching dynamic, the absolute thrill
and priviledge of being trusted to
share in the workings of someone
else’s world. Beforehand, I’d spent
many wonderful years working in the
corporate space wearing a collection
of hats- that of trainer, key-note
speaker, coach, program developer and
manager. All energising and exciting
in their own right, but for me over the
years, the coaching experience was the
most satisfying and inspiring of them
all. I chose to create my own company
so that I could narrow my energies to
22 ModernBusiness
June 2016
that specific role.
What types of customers do you
help? What experience do you
have helping small business
customers?
When I first opened the Company
my clients were from my zone of
familiarity- managers and leaders
from all walks of the corporate world,
the majority of which sat in the
global IT vertical. These customers
use executive coaching as a means
of sound boarding professional
development strategies and to enhance
their personal growth as leaders. Small
business owners are interested in
exactly the same experience and my
customer base in that space is growing.
Do you service other sectors as
well?
Interestingly, many of my corporate
clients had friends and partners who
were attracted to the process but
from a more personal ‘life-coaching’
perspective. A separate division was
set-up to cater to these customers
in order to provide them with an
economical and effective solution.
What are the main reasons that
someone would choose you to
help grow/develop/improve their
business?
They wouldn’t choose to work with
me for practical purposes, such as
enhancing business strategy. Instead,
they would request my services for the
more subjective` skill sets, such as
developing their emotional intelligence
or learning to manage their mindset
in order to achieve success. The
improvement and development of their
business would be an outgrowth of
their enhanced leadership and people
engagement skills. Sometimes we
can be our own worst enemy when it
comes to bringing our vision to fruition.
‘Thought therapy’ can be a powerful
tool to help us succeed at both our
personal and professional goals.
What process, services and
support do your clients receive?
A coaching contract is generally
comprised of a minimum of 8 sessions
spread over a varied period of time,
depending on how quickly the client
is interested in effecting change.
Coaching can be tremendously organic
and spontaneous and as coaches we
are lucky to have an enormous amount
of models and tools available to us to
draw upon in the moment. I’m also
a counsellor so can move down that
road whenever required. My years
of facilitating programs in the soft
skills, also allows me to draw from a
generous bucket of practical knowledge
on a plethora of topics. Sessions
are conducted live on-site whenever
possible and clients receive support
whenever needed by phone or email in
between sessions.
What challenges did you face in
setting up your business?
To be honest, my primary challenge
was in adjusting to working solo,