Organisations often find they have leaders with excellent technical knowledge and experience but who lack confidence in their behavioural skills. Sometimes being promoted into a leadership role can suddenly make an individual feel exposed and uncertain how to lead effectively. It can also leave the organisation feeling unable to meet future business challenges due to the quality of their leadership team.
Zinkus Consulting can support individuals in confidently becoming the leaders they want to be and the people the organisation needs them to be. Creating development interventions which focus on building individuals’ strengths and filling knowledge gaps, Zinkus Consulting creates the foundation of capability from which leaders can grow and develop.
My approach to the design and delivery of development interventions is one that supports the learner while also providing them with challenge. It is also tightly linked to the organisational need. The interventions are designed to be pragmatic so the learner can immediately apply their learning. However, they are always based on sound research and theory – both in terms of content and the learning process.
In these times of hybrid or remote working, I can design and deliver any development intervention face to face or virtually using Zoom or Teams – the means of delivery doesn’t affect the quality or impact of the work!
Having intentional, healthy and productive conversations is a critical element in how teams and organisations work and how disparate groups can work to create something together. While we all talk to each other every day, sometimes having authentic conversations can feel too challenging. Having someone to support those conversations can be of huge benefit to everyone – individuals, teams and organisations.
Zinkus Consulting is able to bring years of experience to support people to talk together about:
My approach to facilitation varies according to what is needed. In all cases I build strong, trusted relationships at speed, truly listen, create different energy and pace when required and instinctively know the right areas to challenge. I respond to what is happening at the time, rather than sticking rigidly to an earlier plan, while being mindful of the goals and purpose of the work. I also draw on my personal and professional experiences to give live examples that support the work. My facilitation spans everything from working with intact teams and Action Learning Sets through to large group facilitation using Open Space and World Café.
As with my leadership work, I have extensive experience in facilitating conversations virtually as well as in-person. The channel may be different, but the quality of the work remains the same.
Sometimes individuals want to
Or perhaps an organisation wants to support an individual in their development. In these situations and many others, working with a coach can provide the support and challenge needed. My coaching model is based on a dialogic approach and is focused on the whole person.
We start by creating a robust container, or safe space, within which we work. The conversation then moves into a dialogue. The focus here is on raising awareness and exploring some or all of: personal balance, fulfillment and process. We will explore different choices to support changes the coachee wishes to make. We will also identify energy or commitment to action or simply the questions the coachee wants to explore. Finally, we will move to close down the space: have we done all the work we can do for now? There are several tools and techniques which I use to support my clients in their exploration, including various psychometric tools. The approach I choose will depend on what will work best for the client in their enquiry and what they have energy and interest in exploring.
Research consistently demonstrates that organisations don’t achieve their stated goals when enacting change. This is predominantly because organisations underestimate the impact of not working with their people. By working with Zinkus Consulting, the focus on key factors which engage and involve will ensure that people are at the heart of creating the change.
My approach to organisational change is grounded in my first-hand experience of enacting change and has grown through my consultancy practice. I always commence with a deep enquiry and robust challenge to identify the key issues, goals and objectives for the work. My skills in questioning and listening ensure that the true drivers for change are identified. Critical to success for me is to co-create any work with my partners in the organisation and to ensure that there is transfer of learning and capability.
While having clear aims and objectives for the work is critical, change isn’t a linear process. Staying responsive to changes in the organisation, the environment and the people is fundamental to the whole process. It is also imperative that the changes are connected into the ‘hard wiring’ of the organisation, its systems and processes, in order to integrate the change into the heart of the organisation.
Having started out intending to be a barrister, I found while at university I was actually attracted to working with and leading people. 16 years later having gained great experience working in Unilever, Northern Foods, Express Dairies and The Royal Bank of Scotland, I found that the world of consultancy was the place where my skills, experience and attitude would be best suited.
What do I mean by attitude? I wanted to balance my time across different things – family and friends, music, travel – working to live not living to work. Also, creating the freedom to work alongside people in organisations, challenge the stuff that gets in the way of people doing a great job and feeling that I could really be myself with all my strengths and flaws – using all of this to work with and for others.
I’ve built my knowledge and experience over the years – both practically and academically. I have an MSc in Organisational Behaviour from Birkbeck College, London and a Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching from the Academy of Executive Coaching. I’ve worked with not-for-profit organisations, public sector organisations and a variety of corporate businesses in the financial services, food manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals and defence sectors.
In addition, since 2003 I’ve got married, gained a fabulous step-daughter, had a son, done a round-the-world trip, served on various committees, project-managed the complete renovation of our home, set up a holiday cottage rental business and still have an unfulfilled ambition to own a Highland cow (although we do now have guinea pigs!)
I’m energetic, optimistic and always deliver on my commitments. Clients say they value my non-judgmental approach and my direct, straightforward and challenging style.
I balance experience with sound research and ensure that my work meets the needs of clients through asking insightful questions and paying attention to what is said and what remains unsaid.
I’m able to take complex ideas, situations and systems and extract the key points, focus on what will make the biggest difference and explain my thinking in simple, straightforward language.
Working with me is always interesting, challenging, thought-provoking and, at times, full of light and humour.
Milda has an amazing ability to read people and situations and quickly get to the core of the issue. She is also a creative and effective facilitator and coach. Milda is a unique talent and someone I would recommend and also personally wish to work with again.”
‘Milda was able to challenge me with exactly the right questions to probe into what I was thinking. She was able to offer creative ways to address my development areas and if one idea did not hit the spot, she always was able to offer a different perspective or suggestion. The commercial results this enabled me to achieve were to have more impact, presence and credibility in the commercial negotiations of which I am a part in my role in the Contracts Team.
I would absolutely encourage anyone to work with Milda as a coach.’
‘Milda is a powerful and experienced coach who has provided real direction and support for myself in my role of running the business. She takes a pragmatic but direct approach to tough conversations and decisions.’
‘Milda’s supportive but challenging approach allowed me to re-examine my own behaviours, with their impact on me and others around me and to seek solutions, Milda provided me with…..some techniques and thought-provoking models to prompt opportunities for change in my approach. I have no hesitancy in recommending Milda as a discrete, able and professional coach.’
‘I worked closely with Milda for a number of months in my capacity as Managing Director, Corporate Banking Services. I found the approach taken by Milda to be both insightful and challenging. She quickly established a number of areas for me to work on, suggesting alternative approaches to different situations. I have subsequently applied a number of different learning to my working environment and have seen benefits. In our 1:1 sessions, I found Milda to be both direct in her observed feedback, and helpful in terms of suggested action plans. As a direct result of our period of working together I have a much deeper understanding of my own leadership style, and the impact it can have on those around me.
I would certainly recommend Milda as a potential Executive Coach.’
‘I started working with Milda because I was experiencing some conflict with my CEO within the small charity I worked for. The situation I was in seemed intractable. I was feeling miserable at work and my morale and my confidence were at an all time low. Milda patiently listened to my perspective and gently and skilfully enabled me to see the bigger picture and identify some of the issues that were leading to conflict. She helped me to reestablish my values and priorities. As a result of working with her I was able to put myself back together and apply for a more senior position within a larger charity. Without her skilful questioning, her supportive but tough approach and the coaching she provided in relation to the new position, I would not have had the confidence to aim high and move on to a much better situation. I am hugely grateful for the difference that Milda has helped me make both in my career and in my work-life balance. I would have no hesitation in recommending her. In a few short weeks she helped me significantly change my life for the better.’
"Milda supported me with a mix of mentoring and coaching through a challenging period in my career. I valued how she approached our discussions with curiosity, enabling me to consider situations more deeply and from different angles. She was brilliant at gently challenging my thinking when I needed it and encouraging me to be kind to myself. She helped me see the bigger picture influencing others’ positions, enabling me to achieve better results in my relationships."