Student stories

Terry Allan - SAB Miller,  Manufacturing (SA)

My professional background is from a Manufacturing environment, having completed various advanced diplomas. However I felt that in order to become a  Professional  Coach it was imperative to obtain an academic background and understanding. There is a great need in my organisation and organisations at large to apply professional coaching at various levels of the organisation.  I believed that with my experience I could make a contribution to the organisation in the latter part of career. Doing a short course does not in any way give you the necessary skill and knowledge to do coaching in a professional manner.  I found that the academic grounding, learning approach, support and infrastructure at i-coach academy was far superior to anything else that I had come across. The link to Middlesex University and their approach to learning, I believed,  is in line with modern thinking. This is not a hand holding course, adult learning principles are applied; you are challenged to create something unique to you, not to regurgitate what others say. Thus you  will not be " hand held  " through the process .You are challenged and encouraged to think but it is worth the effort in the end.

Andre Le Roux - Management Training (SA)

I hold a BA degree in Industrial Psychology and a post graduate diploma in higher education as well as various senior and executive diplomas in leadership and management. I decided to become a coach because I believe that I can make a difference to leadership development in a developing country and that my personal experience through a long corporate career should be harnessed into a coaching model from which people could benefit. i-coach helped me tremendously and provided formal education, practical experience and the ability to formalise my professional practice. The standard of the lectures was incredibly high. The course revealed that I have an aptitude for coaching but that I also need to develop this on an ongoing basis, supported by supervision.

Victor Borchers - Commerce and business advisory (SA)

I have a BA in theology and entered the Methodist ministry which I eventually left to go into business to build up my own group of motor dealerships. I later entered the political field, becoming Mayor of Tzaneen, then a Member of Parliament and concluding as Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Province Legislature. I was Chairman of Gazankulu Development Corporation and Gazankulu Finance Company, where I was involved in helping people build their own businesses. I had been involved with career coaching for six years during which time I had undergone elementary coach training through the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business. However, in order to be a professional coach I firmly believe you need academic accreditation. The i-coach master’s programme is superb with top-level academics from Europe and the USA. The course has enabled me to act as a coach and thinking partner within the business sphere. It has enabled me to establish my own coaching model/process that is congruent with what I am and what I have experienced and learnt. It has enabled me to test this in practice and, because of all this, it has given me the confidence and ability to promote myself as a professional business coach. Obtaining a Master’s degree that is international in stature gives immense credibility.

Barbara Ferreira - Strategy Implementation Manager, Old Mutual (insurance, SA)

I have an Honours degree in Clinical Psychology from Rand Afrikaans University. I have also completed the Advanced Certificate in leadership from the University of Cape Town's business school. I am employed in one of the business strategy teams at Old Mutual but had always wanted to complete a Master’s degree. I had originally considered a Master’s in Counselling Psychology but had for various reasons become disenchanted with the psychology profession. A coaching master’s allows me to pursue my dream of working in a one-on-one helping profession while focusing on development of human potential. The i-coach master’s programme has been a wonderful learning journey of self discovery. The personal development opportunity is wonderful and I have come to understand my own heroes and dragons within.  I personally thrive under the eclectic approach preferred by I-coach as well as the action/reflection learning framework. If you want to work as a professional coach then this course will provide the training, skills practice, professional supervision and academic frameworks to enable you to do just that.

Sharon Leonardi - HR and organisational development consultant (UK)

I was an HR and organisation development consultant with significant change management and management and leadership development experience. I have coached and mentored extensively over the years but coaching is what I have chosen to focus on. I believe that coaching individuals and groups is one of the most powerful forms of learning intervention. I believe that I have the skills and attitude to be an excellent coach and really add value to others. By helping them to tap into their potential and to take their place in business and society, I hope to be able to contribute positively to them as individuals and to those whom they touch and influence. I took the i-coach post graduate course in order to update my knowledge, develop my practice and to differentiate myself as a professional in the marketplace. It had both the practitioner and academic elements to the programme that I was looking for with an experienced and professional faculty. The course has made me far more aware of my intent and practice and has enabled me to challenge and add to my practice and my toolbox. It has made me more aware of myself within the coaching relationship, and how my presence contributes to my clients' learning. 

Paddy Upton - Sports coach (SA)

I have worked for many years as a fitness trainer and sports coach, working with the South African cricket teams, a top provincial team and various Olympic athletes. I decided to take the i-coach masters degree to firstly consolidate my various experiences, and secondly to begin applying them to more diverse challenges – the degree provided a good balance of practical, theory and supervision. My subsequent successes with cricketers such as Jacques Kullis, currently the worlds best batsman, and Gary Kirsten has shown that my coaching approach could help players achieve considerable performance improvements. I take an integral approach and aim to bring consciousness to high performance, which necessitates looking at the whole person, private as well as public. I literally knew nothing about executive coaching before I started, thus I entered the course completely afresh. Not only did it create a revolutionary change in my approach to coaching, it also consolidated all that I had been doing previously and gave it shape and form. Possibly the most significant aspect of the programme was the work I was required to do on myself and the coaching I received. I no longer see myself as showing up to 'do' coaching to someone. I am showing up as someone who is living his life as a coach and the difference is quite profound. Indeed, the more work I have done on myself and continued on my own inward journey, and the more I have studied and applied the knowledge/ wisdom of the enlightened/ spiritual master’s, the less I have needed to use formal coaching tools. I now have a good mixture of business and sporting clients.

Sam Humphrey - HR, Unilever (UK)

I have a generalised HR background and work in a team that is responsible for Leadership Learning at Unilever. I was charged with becoming expert in coaching. I have had some experience in coaching my direct reports and colleagues. The i-coach masters gave me an opportunity to enhance my own professionalism and inform my thinking about how best to implement and manage coaching activities within the business. What I liked most about the i-coach programme was that the faculty did not profess there to be one right way to coach.  The programme also recognised and valued the uniqueness of each student and how that could enhance their coaching framework. The mix of action learning groups, supervision and personal reflection gave a lot of space for me to learn about myself, my strengths and weakness. The course has certainly had a profound effect on my performance as a coach. I now have greater clarity about the purpose of my coaching, my coaching process as well as my strengths and limitations as a coach.  For example, I am far more confident about exercising my judgement about who I will (and won’t) work with. The quality of the course content is high, the faculty is inspirational and, if you can cope with the assignments and research, it’s well worth the trip.

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