Before I went to Siân, I was in a situation where work had taken over, I was overworking, wanting to achieve everything on the long list but feeling like I was going around in circles achieving nothing and adding more to the list than I crossed off.   

As a mother of a lively toddler, I didn't prioritise myself or my family enough and I felt guilty. I was relatively new to my job, leading a team for the first time and working in an area I enjoyed and was passionate about, but I was quickly noticing that I had to find a way to make it work better for me as there was no slowing down at work. 

I had already come across Siân through work, and when I saw that she was offering a mentoring service, I knew that her independent and external perspective would be of great benefit in helping me work out how to make the most of my time and all the skills that were available to me within our team. We worked on a range of practical strategies to help me get organised, set clearer boundaries, prioritise more and try to share work better. It takes time to step back and plan and it's easy not to do this when we're on the hamster wheel - and although it's hard to change a habit that's been with us for years, I could see the difference it made to me and to the running of our team when I planned better, tried to communicate better and prioritise/delegate more effectively (although I still have a long way to go!). 

Having Siân was like having an extra and fresh pair of eyes. One of the biggest things I got from the experience was the help to accept the fact that I can't change the world by myself. I'll never succeed in doing everything I want to do and that's ok. It doesn't mean I'm failing! I'm now away on maternity leave and it was difficult to stick to the strategies I had learned when trying to finish work - that's my nature. But instead of getting angry with myself and finding fault I gave myself a lot more 'slack' for struggling. I also discussed with my managers at times when I felt that I had more on my plate than was realistic for me to achieve and asking them for guidance and choosing what was the priority. As the last day approached, I had to accept that I wasn’t going to finish everything and some things had to be passed on to my successor, and that was also ok. 

This type of development is a journey, and progress doesn’t happen in a straight line. It's also not possible for anyone to put in the work for you, there's no quick fix if you're a person like me (self-confessed control freak and people pleaser!) and you need to undo habits that are completely ingrained.  I feel like I'm taking two steps back every time I step forward! Siân can help you step back and see the situation that you’re in and working with you to create a small plan that is realistic for you - looking at all aspects of your life, not just the good element you want to strengthen. She will also give you a little nudge or remind you to slow down when necessary!  

Although I'm off work at the moment, I'm looking forward to using what I’ve learnt from my time with Siân when I’m back at work to continue his journey of development!