Coaching

Mind Your Way offers a range of coaching and behavioural profiling services for individuals and groups. We support people and organisations who seek to develop their leadership and performance, enhance career progression and satisfaction, and deliver impactful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in academia.

Our commitment to evidence-based practice means that our coaching services build on existing theory and research, both from the growing coach-specific literature and from related knowledge domains such as the behavioural sciences, adult education, psychology, and philosophy.

By combining coaching with behavioural profiling, we accelerate clients’ insights into their own and others’ strengths and development areas, communication skills, personal motivators and derailers, and how to build thriving and productive teams.

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Coaching is time for you: time to think about what matters, what you want to change, and how to go about it. We rarely take time out to think strategically, or to introspect on crucial areas of our lives and careers. Coaching offers space for such strategic introspection.

Our principal coach

Dr Lisa Curtis-Wendlandt

Lisa is a seasoned leadership and performance development coach accredited with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and has completed well over 2,000 hours of professional coaching to date.

She brings deep expertise in coaching for gender equity in the higher education and research sector and has coached on flagship diversity, equity and inclusion programs at major Australian universities.

What our clients say

  • "The coaching surpassed my expectations – it was a space for reflection and a process for clarification of professional goals that I came to value a great deal. Having someone external to my organisation conduct this process uncouples it from line management and makes reflection far more readily possible."

    Associate Professor Melissa Petrakis, Monash University

  • “What I really liked about the coaching was the time to focus on process: how you work, why you work, what you want to get out of it. Academic life is pretty busy, so having some dedicated time to take stock and to be guided in reflecting and reconsidering was incredibly valuable.”

    Associate Professor Catherine Flynn, Monash University

  • "The coaching gave me the skills and confidence to re-evaluate my professional goals and implement a plan of action to achieve them. I have since initiated a number of exciting new projects which reflect my interests, values and skills-base. ... I have no doubt that my re-entry into professional life was facilitated by the skills and confidence I gained."

    Adjunct Associate Professor Gwenda Tavan, La Trobe University

How does coaching work?

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Coaching offers a personalised learning experience that builds opportunities for long-term change.

As a methodical conversation-based process, coaching is designed to enhance the skills, performance, and development of individuals and groups by encouraging them to explore challenges, set goals, develop and implement action plans, and measure and appraise their own progress in order to better achieve desired outcomes. The coach serves as a facilitator and guide who leads clients through this process in an egalitarian and collaborative fashion.

Coaching for equity, diversity, and inclusion

Achieving equity, diversity, and inclusion in academic leadership remains a sizeable challenge.

The example of gender illustrates this point: Today, only 1 in 6 Australian professors are women, and less than 1 in 10 in some STEM disciplines. System-wide policies and programs are vital means to achieve positive change.

Coaching can support individuals – including but not only women – to navigate intersecting forms of bias in the academic workplace, and to assess how they impact their lives and careers.

It can also lay the groundwork for cultural change from the top by exploring senior leaders’ own biases and beliefs, and encouraging them to adopt and implement inclusive policies and practices.

Woman in spotlight

Over the years, Mind Your Way has specialised in coaching for greater gender equity at all career levels through flagship university programs aimed at supporting academic careers.