Meriel Swain: Sweet Success Coaching

About me

Hello, I'm Meriel. I'm a coach living in the north Cotswolds, and my company is called Sweet Success Coaching. I work both as a life coach and executive/business coach, and am particularly interested in helping people who are at some sort of crossroads in their life. You might be after a career change and unsure what to do next, or you might be coming out of a relationship, or simply feeling stuck in a rut and looking for change. I also specialise in working with start-ups and small businesses, and those taking their first steps towards leadership.

Choosing the right coach for you is really important. A good coach will put you at your ease and create a trusting and safe relationship with you. In my experience, there's no substitute for a gut reaction so please take up my offer of a free and informal chat before we decide whether to continue working together.

I've had a variety of roles during the last 30 years, nearly all of them as some kind of team manager, which gave me a great opportunity to develop my coaching skills. I set up on my own in 2012 and I thought it might be useful to share with you some of the areas that clients often ask for help with.

Confidence/Self-Esteem
I don't know about you, but I observe that here in the UK, we are a reserved bunch of people, and perhaps we spend more time talking ourselves down rather than up. I come across lots of people who have lost their confidence, or any sense of who they really are deep down. Trying to make decisions about what to do or where to go next is really hard when you are feeling worthless, timid and invisible.

I've noticed that what we often lack is courage. Taking that first step towards something new and bright takes courage, and from that we gain confidence. And you know, don't you, that confidence is just a state of mind.

Coaching is a great way to discover the real you, what motivates you, and what makes your heart sing. We'll work together to uncover your values and beliefs, your emotional state, and ultimately the purpose which drives you forward.

Relationships/Conflict Resolution
Whether it's a significant other or a team member, relationships are often the cause of much emotional distress. If we are in a relationship, it's because we care about someone else. Or we are working closely as a team to achieve a common objective. Perhaps under a lot of pressure at work. We are hard-wired to seek out common ground with others, to belong to groups, to identify. Our relationships become part of our identity. And not all relationships endure.

We'll work through your relationship, spend some time looking at things from the other's perspective, which will give you valuable insights and enable you to move forwards once more.

Leadership
Don't be fooled into thinking leadership is just a work-thing. Although I'll be honest that it is often where the lack of it is most obvious. A typical scenario is when you've recently been promoted, perhaps managing people for the first time, or possibly a bigger or more senior team. The question which rumbles around in our heads is "I'm not sure who I need to be?".

Coaching will help you discover the authentic you, and your authentic leader. We'll look at beliefs and values, identity. We'll also look at perspectives, the power of language and inspiration.

Coaching is all about you. Listening and observing, asking insightful questions which will give you those lightbulb moments. Coaching removes the obstacles or blockers, the things which hold us back, so we can be propelled forward at greater speed, straight towards our life of choice.

Now you've read this far, maybe you'll take the next step and give me a shout?