About Me
I’m Jo Thompson and I have been the Wisebird for many years, always the person to go to for advice, my maiden name Whybird turned into Wisebird by my friends.
But since I discovered coaching, I have realised that it’s not me that is the Wisebird at all. It is my friends and my clients. Because I don’t have the answers that really work for them when they are stuck – they do.
In my experience of being coached myself, the moment you find that answer leaves you quite tingly, giddy and lightheaded. As you discover new things about yourself, the weight begins to lift. And that’s when you can begin to address it.
Sir John Whitmore, one of the founding fathers of coaching, wrote: “I am able to control only that of which I am aware. That of which I am unaware controls me.”
When the weight lifts, you can begin to make the change – your way.
My coaching journey
Often, what's impacting you the most is not what you expect.
And that was certainly my case.
I initially looked to coaching to help me work on assertiveness, as some of the features which make me a good coach - my interest in others, and my readiness to listen and see their point off view - was sometimes unhelpful to me as an individual, as I could have a tendency to put the needs of others before my own. This is turn meant I couldn't always say or get what I really wanted.
Some of you may be able to relate to that.
And while coaching absolutely gave me the tools to begin to address this for myself and has enabled me to make a huge improvement to my life in this area on a daily basis , what it also did was reveal another aspect of my personality which was having a far more detrimental impact in my life - and had done for many years, without me even realising it.
I was a perfectionist.
Now as a coach I'm wary of applying labels such as these unless we have a specific context in which they apply. But in my case, when I explored it, perfectionism had been affecting pretty much every aspect of my life, as I put high and often unrealistic demands on myself right from school and university through to my work and family life as a parent. It was impacting not only the way I lived and felt, but how those around me lived and felt too.
And until my "aha" moment, I had no idea.
But since my aha moment, I've been able to work on it, manage it, let go of it. I have been my own Wisebird!
What do you want to work on right now?
And what might you discover about yourself that if you could change it, might take you even closer to getting what you want?
My qualifications
I train with the Coaching Academy, the coaching world's leading training provider.
To date, I have a Personal Performance Diploma (Distinction) and am a certified Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Together these qualifications are a powerful combination to help people find their own answers, widen their choices, and be at their best more of the time.
I engage in ongoing CPD and abide by the The Coaching Academy Code of Ethics
I am fully DBS checked to work with young people.
In addition, I have over a decade’s experience working in communications for blue chip global corporations, and am thus trained to tune in to the needs of diverse audiences and individuals. This builds on skills developed in a Modern Languages degree at Oxford University.
My husband's experiences as a teacher, together with those of my children at school and university, have given me a particular interest in education . I want to bring the power of coaching to individuals within this sector, and help them benefit from the rapid change it can foster.
CONTACT ME
I work face to face in Cambridge, London, East Anglia. I work further afield and internationally by phone, zoom, facetime.
All one to one sessions are strictly confidential.
Enter your details here to arrange a free initial conversation.