About Chris Carling

CHRIS CARLING is a communication expert, mediator and ICF Professional Certified Coach based in Cambridge. A former Director of Communication of the International Coach Federation (UK), Chris has worked as a coach with a wide range of individuals and organisations in sectors including finance, theatre, pharmaceuticals, local government, construction and architecture. She has a special interest in cross-cultural coaching through her work with NetExpat, market leader in assessing, training and coaching ex-pats and their partners.

Before becoming a coach Chris ran her own consultancy as a management training specialist and writer/developer of training materials. She is a script-writer of award winning training films, co-author of two books on communication and developer of a pack for trainers aimed at nurturing creativity in the commercial world (Creativity for Competitive Advantage, Fenman).

Choosing the right coach for you

When you're working with a coach, it's important to get the right fit. You need to feel comfortable with your coach, free to talk frankly about how things really are for you.

Who am I?

To know if I'd be the right coach for you, we'd need to talk. Here are just a few more details about me:

I have first hand experience of transition and change:

• My own pre-coaching career has ranged from being a University Lecturer through working in the public sector to running my own consultancy as a writer/developer of management training materials.
• I've also been a scriptwriter, mediator, journalist and trainer.

I get huge pleasure and satisfaction from climbing hills and mountains and from standing on my head:

• That feeling of being on top of the world, and of being able to do what you aspire to, is what I want for my clients.
• I am also a huge yoga enthusiast. It took me two years to succeed in getting up into a headstand and balancing on my head for five minutes. Proof, if I needed it, of the reward of keeping going through discouragement and failure.

I've learnt many things through being a coach, but three stand out:

• One is that people need to feel heard, and most of the time they're not. Being heard gives you a clear sense of who you are and the confidence to stretch yourself.
• Second is that we usually know the answers to the dilemmas that face us, but we don't always know we know. Coaching conversations can help clarity emerge from confusion.
• Finally: I have observed that people are very hard on themselves. Learning to be kind to yourself is a big step that can open up huge possibilities.

I'm qualified and experienced:

• MA and PhD from Exeter University
• MPhil in Linguistics from Cambridge (UK)
• Coach training with Coach U; later accredited as Graduate Certified Coach
• Professional Certified Coach (International Coach Federation accreditation)
• Advanced coach training with the Newfield Network
• Over 2500 hours coaching experience