Helen Fitzpatrick
Co-Founder & Coach
“Who Am I ?” I will willingly admit that this seemingly straight forward question caused me a degree of frustration as it repeatedly raised its’ head during my coaching qualification. Asked this question at the start of my course, my responses very much focused on the facts and figures.
All of which I acknowledge, can certainly help the audience in getting to know me on one level. To that end, I share with you just a few of the more pertinent ones.
Professionally, having worked at American Express for 16 years I have inevitably built up a stock of statistics, including that I;
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Held 8 positions of increasing seniority, within 5 functional departments and supporting 5 global businesses.
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Led a team managing and evolving a complex Global customer service incentive scheme, covering in excess of 5,000 employees in 18 Countries.
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Provided HR business partner expertise for 3 operations vice presidents covering 900 employees.
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Created a regional ‘Pay for language’ strategy enabling the European customer service hub to; attract, retain and consistently compensate multilingual talent in a competitive employment market.
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Developed a junior talent assessment framework to facilitate a pan-European approach to identifying operations talent for management positions.
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Developed a change management communication and engagement plan for the Senior Vice President of a newly consolidated marketing organisation within American Express’ Global Network and International Card Services business.
Personally, that;
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I studied Business at Plymouth University.
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The majority of my family live in New Zealand, which makes for fun, if not easily accessible holidays
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I am married and live with my husband and very spoilt dog.
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I was a committed club swimmer throughout my youth, and my competitive streak is as strong now as it was then.
It was not until I took the time to reflect more deeply, in preparation for my coaching assessment that I truly appreciated the significance of the question “Who am I”, on my professional practice.
Who I am is not static and unchanging, I am continuously evolving, growing and adapting, as a result of my life experiences and choices.
I am not someone who had their career mapped out an an early stage, with a predefined end destination or goal in mind. Instead I have actively sought to build my career around opportunities that would enrich my professional and personal life most.
This approach may not have been the fastest route to the top, nor may it be the one recommended by most career advisors or talent management specialists.
However, this has enabled me to work in environments that gave me the freedom to make mistakes, learn, take accountability, improve and innovate. It has provided me with the invaluable opportunity to work with people who have inspired me, interested me, taught me and made me laugh.
It has also taught me the fulfilment I get in those moments in my professional life, where I feel I have in some way acted as a catalyst for growth, learning and development in others. Creating the space and environment to help others discover their own insights and find the answers to their questions is so much more powerful and effective that providing your own.
Change has been a common theme throughout my career; be it the range of functional roles I have held across; Finance, Human Resources, Strategic Marketing and Programme Management, or the businesses and people I have interacted with, from Customer Service Representatives to Board Level Management and all the levels in-between.
Change may not always be painless, straight forward or self initiated, but it is something that I have come to view as intrinsically linked with possibility, opportunity and growth.
In bringing together my core values, my extensive business experience and my passion for effective change management, with a strong track record of sustained business performance, I hope to offer my clients an engaging, professional and effective service that enables their people and organisations to evolve and adapt successfully.