Personal Development
Nurture, Develop, Thrive
Jenny Ames Consulting Ltd works with university researchers from research students to research leaders to provide:
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- Coaching and mentoring of individuals for the personal development of talent and those in career transition
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- Personal development workshops for groups to broaden knowledge and understanding and facilitate construction of a personal development plan

Testimonials
Universities need to be agile and responsive to external changes, even at the best of times. Naturally, this has impacts on staff. Restructuring, new roles, changing roles and different ways of working all have the potential to lead to discomfort and stress (although they can also cause excitement).
When major events occur that affect everyone – currently the Covid-19 pandemic – staff and research students are subject to increased demands and stress, compared to pre-pandemic levels. For example, the pressure to complete a PhD, worry about a contract ending, managing home-schooling alongside employment, and preparing on-line or blended teaching materials.
Our personal development offers are relevant to building the ‘people’ aspects of a positive research culture. This in turn helps universities at all levels to thrive in their organisation.

One-to-one coaching can be very effective in supporting individuals to successfully adapt to change or overcome ‘blocks’ to success in their lives, even when the challenges faced seem great. Jenny Ames Consulting works with researchers at all levels, including research leaders and research support staff. Typically, topics covered may include:
- Ensuring that time allocated for research is used for this purpose
- Preparing for promotion
- Saying ‘no’ nicely to requests or opportunities
- Leadership
- Work-life balance
- Changing role or sector
- Settling into a new role or organisation
- Building resilience
Coaching involves working with the coachee to understand the challenge, help the coachee to think of different options to tackle the challenge and to decide the best way forward.

Mentoring involves individuals gaining insights by drawing on the depth and breadth of expertise of the coach or mentor. For example, this might involve explaining to a new researcher what the Research Excellence Framework is about or explaining in general terms the various stages of getting a journal paper published.
Coaching is the main approach we use to collaborating with individuals since it helps them to learn new ways of thinking and approaches which are helpful once coaching has ended.

Workshops for groups of typically twenty individuals focus on a particular personal development topic and include plenty of time for discussion. Towards the end of each workshop, time is also included for each person to sketch out their personal development plan. Topics include:
- Preparing for promotion
- Developing your personal research culture
- Time management for researchers
- Leadership for new leaders
- Leadership for experienced leaders
