Pollock Spark Executive Coaching and Consulting for Creative Professionals - page 48

I immediately connected to your non-linear approach to having a conversation. Not only do you understand creatives and our industry but your creative conversational style constantly stimulated new thought paths in my mind that helped me find my own ideas and clarity. Going through the process has given me peace of mind around my current situation.I have a new patience and confidence.

Thank you. I had a great time and learned a lot from working with you. … your method, your process - probing, sometimes free-form, always energetic and purposeful - has really helped me start to focus, in a totally new way for me, on who I am, what I’ve accomplished, what I might have to offer others, and most importantly to start to imagine possible futures for my working life. ….after just a few weeks working with you, I feel I have a sense of a path forward.

… the exercise of examining my history, of continually revising, seeking out the essences, has netted me something more than just a new (and hopefully attractive!) profile. Your process opened up new lines of thought for me as to how I might leverage what I’ve done into something new and if I‘m lucky, something driven by my passions. It was clear that you were always many steps ahead of me, but I felt like always had a hand extended back to where I was, bringing me along. I felt you were genuinely interested and engaged.

I did four coaching sessions with Michael and he empowered all my professional and creative potential proving with focus, constructive critic and action. He helped me to go from many options to find the option and do not get lost. He has a combination of 'impossible is nothing' and 'grounded touch' that I really like, he really gets you ready for success! I will definitely recommend to work with Michael.

Having had the pleasure of working together with Michael recently, I can only say that he has brought both imagination, clarity and empowering solutions to BeAnimation. His ability to understand and address the complicated aspirations of our company in it’s overall goal to renew our relationship with the US market is both eye opening and exciting.
His workshops and his bespoke approach to our individual needs has helped enormously in reaching the type of conclusions that will help us to not lose focus on our desire to develop and build our business in the US.
He really stands out from the competition.

 

I reached out to Michael when I felt I was at a turning point in my career. As I explained to him on the first call, “I feel that I’m close and that the answer is right in front of me but I can’t see it.”

He helped me see it. Michael is a good listener and very intuitive. He looked at my website, he listened to me, he asked me questions, and the light went on for me. He listens so closely that he would grab at a word or turn of phrase that I said and ask me to explain further. And wouldn’t you know it, the answer was buried in there.
He then worked with me on a path to get where I wanted to be. There were twists and turns but he kept me on track and honest with myself. I really appreciated that he knows entertainment so well, and all that goes into it, whether it’s being creative or networking, or websites. He’s smart, really easy to talk to and very funny.

I recommend him to anyone who’s looking for their “Now what?”

Thank you very much for all of your efforts. Your analysis of our SWOT and your recommendations on how we should proceed are immensely valuable to us. ... it was critical that we received an objective viewpoint on the highest value opportunities to pursue. Picking a specific direction, given our limited resources, was very necessary and we're pretty confident that you have recommended the right one. Thanks again for all of your help.

Every once in a while, you meet someone with such clarity that their words and viewpoints just clear the clouds away.  That's how I feel when working with you.

In three short sessions, I have gained more from our conversations than I ever thought I would and I want to thank you for making such an impact in the navigation of my career path.

I worked with the actress Mariette Hartley and I remember her saying "the problem with people today is that no one listens, the art of listening is completely gone." Not with you,  I really feel like you follow a thread and do so with great interest.  And when you speak, I love listening.  What you say has such weight, such importance, such clarity.

Thanks for making the skies clear over here in Portland, Oregon.

 

… I got an offer … I'm very happy!
The second interview went extraordinarily well. My session with you proved most productive … My preparedness was key and I'm so grateful for your help and guidance. I'm incredibly thrilled to have been offered this position and really excited to start a new chapter in my career. Thank you so much for everything!

I wanted to thank you for a great presentation. I loved hearing about your approach on resume writing. Certainly had me thinking. You are certainly welcome back at any time. - Assistant Director, NYU

I was on your career development class on last Friday, and it was amazing. What you said on class is really helpful for me to get my career started. - Student from China

I learned many things that are very helpful as I try to craft my story and find employment. - Student from US

Michael took a quick look at my resume and a long look at me and synthesized what was needed to make them match. He drew things out that I hadn’t articulated, and helped me breathe a sense of what I really did into those words on paper. I made those changes on my LinkedIn resume and three months later I was recruited via LinkedIn for an amazing job. I am convinced that wouldn’t have happened without Michael’s insight and infectious energy.

The Pollock*Spark report has served as a trusted guide for the board of directors and the professional staff. It has helped navigate the substantial structural and behavioral changes the association has gone through, helped change the way AICE conducts its business and the way it informs and engages its membership. The difference has been extraordinary. From the attitude of the board to the renewed sense of purpose of the membership, AICE is a reinvigorated association thanks in no small part to the careful and insightful work of pollock|spark.

This (coaching) was a terrific experience …. Thank you for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You’re easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It’s invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman

I said good things about you to your face and I’ll say them behind your back as well. I thought you navigated a potentially difficult internal political situation at our company very well (difficult because of the self-perception differences between the partners), advertised your services accurately and delivered an analysis that is relevant, clear and integral to creating forward movement.

I was surprised by how much my career trajectory and the way I thought about the business of print journalism changed over my sessions with Michael….by using Michael’s techniques I have doubled the number of magazines I work for, strengthened existing relationships with editors, and become confident about walking into a room filled with my professional peers. …. I won’t hesitate to work with Michael again next time I reach a roadblock in my career.

I hired Pollock*Spark to help me sharpen my business efforts by focusing on the Clients likely to use my services. He challenges my thinking, helps me become the master of my own destiny and always looks at my situation from a fresh and smart perspective. He hates bullshit and is incisive but always tactful. His contribution is like having your very own management consultancy, except it’s like dealing with the partner and not the pimply -faced recent graduate. His experience is earned and wisely applied. You can take away anything you want from me but don’t take away my Michael!    As seen on Yelp.com

Michael was absolutely instrumental in helping us to design and build a new strategic broadcast capability for RedWorks.  Through partnering with Michael I learned that he possesses a truly unique blend of strategic savvy and operational experience – thinking at 30,000 feet while simultaneously piecing together the jigsaw on the ground.  And he does it all with a much-valued sense of humor.  Without Michael’s help, we would never have ended in as good of a place as we ultimately did.

I am going to accept a position with [a major entertainment company] tomorrow. They have somewhat created a position for me …I’m excited because this brings together all my skills/experience in Music, Sponsorship, Marketing and allows me innovative thinking. I wanted to thank you for our sessions together. What you did was help me find my confidence and voice again. Through our work, I became centered and clear on the results I produced and the value I had to offer others. It really made a difference.