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What they're saying

I have had many coaches over the years who have provided feedback, direction and a pathway to individual and team success. Gemma was referred to me by a colleague as I was after some professional one on one training for an upcoming assignment. I found Gemma to be honest, robust and highly effective in not only the delivery of the coaching but also in clarifying the assignment scope, assessing my unique and specific needs and planning out the coaching I required. Gemma made a great deal of difference and I learned much about myself throughout the journey. I would highly recommend Gemma Munro for your specific coaching needs.

—Nigel Smart, CEO VarietySA

I found the coaching sessions with Gemma to be invaluable. Gemma is highly professional and approachable and I immediately felt comfortable working with her. The coaching sessions helped me to reconsider and reflect on my strengths and interests as well as areas of my professional skill set that I wanted to improve. I was working in a busy and demanding role at the time and I found the sessions were almost a relief as they made me stop and think about what I was doing and where I wanted to go next with my career. The sessions did help inform my next career move and I have found myself in a fulfilling position as a result. I highly recommend Gemma as a professional coach

—Susie Barber – Director

I have found Gemma to be a challenging, insightful and understanding provider of coaching services. Her wisdom, clarity, and ability to see through the issues in order to identify and name causative factors, question personal motives and responses, and inspire a new set of behaviours, has been extremely helpful in improving personal and organisational performance

—Deputy Chief Executive

Gemma was so positive, calm and insightful in our coaching sessions. She really helped me with practical ways to improve my confidence and better utilise my strengths at work.

—Emma, Director

Until I started working with Gemma, it was like I had been lying dormant for many years. I had been suppressing fun, pleasure and life. In just three coaching sessions I have opened up into the person I know I am supposed to be. Gemma helped me to give myself permission to look after myself the way I look after other people. Before working with Gemma I felt like I had stopped – like I always had a heavy weight on me. I now feel like I’m moving forward. I have started my new business and I am looking at life with a sense of optimism.

—Dina

I have found the coaching program very valuable. The opportunity provided to reflect on my strengths and develop these to improve my effectiveness in the University were at times challenging, but as a result I feel that I have grown so much since the start of the coaching period. I have achieved both of my main objectives: to increase the responsibility and breadth of my role; and to expand my influence. Of the two I’m probably most excited by the second.

Gemma has been a fantastic coach. Her energy and groundedness (a good combination) gave me the confidence to try different approaches and as a result change some of my behaviours, which has increased my influence within the University and made me a more effective leader. She has a very good understanding of the University’s culture which meant that we could just get on with the conversations instead of having to spend time explaining the context. I have a strong sense that what I have learnt will continue to be of benefit to me well into the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the coaching program. It has been of enormous benefit to me and I would certainly recommend it to other senior leaders.

—- Senior leader, University of Adelaide

Gemma is very warm, understanding and easy to talk with. She helped me gain a clearer view of my strengths and weaknesses, and helped to show me how what I saw as weaknesses, are actually positive attributes. I came away from our session feeling positive and more confident in myself.

—CW

Gemma is a highly skilled leadership coach who gets results. With both a pragmatic and engaging approach, she is able to guide leaders to make the necessary shifts to be the best leaders they can. We saw the results of Gemma’s coaching first hand in observing sustainable change in our leaders who participated in our pilot program as well as through direct feedback from participants. I would recommend Gemma for coaching at all levels of the organisation but especially at the leadership level

—Director People & Culture

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you do life coaching or executive coaching?

The answer is, rather ungrammatically, ‘yes’. Inkling does both life and executive coaching because, as I explained in my bio, ‘it’s all your life’. Tackling your career without also looking at your life more holistically doesn’t make much sense to me (and vice versa). Having said that, I am very experienced in working with individuals to solve specific career-related issues (leading your team, managing up, having tough conversations etc), so Inkling is available for straight executive coaching if that is what is required.

Should I see a coach or a counsellor?

An excellent question. An old colleague of mine passed on the best description I have heard to date. If you’re wanting to go from floundering to functioning, you see a counsellor. If you’re wanting to go from functioning to flourishing, you see a coach.

I’m thinking that coaching might be for me but I’m not entirely sure, and I don’t want to waste your time. What should I do?

Honestly, just call me. I’m always happy to connect on the phone (or via email if you prefer) to chat through your situation and whether coaching is appropriate for you – no offence taken if you decide it’s not the right move right now.

I also recommend setting up a quick ‘chemistry check’ on the phone, via Skype or over coffee, as it is always important that the coach and coachee click. If you don’t respect (and ideally like) your coach, it’s not the right fit. If you don’t feel listened to and understood deeply after the chemistry check, it’s not the right fit. Your coach needs to be someone who you actually enjoy spending time with and, over time, feel comfortable opening up to.

How much do you charge?

A-ha! The million-dollar question! (Don’t worry, I don’t actually charge a million dollars). For privacy reasons I don’t publish my rates directly on Inkling’s site, but please do phone or email me and I can let you know.

What should I expect of our first coaching session?

Our first coaching session will be a relaxed chat about where you are now and what you would like to achieve. We will also start to tackle some of the things that may be holding you back. My experience is that you will go away feeling a sense of clarity, purpose and excitement.

How long does a coaching session last?

Usually in between one hour and one hour and fifteen minutes.

How often should we meet?

It depends entirely on your circumstance. I have told clients to go forth and conquer after one session (this usually only happens if there is a very defined, specific goal), and have worked with others for over a year. In our first session we will determine what you would like to achieve in our coaching relationship, and we can talk through the best way of making this happen.

Who did your art and your website?

Josh Pugh of Identiti Web Development, based in Adelaide, designed the website. He’s a great listener and ‘gets’ what you’re after exceptionally quickly. He is also responsive and provides more than you asked for – I would recommend him highly.

Sarie Tardif designed the logo. She is a talented local artist who paints at Bar 9 in Parkside, South Australia every now and then. By the way, if you are in Adelaide, love coffee and haven’t been to Bar 9, drop everything and go. Hands-down the best coffee in Adelaide.