Women in security in the public and private sectors enjoyed a morning of coaching during the recent Security and Counter Terror Expo (SCTX) at London Olympia. The coach was Julie Nel, pictured left, who held the 90-minute session at the invitation of event organisers Clarion, and assisted by Barbara Giles, previously Director of HR for City of London Police. The session was under the umbrella of the Association of Security Consultants (ASC). Julie’s a director of the ASC. It was at the ASC stand on the exhibition floor that Professional Security spoke to an enthused Julie about the coaching.
Among the feedback from the women, of mixed backgrounds, was the feeling of some that had the session been mixed and not women-only, some women would not have attended – an interesting insight into what may be the best ways to bring on women in what has historically been a male-dominated sector. The session gave women time to share issues whether in their workplaces, personal or family lives, or their career; each spoke for a couple of minutes, then received the feedback of others. The issues did not have to be gender-related; one raised a work problem that any security manager may face: general, non-security staff not taking security things seriously. How then to turn that around, short of making threats, or (what no-one would want) a real security incident teaching a lesson?
Julie, a former senior City of London Police detective, also did a stint with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. She described coaching as different from training; and mentoring. You, the person coached, are encouraged to come up with solutions and plans yourself; and set goals; rather than be dictated to.
“Just talking to someone else can promote answers,” Julie said. Such as; where do you want to see yourself, in another three years; and what steps should you take, to get there?
Speaking more generally about life coaching, one to one sessions can ‘move your life forward’, whether resolving conflicts, or just getting more organised; or, groups or teams of staff experiencing similar challenges can gain from workshop sessions, which can raise morale and lower absentee rates, Julie suggests.
About Julie: visit www.yourlife-coaching.co.uk. See also https://www.b4secure.co.uk/.
