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Castle & Associates
HAPPINESS WHIZZ | Fortune 10 Coach |
| Best-Selling Author |
When I tell people I’m a happiness coach they usually tell me one of two things: how unhappy they are, or their holiday plans. Alas, I’m not a travel agent or a marriage counsellor.
I’m hoping you’re here because you’re looking for that secret sauce that is going to make you more effective and are not a serial killer stalking me.
My work is based on a really simple proposition:
HAPPY PEOPLE = PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE = BETTER RESULTS
What I Do
If you (like me) are a Tarantino fan, you’ll forgive me for thinking of myself as a business Mr Wolfe. I’ve spent most of my career (either as employee or consultant) being the person who arrives to clean up the mess when the consultants leave. I’m inevitably called in to rationalise processes and systems.
In reality, I have yet to meet an experienced person who doesn’t know more about the stresses and strains of there job better than an outsider.
To get the best performance I help in three possible ways:
- I talk to you, the people who actually do the work and let you tell me the problems. Usually, you know exactly how it can be fixed and just need someone to help you get your ideas implemented. That’s me.
- I find out what’s and who is bugging you. Then I work with you to find and implement ways to be less “bugged”, less “bugging” and to be the best version of yourself.
- I love an elegant process as much as the next person, but I could LEAN you till the cows come home but honestly? A happy team with really arse-about-face ways of doing things will outperform the most Kanban-ed of miserable teams. Mostly I try to help you be happier and, if what’s bugging you is inefficient ways of working, I’ll help you to figure out how to change it. In other words: a bit of both.
Anxiety Solutions
Our flagship end-to-end program on alleviating anxiety is coming soon…
Shame Solutions
We offer one-on-one virtual coaching to assist in this area.
Loneliness
We are developing a tool to help you grow your system of support and to remember those important dates. Watch this space…
We offer one-on-one coaching on how to build and maintain a new gang of cheerleaders.
Anticipatory Grief
We offer one-on-one coaching to assist you with anticipatory grief.
About us
Nicky
This is what I you really need to know about me
I’m a lover of people, a lover of trees and an eater of sweets. I love my cat, my family, and, if you know me well, you’ll probably end up swearing more than your mother would approve of.
Like many people of our generation I lost my Dad to dementia last year and currently face the grief of having a Mom who’s body is alive but whose mind has been ravaged by the same disease.
I’m most proud of these things about myself:
- I’m a very good listener.
- I don’t make value judgements and I get a kick out of helping people explore what works for them and what’s right for them.
- I’m compassionate. I’m kind. I probably have too much empathy, but it lets me see the potential in everyone. It also lets other people see the potential in themselves.
- I’m funny and irreverent.
- I use humour and fun.
- I’m inclined to spend time thinking about what is not being spoken about.
The Boring Bits
This is the boring stuff that you might care about (and that I probably should care more about):
I’ve been working as a coach, organisational effectiveness consultant, facilitator and learning consultant for XX years.
My list of academic credentials include:
- BA Hons Industrial Psychology
- Meta-Skills Coach
- NLP Practitioner
- Neuro-linguistic Practitioner
- Ontological coaching certificate
- Accredited Integrative Enneagram Practitioner
- Member ISNS (International school of Neuro semantics)
- Process work with Stephen Schuitevoerder
- Deep Democracy with Myrna Lewis
- Meaning in the face of suffering – the work of Viktor Frankl
- Public relations diploma with PRISA (Public relations institute of SA)
Penny
I’m so glad you’re here (unless you are a psychopathic killer)
Until 2017 I was an executive coach. I’d even made a bit of a name for myself as the happiness coach. That ended abruptly in January when i got that call.
In 2018 my elder son died from bile duct cancer. It’s rare, aggressive and virtually always fatal. I know you’ll want to know how I can try and help people who are grieving to feel happier when, to be blunt, there are large chunks of time when I am clearly NOT happy. It’s a good question and one I still grapple with. I have learnt three things, though:
- You can’t be 100% happy, 100% of the time. If you practice the things we teach you (and do ourselves), you can be a little happier, a little more of the time.
- Grieving follows its own schedule. You can’t feel better by force of will or because other people want you to.
- The biggest barrier to understanding grief is the myth that it is somehow transformative. So far, I’m still me with all my bad habits (maybe more). Grief didn’t make me a hero.
The Boring Stuff:I am a Professional Certified Coach from the International Coaching Federation and have been practising as a coach, coach trainer, course designer, facilitator, mentor and consultant for about a decade. (What a mouthful).
During that time, my client base has included Blue-chip Financial Institutions, Academic Institutions, Fortune ten companies, entrepreneurs, other coaches, even the folk who run a national lottery.
Prior to becoming a coach, I held leadership positions in the FMCG, Manufacturing and Financial sectors (not at the same time).
I hold a Bachelor of Business Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town and a host of certifications in coaching and change management tools.