Published Saturday October 4th, 2008
MEGAN O'TOOLE
FOR THE TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL Coaching ~ A tool which improves communication, productivity, and goals within a company 
Kate LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal
Dave Veale and Marilyn Singh of Vision coaching Inc. Founded in 2003, Vision offers business coaching services that run the gamut from improving sales performance to boosting morale to strategic planning. A company client says the experience with Vision has been extremely valuable and ‘the absolute best training they’ve ever received.’ The key to successful business coaching is to support clients and leverage their strengths, rather than try to "fix" them, according to the head of a successful local firm. David Veale, who runs Vision Coaching in Saint John, has seen his business thrive since its inception five years ago, gaining steam as it attracts clients both nationally and internationally. This month, co-founder Marilyn Singh is set to visit both New Mexico and Texas for on-site work. "Vision coaches have increasingly been crossing provincial borders to help harness clients' potential", Veale said. "Wayne Gretzky had all this raw talent when he went into the NHL. He needed a coach to support it," Veale said, noting the Vision concept is very similar. "We have the pleasure of working with people with all these strengths, all this brilliance. "This is all about what is and what can be." Founded in 2003, Vision offers coaching services that run the gamut from improving sales performance to boosting morale to strategic planning, Veale said. Both one-and-one and team coaching are available. Originally just a two-person show, the company has grown to include coaches in Vancouver, Alberta and Ontario, and clients throughout Canada and the United States. Depending on a client's needs, coaching can be delivered in a variety of ways: on-site, by telephone or online. "I was personally a little skeptical when I heard the idea of coaching someone over the phone," Veale admitted. "I didn't know how effective it was until I was coached (by phone) - I had my coach in the West Coast - and I was amazed by how positive the experience was." Roughly 40 per cent of the organization's business - which includes hundreds of individuals and companies - now comes from outside of the Saint John region, Veale said. Many of those clients were attracted after seeing Veale or Singh speak at a conference, while others were encouraged to come on board through their relationship with Vision's sister company, Profiles Global Atlantic, which Veale owns. Profiles is a human resources company that offers workplace behavioural assessments. Since launching Vision, Veale has had little to do with Profiles' day-to-day operations, but he said the relationship has been extremely beneficial. "The companies work in tandem," Veale said. "We've piggybacked on Profile's success in terms of building clients. We've been blessed with really good relationships." Another key to Vision's international success has been finding a niche - under-serviced, rural American markets, Singh said. "A lot of rural U.S. settings, where it's hard to find coaches or consultants willing to come to them, we will come," she said, noting many of the smaller American cities are on par in terms of size and population with New Brunswick communities. "There are parallels in culture, in that smaller city culture," Singh said. The frequency of trips to the United States has been rising, she added, because "we're hitting the market at the right time." One of the clients Singh will visit this month is Penasco Valley Telecommunications in Artesia, N.M. The company is nearing the end of its coaching session, and will report to Singh on how the goals set in previous meetings have been met. Penasco CEO Glenn Lovelace said the experience with Vision has been extremely valuable. "The 10 people who went through the program earlier this year said across the board, it was the absolute best training they've ever received," Lovelace said. "It's a good tool to improve communication, to improve productivity, to help align goals better in the company." In Penasco's case, the coaching began with personality profiling, which helped Vision tailor a coaching program unique to the telecommunications company's needs. "Their system is a really neat little system," Lovelace said. "It takes just a few minutes to take the test, and it's incredibly intuitive. The information it gives you on the person is far more detailed and accurate than you would expect." This personalization is a key component of Vision's work, according to Veale. Rather than offering a stable of standard tips and tricks for boosting efficiency, coaches work to support a client's existing strengths. "It's not so much giving advice as supporting someone in really developing their full potential," he said. "That looks different for every client." A common theme is the struggle to find an adequate work-life balance, Veale said. Many aspiring leaders are determined to make their mark in the world, but not at any cost, he added. According to Singh, as more and more businesspeople learn the value of a good coach, huge amounts of potential will be harnessed. "Coaching is not remedial; it's not about fixing broken things," she said. "It's about the Wayne Gretzky's of the world - about flying higher." | 
