Hi, I’m Shanel, the founder of Winning Performance. As a business psychologist, my main focus is on helping businesses with their greatest gift and biggest challenge – people!
WHAT I DO
My clients are predominantly executives, and I support them in a range of ways. For example:
I’m the “go to” when they’re recruiting executives or other critical positions because I provide insights into candidates beyond what can be gleaned from interviews and traditional reference checks (#executivepsychometrics, #executiveonboarding).
I’ve got a track-record of supporting executives to become CEOs, so am frequently engaged to develop executives and potential CEO and Chief/GM successors (#executivecoaching, #psychometrics, #360surveys, #executivedevelopment, #executivesuccessionplanning).
I’m known for helping cohorts of leaders make changes to their behaviour (as opposed to teaching theory that they never apply), so leaders and reports alike appreciate my approach to training (#leadershipdevelopment).
I’m focused on helping teams achieve an “over the odds result”, so am engaged by leaders who feel let down by classic team-building events (#teamdevelopment, #highperformingteams).
I’m passionate about (and qualified in) business, not just people, so frequently work with executive teams to not only help them collaborate more effectively (#eltdevelopment, #relationshipoptimisation), but to support them with creating a clear and compelling strategy (#strategydevelopment) and a change-resilient organisation (#culturedevelopment).
HOW I GOT STARTED
People often ask me how I got into this line of work. I’ve always loved helping people, so did a Psychology degree. However, I also had a commercial and entrepreneurial brain so did degrees in Marketing, Operations Management and Management Science and Information Systems.
My first job out of university was as an Investment Banker doing mergers and acquisitions. Dissatisfied with the ethics of the firm, I took an 80% pay cut to work with high-needs foster kids. It was during this time that I met a psychologist who, impressed with my work, offered to be my supervisor and help me through the challenging 2-year psychologist registration process. After a few varied roles, she encouraged me to think about how I could combine all my diverse experiences into one profession.
I initially attempted this with other consultancies, but grew frustrated with the driver always being profit rather than value. In 2008, about a month before New Zealand officially went into a recession, I started Winning Performance.
HOW IT’S GOING
Having been a psychologist since 2006, I am as passionate about my work as I was on the day I started. What keeps me going is the opportunity to make a difference to both people and organisations; the challenge of problem-solving and designing tailored solutions to suit each client’s unique needs; and the freedom to work in alignment with my strong ethical values.
I am on a mission to challenge people’s assumptions about psychometrics, 360-degree feedback, coaching, training, and mediation; particularly those who have had negative experiences. While I don’t dispute that these tools and approaches are often used poorly, I love using them in a way that delivers real value and ensures a great experience for the organisation and people involved. Perhaps this is due to my background being a little different to most.
If you’re interested in possibly working together, I recommend booking a complimentary 30 min call with me (or text me on 021 2777 225 to arrange a time to speak). That way, we can discuss your situation, your goals and how we might work together. I always provide fixed-cost proposals so there’s total transparency about the investment you’re making.
