36 Acquisition International - July 2017 The Nyasa Partnership Limited provides coaching, mentoring, or training to everyone wishing to make a change to their lives. As winner of the Influential Businesswomen of 2017 award, we profiled the remarkable work of the expert in coaching, mentoring and training, Barbara Cormack. oaching, mentoring or training – which one is right for you or the individual members of your leadership team and staff in your organisation? After over 25 years in the corporate world, Barbara founded The Nyasa Partnership Limited in 2000 to allow her to support people – individually or within an organisation – to succeed in their own personal, professional, and/or business development. Born in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) during the Federation; at a young age her parents moved to Nyasaland (Malaŵi) where she grew up. Her career started in the more traditional role of auditing and accounting. After reaching her goal to work in the City of London (where she was a financial analyst), Barbara changed careers and spent many years working as a financial software specialist in the IT world (implementations, business process engineering, consulting, project/programme management, mentoring, training, business project/programme management, blue sky product development), giving her the opportunity to travel extensively as part of her work. At the beginning of this century, another career change saw Barbara qualifying as a coach. Starting her own company allows Barbara to use all her knowledge and personally gained experience - to support her clients using her coaching or mentoring - or to work with them to gain their own knowledge through one of her training courses. With vast previous experience, Barbara is uniquely place to provide personal, professional and/or business support across a wide range of sectors. Having spent her life around the world, including Africa, UK, Europe, USA, and Canada; Barbara has a strong knowledge of international business practices and different cultures. Barbara’s experience has been gained while both living and working nationally and internationally and through working in a wide range of industries – these include but is not exclusive to retail, distribution, warehousing, manufacturing, engineering, pharmaceuticals, property, oil, online publications, agriculture, Airports, auditing, banking, telecommunications and television. Barbara’s day-to-day activities are driven by the clients she works with. No two days are the same for her. When she doesn’t have a client on a specific day, the day will be spent researching, writing, and/ or recording videos. Barbara’s passion in life is to ensure that her clients, colleagues, family, and friends become the best they can in all aspects of their lives. She is an advocate of achieving in every arena of life. For this reason, The Nyasa Partnership Limited’s mission is to take each person through their own Company: The Nyasa Partnership Limited Name: Barbara Cormack CIAC, AFC, AFM, CIAC Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.nyasa.biz Address: PO Box 582 Chatham, ME4 9BY UK A Journey of Self- Discovery and Achievement C 1707AI12 wonderful journey of self-discovery and achievement. Coaching is not a therapy, counselling, psychotherapy or mentoring. A coach is a trained professional, who can help you draw out, learn and develop those abilities that have been dormant for too long. A coach will ask just the right questions, providing challenges and support, to assist each person in a variety of ways. In 2005, a student Barbara was working with highlighted to her howmuch information she has and asked how she could share it with not only her, but also with others. It was enlightening and highlighted to Barbara how much information each person collects as they progress through their own lives and careers. This question highlighted to Barbara that she had reduced her support opportunities to her clients; so, she introduced mentoring and training as alternative support opportunities. Unlike coaching, mentoring allows the mentor to use their own knowledge and personally gained experience to help the clients. Barbara’s passion in life is to ensure that her clients, colleagues, family, and friends become the best they can in all aspects of their lives. She is an advocate of achieving in every arena of life. For this reason, The Nyasa Partnership Limited’s mission is to take each person through their own wonderful journey of self-discovery and achievement. Everything the firm does is confidential, unless a client allows them to release such information, confidentiality is retained. The Nyasa Partnership Limited is a business which works on an international basis. They are selective about the clients they work with, as the firm wants to ensure that they can provide the best possible service. The firm’s challenge is that sometimes clients come to coaching, because they have been told to and not because they want to. Barbara believes that change will only happen if the client has made that personal selection. This is best summed up by Tony Robbins who said: “It is in moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” Barbara will continue to work with a select range of clients, by providing them with the right service, to help them achieve in every arena of their life and live the life of their dreams. Looking at the state of the world today, Barbara thinks it would be good to see positive appreciation for what each person can provide and be accepted. In her view, it’s easy to be exclusive rather than inclusive – that seems to be a theme on Facebook now - a lot of the problems in the world would disappear if we could positively accept each person for who they are and what they are capable of, rather than being critical and disliking Barbara concludes.