Alison o'leary - FOUNDER & CEO
RESPONSIBLE FOR:
- DESIGN & ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF CURRENT AND FUTURE PORCUPINE PROGRAMMES
- DELIVERY OF PORCUPINE PROGRAMMES WITH PARTNERS AND USERS
- DESIGN & DELIVERY OF 'TRAIN THE TRAINER' PROGRAMMES
ALISON'S TOP 5 STRENGTHS
OPTIMIST
Alison is generous with praise, quick to smile and always on the lookout for the positive in any given situation. She is light-hearted, energetic, optimistic and super fun. Alison's enthusiasm is contagious and as such, people love to be around her, feeding off the drama and excitement she injects into every project. Alison celebrates every achievement, however small, and is superb at finding the best in everyone, sharing her conviction that it is good to be alive, that work can be fun, and that no matter what the setbacks, you must never lose your sense of humour.
CATALYST
"When can we start?” is a recurring question in Alison's life. For her, only action is real. It brings clarity, makes things happen and leads to high performance. Alison is decisive, assertive and keen to 'get going'. In her mind, action and thinking are not opposites - they are the best combination for learning. She makes a decision, takes action, looks at the result and learns, putting herself out there and always keeping her thinking fresh and informed. Alison is happy to be judged not by what she says, not by what she thinks, but by what she achieves. This does not frighten her. It pleases and motivates her!
SELF-BELIEVER
Having faith in her abilities and judgement, Alison is able to take risks, meet new challenges and deliver. She thinks for herself and is comfortable forming conclusions, making decisions and taking action. Being accountable feels natural to her and no matter what the situation, she trusts her instincts on what to do and how to move forward. This strength lends Alison an aura of certainty. Rather than being swayed by someone else's arguments, she is able to hold firm, withstand many different pressures and stay on course.
CHAMELEON
Incredibly adaptive, Alison is able to respond to the demands of the moment, even when they pull her away from her plans. She doesn't worry about sudden changes or unforeseen detours, in fact she expects them, and this enables her to navigate whatever happens with a calm head and a can-do attitude. At heart she is a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work pull her in many different directions at once.
COACH
Alison sees the potential in others. A natural people-person, she loves nothing more than helping others to experience success by finding ways to challenge them, stretch them and support them with their personal and professional development. She delights in signs of potential being realised, and gains her strength and energy from encouraging others. Guiding and motivating people to be the best version of themselves is a genuine calling that fills her with a sense of purpose.
ALISON'S TOP 5 VALUES
FORGIVENESS
Alison forgives people when they upset her or behave badly towards her. She accepts others’ shortcomings, lets go of hurt and gives people a second chance.
LOVE
Alison values close relations with others. She builds close relationships by giving and receiving love, warmth and caring.
PERSPECTIVE
Alison is able to provide wise counsel to others. She can see the big picture and uses different perspectives and her own experiences and knowledge to offer good advice.
ZEST
Alison approaches life with excitement and energy. She do not do things half-heartedly. She has an enthusiasm for life and lives it with vigour, approaching tasks and activities with positive energy.
HOPE
Alison is optimistic. She is positive about the future, expecting the best and taking steps to achieve it. She believes in her actions and feels confident that things will turn out well.
ALISON'S PERSONALITY PROFILE
ENREPRENEUR
Alison is lively, energetic, fun-loving, open-minded and practical. She makes an impact on her immediate surroundings and brings life and excitement wherever she goes. Living in the moment, Alison loves to dive into the action. She thinks on her feet and makes quick, rational decisions in the moment based on the immediate, factual reality. She's also extremely perceptive, noticing small changes and picking up on people’s hidden thoughts and motives, using these observations to make connections with others. Naturally bold and good at improvising. Alison loves to push boundaries and experiment with ideas and solutions that are actionable, learning as she goes. She is inspiring, convincing and colourful, and is unafraid to challenge the rules, using her own moral compass to guide her behaviours and actions. She trusts herself to make the right call and communicates clearly and directly.
ALISON'S credentials
Alison is a leading life coach, trained in California, certified and accredited by Martha Beck, with thousands of hours experience coaching clients around career development and career change.
While perhaps best known for her ground-breaking Work Wonderland online career coaching course and web application, which has helped so many transform and re-balance their lives, Alison continues to provide personal coaching and development for individuals, peer groups and teams through her coaching practice Live True.
Before making a career change herself, Alison spent a 20-year corporate career in London and Paris, holding a number of senior management positions within the communications Industry, most recently as Deputy Managing Director, Europe for a global digital marcoms agency. She has consulted some of the world’s leading brands, including IBM, Sony, Huawei, Skype, Philips and Gartner.
Despite outward success, Alison began to feel discontented with her chosen career and craved something more meaningful. Her aim to transition to a better balanced life and a more fulfilling career led her to coaching, and taught her the techniques she now uses to help others who seek their own meaningful, purposeful and fulfilling change.
On the personal front, Alison loves the outdoors, all things alternative, and adventures.
When she's not working, she's likely to be found hiking in the black mountains, testing unusual health and well-being classes with friends or trying her hand at adrenaline-fuelled activities like paragliding or quad biking!
After undergoing major changes in their lives, moving from the centre of London to a remote mountainside in Wales, and transitioning into careers they love, Alison and her husband now live the life they dreamed of and work with passion.