I really appreciated Palena’s listening skills, intuitiveness and adaptability. She demonstrates genuine kindness and empathy towards her interlocutors, mixed with useful and practical tools that promote self-reflection and realization. She places the human aspect above all and creates a safe space for expression. It was a very fruitful and enjoyable journey, the lessons of which will undoubtedly have lasting effects on my perception of my own leadership abilities and capacity to overcome difficult obstacles with strength and confidence. A very sincere thank you to Palena.

Anne-Laure Henry-Gréard, Chief Technical Adviser, ILO-IFC Better Work Madagascar

Palena’s coaching was outstanding. With her brilliant resources, highly skilled exploration and exceptional empathy, she not only facilitates increase in knowledge and awareness but actual behavior change. In short: Palena is a wonderful growth agent whom I can wholeheartedly recommend!

Julia Rohe, Programme Officer, UNIDO – TCS/CIS

Palena is such an amazing coach. Her intuitive and sensitive listening skills have supported me through my current professional challenges. She has provided me with the right advice needed to boost my professional network and leadership skills. I am truly grateful for her expertise and kindness. Thank you for not letting me off the hook until I reached my goals.

Loubna Olouy, WHO Program Manager, Ministry of Health of Morocco

Palena is a wonderful coach and I cannot tell you how much I benefited from her leadership and guidance. A kin listener, she creates reflection, raising insight and self awareness. Very supportive, she motivated me to be a better leader, to increase my visibility despite my discomfort, and to take my career and leadership skills to the next level. I am so grateful for her guidance and motivation.

Vanessa Coulomb, Director of Country Programs, Palladium

I had one of my most significant self-realizations in a session with Palena. If it weren’t for her incredibly thoughtful way of probing and reflecting, it would have taken me many more years to come to the same realization. Thanks to my sessions with Palena, I am able to work and live with a greater understanding of myself. This is a significant gift.

Emily Sullivan
Partner & Consultant – Adolescent & Youth Participation, Fondation Botnar

Palena is an acute listener, with great warmth and empathy for her coachee. Sessions are focused, goals agreed at the outset, and gentle yet determined enquiry, challenge, humour and intuition, leads to clear actions, insight and learning. Palena helped me to hold myself accountable for my actions at all times. I learnt that trusting the process is key to the coachee achieving great results. Personally I found that pushing against self-imposed barriers can be liberating. I made progress with many of the topics that we discussed and having Palena as my thinking partner enriched the actions I took.

Wendy Russell, Managing Director, Harper Russell, Ltd

It has been a special experience and an honor to have had Pr. Palena Neale both as a professor and a mentor. As a student I had the privilege to learn not just from her extensive academic knowledge but also from her diverse and rich professional experience. As a mentor she not only thought me a lot about how to efficiently enter the professional world, but she helped me believe in myself. We all have our doubts and down moments, and she took the time to listen, understand and help me grow as a person. I sometimes felt like I was asking too much of her, but she always responded with honesty, kindness and rigor.

Pr. Neale is not just professor and a mentor to me, she’s an inspiration and am grateful.

Diane Domkam – Institutional Affairs Officer, Engie, France

I learnt that coaching is a helpful approach and can lead to self realization and positive thinking. I started understanding art of coaching and a distinct coaching style from Palena. She is wonderful person and I was very comfortable communicating with her even though we never knew each other before or ever met in person. The video calls helped and I realized distance does not matter if you have the right intention.

Shaonli Shaonli Chakraborty, Assistant Director, Swasti Health Catalyst

Palena has a wonderful way of running leadership workshops. Attending her workshops reminded me of my personal and professional values, boosted my morale and helped me better support co-workers and clients. Importantly, her workshops are down-to-earth, fun and compassionate. Highly recommended (also for male leaders!).

Paul L. Janssen
MD MPH