Jessica Chivers is The Thinking Woman’s Coach, founder of Be You But Better coaching. This page describes who she is, what’s she’s about and her route into coaching.

Why I Coach

I’m a pretty sorted individual, with a knack for making lemonade when others might see only lemons. I’m the optimist who sees glasses half full and about to be topped up. And it’s this, along with my zest, warmth and creativity that make me a stimulating coach.  I take immense pride in doing a job I love and making a difference to people’s view of themselves and their capabilities. Making people feel good and equipping them with a mindset to achieve personal aspirations is something I do almost by osmosis. It never feels like work and that’s why I coach.

My Experiences

I could tell you my amusing story about the psychology of melons and breasts but suffice to say I’ve got a first in psychology from one of the UK’s top rated departments. I could tell you about wanting to represent wrongly imprisoned women on death row in America but let’s just say I didn’t have to cross the pond to make a difference to women’s lives. One of my guiding philosophies as a positive coach and psychologist is that the nature and quality of the journey is more significant than the destination.

I’ve been employed in marketing and learning and development roles, most recently for one the UK’s largest financial institutions. And since leaving three years ago, I’ve continued to work as a coach for a broad range of big brands in the UK. My professional development has always been important and as you might expect, I have qualifications in both the marketing and coaching arenas. My coaching experience comes from a practical coaching course recognised by the Open College Network and from hundreds of hours coaching private clients like you and individuals in workshops I deliver for The Mind Gym. In 2007 some of my clients and I participated in research by the London School of Economics to understand the effectiveness of coaching.

I have been writing to move women’s minds for nearly four years through my free monthly e-mail (“Here’s a thought…”) and as a guest commentator and contributor to national publications including New Woman, Zest and Prima. I currently write a weekly Life Consultancy column for IPC Media’s, LOOK magazine.

Who I am

If you peeled me like an onion you’d find layer on layer of enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, creativity and drive to do things a little bit differently. I don’t have the traditional work/life dichotomy, which is often the way when you make a living from something you’d do for pleasure, unpaid and in your spare time.

I'm fascinated by the growing field of positive psychology and understanding how modern society affects our perceptions of what happiness is and how we can achieve it. I encourage people towards the good life and to shun the elements of today's society that appear to make us happy on the surface and actually do anything but. My own life and sense of happiness reflects much of the research that’s been done on what constitutes a wonderful life.

Dr Nick Baylis, Professor Ben Fletcher and Professor Karen Pine continue to inspire me professionally and personally.

I am wife and mother as well as a keen runner and community-minded helper. My favourite gadget is the Dyson vacuum cleaner and although I like fluffy animals I don’t have any as pets. I live in St Albans, Hertfordshire and love to be beside the rugged Cornish coast when I’m not here.

For HR women and corporate souls amongst you my Myers-Briggs personality type, "ENFJ" is a good description of me:

"Warm and enthusiastic. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs and motivations of others. Finds potential in everyone, acting as a catalyst for individual and group growth. May provide inspiring leadership and like to facilitate others.