Catherine Moynihan
Described as a genuine, flexible, engaging, trusted coach and business partner, Catherine injects herself personally into every engagement while maintaining objectivity. With extraordinary heart and warmth, she's driven by a relentless pursuit of focused, meaningful and robust discussions, and is committed to the execution of transformational results.
Gently navigating through the hard conversations, Catherine guides individuals, teams and organisations to find their truth (unsurfaced strengths and limiting behaviours and approaches). She's dedicated to liberating potential and identifying how best to differentiate an individual, team or business to be the best version of themselves or compete in the future marketplace.
Catherine's an organisational performance consultant and coach with over 20 years’ experience. She’s partnered with boards, chief executive officers, executive teams and leaders to provide consulting and coaching across Asia-Pacific and the US – in a variety of industries, including leisure and event entertainment, information technology, telecommunications, financial services, banking, retail, pharmaceutical, advertising, utilities, mining, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), manufacturing, local city councils and statutory bodies.
Catherine brings an incredibly unique view to coaching and development. A Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminology, as well as a post-graduate degree in Applied Psychology (not to mention accreditation in a range of organisational and individual measurement tools), has positioned her as an expert in human behaviour.
She uses this to facilitate change initiatives at an individual, team and organisational level, designing and leading a range of successful programs. Whether they are large-scale global interventions or discrete local and individual projects, she consistently delivers against the goals. From raising the confidence and performance of her clients through to developing capability and agility, she delivers coaching that is energetic, passionate, action-oriented and results focused.
Catherine is a self-confessed chocoholic, a big fan of Ed Sheeran tunes, and loves hiking through the Dandenong’s, Grampians and Wilson’s Promontory, cycling anywhere and even scootering down the St Kilda Esplanade in Melbourne with her girls.
From the outset Catherine and I connected, she matched my energy and passion for personal growth! Her warm and open demeanour, balanced with a unique ability to confront and challenge the core beliefs that undermined my self-confidence, enabled me to be courageous enough to unpack what was holding me back. It was liberating being able to let go of what happened 20-30 years ago and know that it does not define me now, nor limit me from being the best version of myself going forward. It was an awesome experience that I am grateful for. As a result of the 6-month journey, I have grown in confidence, determination, and resilience. I believe in me and all I have to offer…nothing will stop me now!
From our first coaching exchange Catherine saw me for who I was and equally who I could be. Her belief in me was contagious, enabling me to embrace this 6-month transformational experience. It was a meeting of minds/spirits – authentic, passionate, committed and engaging, characteristics I hold true for myself. The journey was a healthy balance of introspection, insight, and action, leading me to rediscover how to channel my energy and strengths to take me to where and who I aspired to be (father, professional and leader). I have reconnected with my optimism and found my purpose…thank you.
We engaged Catherine to facilitate two of our pinnacle customer events, where our leading customers gather to discuss strategy, pain points and our partnership. With such a diverse group and range of opinions, workshopping can be challenging. With Catherine involved, she managed to solicit very detailed and honest feedback ahead of the event, helping us understand our customers’ needs and perspectives at a very deep level. Not only did this result in a highly effective workshop, but our customers felt a true sense of partnership. This trust-based foundation, coupled with Catherine’s authentic facilitation style enabled her to create the space necessary for an open and transparent debate, leading to the surfacing of key issues and the initiation of a collaborative way forward.
Catherine was engaged to help our newly formed Operations team develop into a 'High Performing Team'. Our journey started before COVID-19 and followed a process of interviews and team activities. Catherine’s professional facilitation enabled the team to develop a strong purpose, goals, as well as priorities. However, it was the facilitation of the Group Styles Inventory and the feedback sessions during COVID-19 that enabled the biggest breakthrough with the team.
The success of the feedback process has allowed for a step change in teamwork and communication within the team that has enabled the team to drive towards its purpose and goals more effectively. Catherine was patient, understanding and diligent in her role. Her regular communication was instrumental in achieving the desired result for the team.
Our seven-year partnership with Catherine has been integral in helping us transform our business, target market and competitive positioning. We now have a focused commitment to our customers to provide innovation leadership, effortless partnership, and lean delivery to help them reimagine what is possible and continuously innovate with technology to transform their business.
Our culture has become more open and transparent, with everyone aligned on, accountable for and excited by our strategic direction and priorities. Catherine’s energy, passion and relentless pursuit of focused, meaningful, and robust discussions meant she asked the tough questions that needed answering, and ultimately supported us in the building of a culture of empowerment where operational decisions led and executed by the team are on strategy.
I enjoyed my engagement with Catherine. She had a “can do attitude” and a personality that engaged with and listened to a variety of people – making all aware that they had a worthwhile opinion that should be heard. She was also an excellent communicator and facilitator who could synthesize views immediately in discussion groups or in summary documentation. She has an eye for detail and was extremely conscious of timelines and the timely delivery of reports.
Staff had a strong sense of trust when dealing with Catherine - that they were being listened to, and that a positive outcome would be forthcoming from the interaction.
Catherine’s facilitation of our strategic planning workshops was very in the moment. Catherine was artful in navigating the diverse stakeholders in the room and ensured we landed agreed outcomes. She was adaptive, flexible and a delight to work with. She is a strategic thinker, who also has attention to detail. Catherine challenges, asks thought provoking questions and knows when to hold leadership teams to account.
I have been very fortunate in my career to work closely with a number of highly skilled professionals in highly challenging situations, as both a client and as a colleague, and Catherine is one such person who will always be at or close to the top of that list in her own field. What has always stood out for me regarding Catherine’s work is that she is always prepared to challenge both herself and those that she works with, and she will never compromise on integrity, quality, or safety. She never settles for expediency or allows herself to do the obvious unless that it is genuinely in the interests of her client. At the same time Catherine brings extraordinary heart, honour and discretion to her engagements and relationships; she is neither afraid to admit and share compassion, nor “speak truth to power” when called for – and she can always be trusted with highly confidential matters.
I know that there are others out there who have similar training and experience, but very few who appropriately invest their own nature in scoping, designing, and delivering the right work. And it has been my experience that Catherine’s counsel is valuable in both the best and worst of times – if she shares my own assessment of a situation, I am gratified, but I am even more conscious of the value of her questions or disagreement. And what can be more valuable than that, from a trusted advisor?