Alexis Hutson

Coaching doctors Development workshops

Testimonials

Alexis is an insightful, empathetic and flexible coach with whom I was fortunate to have four coaching sessions that significantly progressed my thinking around career and personal issues. She effectively deployed coaching frameworks and structures to facilitate personal reflection and problem-solving, as well as bringing an authentic humanity to the conversation that made it easy to speak candidly with her about new insights, both comfortable and more difficult. Alexis often provided challenge that was thought-provoking and productive, while simultaneously providing the advocacy and support to enable me to strive for improvement. It was a great pleasure and a truly valuable experience to work with her over the last few months. — General Practitioner
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Alexis. She is very warm, knowledgeable about working in healthcare, and insightful. I have found the sessions to be fun and gently challenging in a very positive way. — General Practitioner
Thank you for all the of the help you gave me when I was going to make my partnership decision. You gave me a 'safe space' to reflect and stopped me from ruminating all the time about it. This was absolutely invaluable to me, and I cannot thank you enough. — General Practitioner (new Partner)
Alexis is extremely personable and easy to talk to. She is a great listener and really good at getting at the nub of the issue. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with her and felt able to speak candidly with her about my thoughts, feelings and anxieties and about sensitive and personal issues as well as work, the workplace and wider issues which impact on work and life and the balance between the two. I found the sessions extremely helpful and felt empowered and more confident after them to not only face challenges, but to make some significant personal decisions and to challenge those people and things which needlessly constrain me or negatively impact on my quality of life. I would certainly have no hesitation in recommending Alexis to anyone interested in coaching. — General Practitioner
Thank you very much for the coaching you have given me. I have found the whole experience extremely positive and especially helpful in my return to GP. Thank you for your insights, support, encouragement and wisdom. — General Practitioner (Returning to practice)
Alexis's non-judgemental manner was very helpful and without it I don't think I would have been able to work with her. Her acumen when it comes to interpersonal communication gave me confidence that I would learn a lot, which I did. — Secondary Care Consultant (Returning to practice)
Although I'd been in the system for many years, it was essential that my leadership style was clear and consistent – not only for the team, but also for me. I believe with the help of Alexis, this work has begun and significant progress has been made. I am conscious of my own behaviour and responsibilities more now than before, so I'm sure the organisation has benefited and will continue to do so as I develop further. — Medical Educator
Alexis provides feedback throughout each session and encourages me to think and reflect about my behaviour, how I role model, and how to balance my competing responsibilities. Having the time to reflect between sessions and put action plans into place is a great way for me to learn and apply my learning. — Secondary Care Consultant & Medical Educator
I was able to gain some very valuable insight into my patterns of behaviour and some maladaptive traits which appeared when faced with overwhelming stress and uncertainty. Alexis helped me to think through these behaviours and modify them appropriately. This was a helpful and valuable lesson. — Public Health Consultant
The sessions with Alexis were very helpful. She used the coaching style well (helping me find my own answers) but also gave good practical advice on e.g. first steps to take in a new role. I liked that combination. I could also tell that she has had a lot of experience of working with doctors in strategic roles; she used many examples of both personal development of others but also of organisational development. This increased my own learning. Last, Alexis provided clear and useful summaries of our sessions – I hope she'll keep on doing this as they were very helpful. I would very much recommend Alexis as a coach. — General Practitioner
I wanted to know how to get the best out of my team, and how to effect change. In fact to do this I had to think a lot about myself, how I act, how I see myself in relation to others and how they may see me. I feel that with this insight, I can be more responsive to the needs of the team and more likely to be able to persuade them to try something new. I have found Alexis' input really beneficial both for my personal development and development of the team. I would highly recommend this to others and have already suggested to colleagues that they contact her. — Secondary Care Consultant (new)
My line manager recommended Alexis to me when I was appointed as a new consultant in NHS. To be honest, I had no idea what this is all about. After our first session I had some idea but never believed this is going to help me in anyway. I had doubts. Alexis came across as a professional who knew what she was doing. She has a very friendly personality and makes you feel at ease. Because of her personality I thought I should give it a try and I am glad I made that decision. I had five sessions and these have helped me in my new role. I feel more confident and more equipped to deal with things, which I used to find difficult with before. I will definitely recommend this coaching session to my colleagues, particularly new consultant colleagues. — General Practitioner
As a result of my sessions with Alexis I feel more confident in myself (a revelation after 15yrs of clinical practice!), and much more able to not only accept, but play to my strengths. I also feel that I have been given a 'survival tookit' which I can use in the future too. — General Practitioner
Initially I was very hesitant about coaching – I wasn't sure if it would be too 'touchy feely' for me, as a person who used to feel there simply just wasn't enough time for all that stuff. However it has been an incredibly useful experience, I have learnt a lot about myself, how I think and how to adapt when I hit the 'pressure cooker moment'. My seniors have all commented on my improved confidence and maturity and now see me as consultant colleague material rather than their junior registrar. — Secondary Care Registrar
I probably would have got there eventually, but this coaching has sped up my learning by 1-2 years. — Secondary Care Consultant
This is the one thing that I have done in the last ten years that has positively changed my work, practice and relationships. — General Practitioner
When I started the coaching sessions with Alexis I was recently appointed to a new role. Although I had been a consultant for over a decade I felt that in this new role I was poorly organised, often crisis managing and had no time for longer term planning. The coaching sessions were a really valuable way of improving my performance and happiness with my role. Alexis provided the perfect balance of actively listening, reflecting back my thoughts along with her own insights and then developing achievable goals. I would strongly recommend her coaching, particularly to doctors who are starting a new role or phase in their careers. — Secondary Care Consultant
The concept of coaching had been recommended to me prior to the opportunity of working with Alexis. Initially I was uncertain how this would help, but found that the time taken during each session to enter into a reflective, challenging conversation paid dividends in the weeks following each session. Whilst I probably knew what the challenges were before the sessions, I had not taken the opportunity to reflect and do something about it – this time with Alexis provided that impetus. It is sometimes really difficult to find a space in a busy schedule for this 1:1 time, but it really is time well spent. — Secondary Care Consultant
Alexis has that rare quality of listening not only to the words you are saying but also the nuances. She is able to analyse and effectively summarise. But she does not force her opinion on you; the conclusions you draw are your own. She facilitates the process and it is all the more powerful for that. The solutions are your own and you feel more empowered to make the changes you feel are necessary. She gives you the time and space to introspect, which is something of a luxury for most doctors. — Secondary Care Consultant
I would highly recommend coaching sessions with Alexis. I am so much clearer in my mind with regards my professional ambitions, the means to achieve them and the personal sacrifices I am prepared to make for those ambitions. I am already spending more time with my family! It is an excellent opportunity for introspection and taking stock. She gives you the time, space and her undivided attention. — Secondary Care Consultant
Despite being initially a bit sceptical, I found the sessions really opened my mind to issues in the workplace and dynamics between people. I found Alexis understood my Myers-Briggs “type” and we used that to effectively negotiate tricky practice dynamics with a really positive outcome. I believe that the skills I have learnt in the 6 sessions I will be able to take with me and utilise in the rest of my career. I have done several significant positive things for the practice that I know I wouldn't have done without having had this training. — General Practitioner
With the help of some insightful and expert interpretation of my personality type through Myers-Briggs, I have a clearer understanding of why certain management situations can bring stress and frustration. Having the ability to 'flex' into aspects of my innate skill-set which are less frequently used in a managerial capacity and yet which I use naturally with my patients will take time but awareness is the first step. — Secondary Care Consultant
Alexis is very easy to talk to/with and completely non judgemental. At first I think I was wondering if I would 'give the right answers' – perhaps a hangover from the world of medicine, but Alexis quickly helped me to see that there are no 'wrong answers' in coaching & she creates a totally 'safe' environment in which to explore your thinking. — Secondary Care Consultant
Alexis very quickly picked up on my lack of self confidence & we explored what drives this – ie 'my fear of being found out in terms of not being as good as everyone else'. She never judged me, but worked with me to explore the root of this, & to help me to see for myself that this was not only not true, but also self destructive. Then she spent time in sessions helping me to explore how to leave that attitude behind. Alexis doesn't give you the answers, she helps you find them. — General Practitioner
Alexis is approachable, open and intelligent – establishing a rapport was easy! In addition Alexis has fantastic listening skills and a highly refined ability to crystallise relevant and useful coaching points from broad-ranging discussions.It is truly rewarding to learn something fundamental about yourself at a point in life and career when you might reasonably expect to have “picked up” the necessary skills. — Secondary Care Consultant
Alexis ran the sessions professionally and cared deeply about the outcome. She has added greatly to my professional development and I am confident that I can translate this learning into benefits for the Trust. I would have no hesitation in recommending her to fellow professionals – in fact I think it should be compulsory CPD! — Secondary Care Consultant
I was lucky enough to find myself in a senior leadership role, but I was having problems with working relationships. I frankly found myself in the doldrums in terms of achieving goals through my usual approaches to managing teams and a busy workload. Alexis assisted me in using my own reflections on my behaviours (using the MBTI as a resource) to identify ways that I could change to bring about greater personal satisfaction through goals that I identified for myself. The accent on change was to build on my strengths, which ensured I saw this as a positive process rather than one based on perceived deficiencies. The balance between my own input and Alexis' assisted reflection and information giving was just right. And the management of each session was effectively done to ensure that the time was used most effectively. I am very grateful and would highly recommend Alexis to others needing assistance in working more effectively to achieve personal satisfaction (and that of colleagues). — General Practitioner
The most significant point for me was a difference in approach in the two areas of my work portfolio – clinical and educational. Although I was able to describe my behaviour I had never reflected on a fundamental difference in approach – and using this new insight was probably the most significant overall outcome. — General Practitioner

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