Testimonials
What people are saying
"I am incredibly grateful for the coaching I’ve done with Hazel. As an executive, I faced numerous challenges that required clarity, strategy, and emotional intelligence, and Hazel has been instrumental in guiding me through them. Her unique blend of deep insight, practical tools, and empathetic approach has not only helped me improve my leadership skills but also enhanced my overall well-being and work-life balance. What sets Hazel apart is her ability to listen with intention, ask the right questions, reflect my thoughts and provide actionable feedback that is both practical and impactful. She has a gift for creating a safe and supportive space, allowing me to explore my strengths and areas for growth in a way that feels empowering. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to unlock their full potential and navigate the complexities of leadership with clarity and purpose."
- Executive Director
"Working with Hazel during my MBA has been a real turning point. I came in thinking I had to pin down some big, fixed ‘purpose’, but through our coaching conversations and Hazel’s guidance, I found that purpose can actually come from building connections.
With Hazel’s help I now feel reinvigorated as a leader and I'm continuing to develop my leadership skills on a daily basis."
- Dave Miller, Creative Problem Solver & Engineer
"Hazel’s coaching challenged me to think hard about who I am as a leader and how I want to lead. She helped me explore what and how I might shape the next season of my life and career. Our coaching sessions resulted in clarity, clear next steps and actions that I successfully applied throughout the process and continue to embed in my approach. I learned a lot, not only about myself but also about who I want to be. I've gained confidence, patience with myself and clarity of purpose and direction. I wholeheartedly recommend coaching with Hazel."
- Acting CEO
"Through our work together, I gained confidence and developed practical tools to make more deliberate decisions about my career and relationships, as well as my leadership. One of the most powerful realisations was how much of my decision-making had been driven by what I thought others expected of me, rather than what I truly wanted for myself. It seems so simple when I write it down, but Hazel’s ability to ask the right questions and guide me toward these insights was truly transformative. This deeper understanding of myself gave me clarity and with this newfound perspective, I now feel empowered to explore my future with confidence and purpose.”
- Senior leader, public sector
"Working with Hazel was a breath of fresh air for my career focus. Having come off a challenging contract role I wanted to learn new ways to manage my work life effectively and to consider what to look for in my next role. Hazel provided the environment for me to do some hard thinking and encouraged me to look deeper with some self-development activities.
I learned how to focus on my strengths and I identified what I wanted from a role/environment to be successful. I came away from our sessions feeling positive and invigorated about future work options. I have since secured the role and environment I was seeking. Hazel is also a great people connector. She has since introduced me to a useful subject matter group relevant to my new role."
- Client has requested privacy
"I came to coaching with a lot of frustrations and a strong desire to lift my performance. Hazel was a master at teasing out root causes, exploring issues widely but also focussing on the opportunities for me and my development. Hazel’s ability to know when to dig deeper and when to call out my thinking was remarkable. The sessions were always engaging, enjoyable, and comfortable.
Hazel has been particularly adept at encouraging my growth through combining reflection and action, I have learnt so much. I finished our sessions having built confidence, explored my value and values and better understanding of how to increase my influence and effectiveness. Most importantly I feel like I now have a strong external support who will be with me in my leadership journey on an ongoing basis. Hazel, Nga mihi nui ki a koe mo to mohio, nga mihi pai.”
- Tessa Datlen-Carter, Performance and Insights Lead, Supply Chain/Operations
"Coaching sessions with Hazel have provided an enormous amount of value to me. Her thoughtful and tailored approach allowed me to gain actionable insights and provided me with greater clarity on a range of issues that I was grappling with. Her suggested frameworks and supplementary resources enabled me to read up, practice, and expand on my thinking outside of our discussions. I would highly recommend coaching with Hazel to anyone who is looking to elevate their thinking and improve their effectiveness."
- Daniel Westlake
"Hazel's coaching expertise empowered me and developed my leadership skills. Through a journey of self-exploration, utilising my self-realised skills and considering my strengths I have developed and grown. I highly recommend Hazel for people leaders seeking positive change."
- Ann Ridden, Nurse Team Leader
"Coaching with Hazel Barlow has been a game changer for my leadership journey! Transitioning from India, I faced unique challenges, but Hazel’s supportive approach made a significant impact. Our coaching helped me understand my strengths and address areas for growth, particularly in trust-building and innovative thinking. One quote she shared, “Most people overestimate what they can do in 1 year, and underestimate what they can do in 10 years”, has inspired me to embrace long-term growth. Hazel equipped me with essential skills in time management and adaptability, making her not just a coach but a catalyst for transformation. I feel privileged to have received her guidance during my MBA program in New Zealand and I highly recommend her coaching to anyone seeking to achieve their leadership goals."
- Amandeep Kalra, MBA Candidate, University of Canterbury
"I worked with Hazel over an eight-month period to assist me defining the next steps in my career. Hazel was able to provide me with the direction and structure to revaluate my career and life goals while ensuring that I was true to my values.
Hazel's greatest strength was her ability to ask the tough questions - so that I fully evaluated all aspects of my choices and she challenged me to remove all the barriers that I put in place, and options that I had discounted.
During the time that I worked with Hazel, her insight into my strengths and weaknesses was fundamental to being able to evaluate my career goals - it has led to me attending the Auckland University Business School's - Strategic CFO Course as the first step in my chosen and redefined career path.
With Hazel’s help I now feel reinvigorated as a leader and I'm continuing to develop my leadership skills on a daily basis."
- Group Manager Commercial, Energy sector, Christchurch, Greg Robinson
"I asked Hazel for help in 2020 to work on some gaps in my stakeholder management skills and understanding of New Zealand business etiquette - both recognised and hidden. I was clearly not getting something important. Over several sessions, Hazel not only addressed my problem statement directly with a variety of coaching techniques, but also proposed some tools for improving my self-awareness, which I used. These helped me tremendously. They provided me with a better understanding of how my inherent behavioural patterns can be perceived by others in the workplace, and where mismatches could be happening. I was then able to identify what changes I needed to make in my assessment of work situations, responses and actions.
As with any profound work this took time, but I am sure it would not have been possible without Hazel’s highly professional guidance and facilitation. Today, one year later I am reaping the fruits of our work in full and am very grateful to Hazel for all her effort and patience with me. It worked.
Not only is Hazel highly experienced and knowledgeable as a business coach, but she is inquisitive, methodical and comprehensive in her approach which worked very well for me. I would not hesitate to recommend Hazel to anyone who is striving for performance improvement and who is not afraid to push the boundaries of their comfort zone. But I also suspect Hazel will be able to find an approach that will work for you in any case!"
- Alex Arefin, Project Manager, Wellington, NZ
"I wholeheartedly endorse Hazel as a career coach. She has made a profound impact on my professional journey. Hazel's thoroughness and attention to detail allowed me to consider the best path for my future career. She took the time to understand my strengths and weaknesses, tailoring her coaching to my specific needs. Her insightful feedback and strategic advice helped me craft compelling responses that showcased my value to potential employers and she brought out the best in me during our interview preparations. Hazel's unwavering support and empowering approach instilled the confidence I needed to excel in interviews.
I am forever grateful for her dedication and believe that anyone seeking to unlock their full potential, whether for job-seeking purposes or for their career development in general, would greatly benefit from working with Hazel Barlow as their coach and mentor".
- Neil, Technical Director
"I cannot put a value on the benefits of working with Hazel. I was applying for promotion to a more senior role.
The changes she suggested to my CV and cover letter made them more relevant and current. I know this because the HR department where I was applying for the role said, “your letter and CV were an absolute stand out”.
Then there was the interview coaching and preparation for a presentation on leadership.
Hazel gave me a lot of confidence; it was so evident that Hazel has a lot of high-level experience in this area, and she hones straight into the relevant questions and points.
I have never felt so prepared for an interview before – needless to say with my increased self-belief and confidence I secured the role.
Thank you, Hazel!"
- Donna, Senior manager, Building/construction, Christchurch
"Hazel provided coaching support for me over a period of 3 months. We worked towards a set of goals which I had developed to support my professional growth. The change which occurred in me during that period was so much more than I could have ever expected.
Through Hazel’s support and guidance, I was able to build a better understanding of how to utilise my personal strengths in daily life. During our time working together, I achieved much more than was initially intended from my goals. Some of the personal benefits that I’ve observed include feeling less stressed, more comfortable in my own skin, achieving more with less effort, and having a more balanced lifestyle. This has improved my professional output and also the quality of my personal relationships."
- Chris McGillivray, Project Manager, construction sector
"Having been coached by Hazel Barlow, I can confidently say she’s an outstanding leadership coach. Hazel’s professional and proactive approach created a safe, supportive space where I felt empowered to explore and push beyond my limits.
Her ability to challenge me while encouraging growth led to significant personal and professional development."
- Sally Williams, Manager HR Business Partnering and Employment Relations, Airways Corporation.
Organisation Testimonials
"Leadership Development is at the heart of the UC MBA and Hazel Barlow is one of a small number of Leadership Coaches selected to contribute to the programme. Hazel has a deep commitment to seeing her clients succeed, ‘going the extra mile’ to set up the coaching relationship. Participants speak of real changes that occur in their lives as a result of her coaching, including discovering their core strengths, growing in self-awareness and confidence. Through the coaching relationship, people have gained new insights, learned how to deal with complex situations, built better communication, overcome barriers, and improved their performance. Genuine transformations have occurred when people have been keen to develop as leaders and willing to utilise Hazel’s coaching to support that growth.”
Bernard Walker, Associate Professor University of Canterbury Business School
“Hato Hone St John, New Zealand is a large complex organisation with equally complex issues arising with leadership. Hazel has been a constant in our Coaching space since 2019 and has made a huge difference to many of our senior leaders. Her ability to listen and question to a level where our leaders have been able to think deeply and reach their answers, both practical and profound, has been outstanding. Months after their coaching I have heard them refer back to the techniques and sage conversations they had with Hazel. She understands our business and the many different facets it has and having someone like Hazel who can adjust her style to suit the different demands is incredibly valuable. We are lucky to have her expertise and support.”
Annie Bradshaw, Capability Development Partner, Hato Hone St John
“We’ve been working with Hazel since 2022. A number of our clinical and non-clinical leaders are valuing the opportunity to work with her. Hazel empowers each person to identify their personal development areas and objectives and works with a balance of encouragement and challenge to support each person in achieving their goals. This work is making a positive difference to our leaders and to the teams they are leading.“
Claire Mcquilken, Operations Manager, Pegasus Health 24-hour surgery