Businesses
Although we only have a short time together, in our team building morning Jenny covered all items requested from strategic direction to better communication in varied approaches that the team all really enjoyed. Jenny used her initiative and experience to facilitate all learning styles and a very professional, fun filled time was had by all.
Norah, Tauranga City Council
Employ NZ engaged Jenny Gray 12 months ago following a period of rapid expansion and an ownership change which had resulted in a large amount of changes in how the organisation operated, some staff embraced the change whilst others resisted which had started to create a divide within the organisation, since engaging with Jenny our organisation has successfully developed a positive culture where members of the team are working more collaboratively and understand each other’s individual communication and work styles. Jenny has been a huge asset to our organisation and has delivered, workshops for us on organisational change, communication styles (including DISC profiles) and team building, introduced and facilitated mediation as a positive step to address issues that occasionally arise, assisted with hiring the right candidates and completed management training and coached our management team.
Jay Banner, Employ NZ
Leadership Mentoring & Training Testimonial
Coaching sessions with Jenny are friendly, informative and provide the right environment to build your personal confidence along with practical advice to develop effective leadership practices. Jenny has a unique understanding of what leadership actually means in the workplace and her coaching has demonstrated how to work with different behaviours to build a positive team dynamic. Jenny has provided excellent written resources and fun ideas for team building, all very user friendly and great for lifting the spirits. Using the DiSC® analysis was the key to understanding myself and looking at who I was surrounded by. It has been amazing to see the difference in our team dynamic now I have a clearer understanding of different behaviours and how I can best meet their needs as the Leader in their workplace.
Pam Cooper
DiSC®
I approached Jenny because I was interested in a tool which promoted positive work groups which would help ups with just formed projects. The Team Building Company through the DiSC workshop helped raise awareness and understanding of behaviours which is often the reason why work groups fail to work collectively. One thing I liked was how interactive the workshop was through teambuilding exercises which supported the material covered. I would recommend Jenny to people who need to improve their teams and environment because DiSC promotes a greater understanding of how to get the best out of people.
Sita Symons Group
Jenny has a relaxed but focused facilitation style. She is an expert on the DiSC® system. This really comes through during workshops when she is able to relate real examples of behaviour for individuals. This helps gain clarity around behavioural styles and how this impacts in the workplace. A must do for those who want their teams to work better together and be more productive and also for individuals to understand how they operate at work.
Allison, Career & Life Coach-Auckland
SCHOOLS
Our Senior Leadership Team used Jenny for PD around having courageous conversations. For this Jenny delivered a programme around building positive workplace environments and communication. We were blown away with how valuable the day turned out for us all. Jenny led us through a day of self discovery and linked to how we could operate more effectively individually as well as a member of the team. Jenny was a fantastic facilitator, with sound researched knowledge. She has a relaxed manner and her activities were very interactive. We had a lot of laughs which made the learning easy. She ensured we have the tools to continue to develop after this day. I certainly have used different techniques and approaches with great success.. I would happily recommend her.
Jo Sturme, Deputy Principal, Rotorua Lakes High School
Jenny recently presented a teacher stress and burnout workshop to our staff. Her presentation was delivered in a relaxed manner, and carried many important messages that people could identify with. She ensured the session was interactive, so that the participants felt involved at all times. She ensured we were left with a good quality resource that was able to be referred to, so the messages became embedded for us. A useful and well-presented workshop-thanks Jenny.
John Bullick, Principal, Cambridge East School
My staff and I had the absolute pleasure of working with Jenny over two days around effective leadership and teamwork. We all immensely enjoyed the interactive workshop activities and teambuilding exercises that supported the material covered in the workshops. We felt it allowed us wonderful opportunities as a whole staff to build on strengths as a team. It also helped us recognise where improvements could help facilitate building and maintaining a positive workplace environment, and what this looks like in practice. Jenny delivers her workshops in a collaborative and fun format, while at the same time allowing us the opportunity to share and reflect on the strengths we all bring to our team at our school. For the Senior Leadership Team, using the DiSC Profile allowed us to understand how our behaviour affects others, and is the key to effective leadership and teamwork. Our DiSC Profiles were able to highlight our strengths as well as areas for improvement. Jenny continues to support us as a whole staff and her advice, guidance and insight has been immensely beneficial to our team dynamics as we continue to develop and improve on our capabilities and strength as a team.
Natalie Gavegan, Principal, Manunui School
Early Childhood Centres
I have worked with Jenny in two previous ECE services and have found her work so beneficial I engaged her when I opened my new Centre. All teachers and management have completed their Disc profiles which has helped us immensely to communicate with each other. Whenever a new teacher joins us Jenny completes their profile and shares this with them which is invaluable to build and grow relationships. Jenny has also mentored our leaders in an Aspiring Leaders Programme. Jenny is a true professional who is very flexible and can create programmes or professional development to suit Centre needs. I would highly recommend Jenny to anyone wanting to improve their teams communication and understanding of each other.
Jenni Potter
Our Preschool asked Jenny to come in and help us to get the team back on track. Jenny had been highly recommended by other Preschool Centres who were privileged to have her work with them. Jenny suggested we complete individual DiSC® work profiles prior to her workshop. This is really recommended. Jenny then worked alongside the teachers with a very no nonsense approach but at the same time extremely supportive in providing strategies and giving us more insight into how interactions and relationships are key factors in determining effective practices and how by understanding the different priorities and preferences of each other we can successfully work together. We looked closely at potential areas of conflict and also conflict management. An action plan with time management review ensured that the strategies suggested were being followed and working for the team. Jenny maintains frequent contact and has been an invaluable back up support to the teachers and Board since the workshops, and is only a phone call or email away for support or advice at any time during this year.
Jean
Jenny Gray has facilitated team building and development with both our centres over the past three years. She has done workshops, team building days and weekends and individual disc profiling with all of our teachers. She has amazing knowledge and insight into how teams work and some fabulous ideas for a range of different tactics for different situations. Jenny has an ability to quickly get to the bottom of any issues and helps by giving immediate solutions. She has helped us with:
- Team building and understanding how to work better together using disc profiling and ‘reading’ people’s behavior
- Conflict resolution
- Communication and body language
- Marketing strategies and building our roll and profile in the community
I would thoroughly recommend Jenny as a team building facilitator for any of your professional development needs for your teams or your centre. We have consulted with Jenny numerous time at both Bayfield Early Education Centre and Pupuke Early Education Centre here in Auckland. We will definitely be using Jenny Gray in the future for our ongoing professional development.
Shona
Jenny delivered a workshop to our ECE Centre on Building Positive Workplace & Teams. As a result of the workshop and follow up, our team has been working with a much greater level of communication and collegiality. Teachers are performing with empowerment, enthusiasm and passion again. Jenny has an amazing ability to very quickly assess the reality of what is happening in the environment and the team. We have made many positive changes that will ensure the success of the Centre in the long term. I have enjoyed every moment of work with Jenny, she is an inspiring facilitator and is really effective at drawing people in. She is very approachable, positive and delivered a positive successful model and environment for our Centre that money just can't buy.
Rosie Crombie
Tertiary Institutes
“Thank you Jenny and your team for providing such a variety of events for our staff development afternoon. The feedback was very positive and many commented on how challenging some of the activities were and how they created a real team spirit within each group as well as competitiveness across the groups.”
Terry Full James
Jenny has presented a variety of amazing workshops for us here at the University of Waikato. Jenny’s professional approach to her workshops always brings positive comments from participants and it is always great to see the growth in the’ series’ workshops that we have offered. I would like to thank Jenny very much for all the wonderful knowledge and enjoyment she shares with everyone she works with.
Karina Davies, Professional Learning Co-ordinator, Institute of Professional Learning, Faculty of Education
Jenny has an energy about her that keeps the student body focused and enthusiastic. Her style is humorous and entertaining. Her little anecdotes bring a real feeling to the work she does. One student commented, "We now have such a better understanding of how we could work together and appreciate each other’s strengths; rather than get annoyed at each other’s weaknesses". Tutors now have an appreciation of the different ways we learn."
Paul Sykes, Programme Manager, Sport and Recreation, Northtec
EVENTS
Jenny recently played a huge part in our Tonic Conference, both as a workshop facilitator and a key note speaker. In both of these roles she delivered an absolutely first class performance and we have received nothing but fabulous feedback from our delegates.
Jenny has an immense amount of knowledge and is skilled in delivering an address which makes people sit up and take notice. She involves her audience right from the get go, and has them eating out of her hand for the entire session.
We will definitely be using Jenny again for future conferences. She’s just awesome!
Kerri Tilby, CEO, Exult Ltd
After seeing Jenny deliver an excellent presentation at a national conference, I asked her if she would present at one of our workshops. Jenny was professional, flexible and expertly met the needs of participants during the short time frame given. She was generous with her time and skills and a delight to work with.
Rachael Crombie, Hospice New Zealand