Coaching Elite Supplement 2018

8 CORPORATE VISION / Coaching Elite 2018 , 12 C VISI / Issue 9 2018 1809CV15 Evolution-U is a leading executive soft-skills training provider in Asia. In August, Evolution- U’s Founder, Neil Orvay, was named Hong Kong’s Leading Coach in Corporate Vision magazine’s 2018 Coaching Elite Awards programme. On the back of this, we spoke to Neil to see howhe has become one of Asia’s finest business educators. Elevating Asia’s Executive Talent to New Heights Established in 2009, Evolution-U was cre- ated to provide major financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies with an expert training provider that can help elevate their business’s internal talent pool. With a background in investment banking and high-level corporate affairs, Neil Orvay – who is also an experienced entrepreneur, certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) trainer, and Business Psychologist - was the perfect candidate to educate Asia’s top executives. To start, Neil gives us a bit of back- ground on the types of courses he has created; “We have developed over 20 courses covering seven core disciplines; communication, persuasion, sales, negotiation, personal empowerment, coaching and leadership. Neuro Linguistic Programming forms the founda- tion of our approach, however our content spans well beyond the scope of NLP using best of breed business psychology to give our trainings a unique angle to taking classroom theory into the workplace.” Neil approaches every client with a comprehensive cognitive framework in place – what do they need to achieve? What goals do they have? Does he possess the best possible skillset to meet these goals? If it is clear that the last question is not satisfied, Neil points them in another direction. “It all comes down to understanding the client’s objectives and making sure we are the right people to de- liver. If a client is looking for media skills training, we will send them to someone who specialises in media skills. If they want soft skills train- ing, then our belief is that there are few better than us in delivering this and our client retention rates would support this position. For a coaching assignment, it is critical to have a chemistry meeting with the potential coaching client to check that he/she is comfortable with the coach, and that the coach is confident that they can help the client achieve their objectives.” This approach plays directly into Evolution-U’s overall mission with an almost altruistic take on busi- ness, ensuring that the region’s corporate capabilities are constant- ly adapting to the demands of the market. In much the same way, Neil and Evolution-U aim to devel- op along the same path, making sure that their services are the best they can possibly be to meet the requirements of their exclusive demographic. “Our mission is to create value for our clients by being the best at what we do. Our approach to achieving this is firstly to constantly improve our training and coaching content, adding new modules that are requested by our clients, and secondly by focusing on long term client relationships. I think too many people are short term focused chasing the deal. We can only deliver real value when we get to know each other and build trust, and this comes with time.” Neil continues, highlighting how Evolution-U distinguishes itself in a competitive industry. “When it comes to coaching and training, we are dealing with intangibles. Not every coach is right for every client. Where we do look to set ourselves apart is by using trainers who have a strong corporate/en- trepreneurial background as well as NLP certification and solid un- derstanding of business psycholo- gy. Our training content across the seven core disciplines is unique to Evolution-U. These elements give us many tools to offer our clients.” However, Neil also sees oppor- tunity in competition, especially when it comes to staying ahead of emerging developments. He takes a moment to go into detail about the other techniques that he has employed to thrive in an often-challenging environment. “Attending HR/L&D conferences, subscribing to the right journals, meeting with friendly competitors and following the recent trends in training and coaching online and via the ICF and other coaching support groups all provide a wealth of information. However, the risk is that we spend too much time tracking developments and not enough focusing on client delivery and pipeline development. It’s important to keep a balance.” One recent paradigm-shift in the coaching sector is the move to a digital arena, “The future is online. I hope to have our four most popular trainings available on line at a fraction of the class room cost during 2019. I do not have plans