Testimonials

“I am the managing partner at a medium sized law firm in Cape Town, South Africa, with a total staff compliment of 40. I started seeing Abby in January 2014 for executive coaching to assist me with a number of career related issues I was having at the time. I saw Abby continuously until the end of May 2015 at approximate 3 week intervals. Abby is a caring and thoughtful coach. She is intuitive and able to adapt quickly to deal with a wide range of professional issues, both in a practical way, and also at a more emotional and philosophical level. She is gifted at integrating the personal sphere into the professional sphere, understanding that the two cannot be easily separated. Most importantly for me she inspired trust to take her into my confidence, and by doing so, she enabled me to share more fully my thoughts, emotions, and ideas which made the experience very enriching and meaningful for me."

"I met Abby during a senior leadership program, aiming to further develop woman’s leadership and business skills and prepare them for taking on greater responsibilities within our organization. The personalized coaching was part of the learning experience; it was new to me and proofed to be very useful. Abby is able to build up a close, trustful and professional relationship in short time due to her warm-hearted manner, a strong ability to listen and to ask mind-changing questions. She worked with parables and made me visualise my challenges, which was a powerful way of addressing them. Almost all of our sessions were done by phone, which sounds challenging to do on a busy working day. Amazingly, Abby always managed to bring me within few minutes into a calm and comfortable mood and switched my mind from everyday details to the big picture and my coaching goals. I learned a lot about myself, personally and business related. The coaching helped me to address today’s challenges in a different way and be open minded about future opportunities - not one hour to regret!"

"As an organisation we felt that our General Management leadership team required an intervention with the objective of empowering them to be better leaders, being more self-aware of their strengths, as well as being able to proactively address their developmental areas. This was to improve individual performance as well as that of the team dynamic itself. We approached Abby Malan based on a referral that we had received. Abby’s engaging approach quickly built a sense of trust within the team thus enabling them to be open and honest from the outset. Abby’s professionalism, thoroughness and ability to probe key developmental areas in a safe environment ensured that our desired results were achieved. The cohesion and working relationship within the team members was significantly improved which resulted in us being able to tackle more strategic issues collectively. As individuals, many still make reference to Abby’s program and the impact that it had on their careers. I would have no hesitation in recommending Abby’s coaching, mentoring, leadership as well as facilitation programs."

"I had the pleasure of collaborating with Abby for 6 sessions. She has a wonderful way of 'being' and certainly possesses all qualities sought in a coach such as empathy, compassion, trust and providing a safe place to engage. With the help of her powerful questions and thought-provoking reflections, I was able to build some much needed fun and letting go muscles that I endeavour to strengthen daily. Her reflective questions and offerings sparked a new interest in mindfulness and vulnerability and Daring Greatly. She offered some wonderful symbolic metaphors that I resonate with so well. She was definitely the power behind my shift in thinking and the way I would like to show up (and be). Thank you Abby, I truly loved the time spent and I have no doubt that our paths will cross again….. perhaps even when Braving the Wilderness!"

"My journey with Abby started with me having no real expectations of the coaching sessions and feeling rather blank about what outcomes to expect. During the first few sessions I was worried that I was not 'doing it right'. It is only now, in hindsight, that I can fully comprehend and appreciate the value of the time and effort invested in the coaching sessions. Abby was able to listen with understanding, she prompted and dropped 'pebbles' (including her gentle way of challenging) when necessary and, in the end, she gently tugged all the strings together. Through her patient guidance and prompting I have gained deeper insight, self understanding, and self appreciation than I ever imagined possible within such a (reasonably) short time. I am grateful, thank you."

"Abby has made a significant positive impact on my life through her holistic coaching style. Our coaching sessions have enabled me to view my challenges in a different light - with empathy, gentleness and renewed understanding. She has facilitated the most amazing personal growth. With her guidance she has enabled me to find opportunities and solutions that speak to me. You will never know what you are capable of until you have challenges and the right person to guide you through them! Thank you Abby for enriching my life!"

"I never thought that in one hour somebody you never met before could significantly touch your life. But after my first session with Abby I was radiating a positive energy I had never felt before. I remember the feeling distinctly although it was nearly three years ago. In time I truly transformed into a person I always knew I could be both personally and professionally, but never had the skills to discover. Abby is phenomenal because she combines compassion and humour with an amazing approach that delivers results quickly. And we did all of this over skype! Even though our session are done for now, I think of Abby constantly and draw inspiration and courage from our work together."

"I started working with Abby at a time in my life when I felt like I was on a high-speed train to some sort of career greatness, yet I didn't know if I really wanted to be on the train in the first place. I came straight out of university wanting to be a Vice President of a large corporation and 10 years later as I was getting within touching distance I thought "hey what about the rest of my life?" I chose Abby above a number of other coaches for two very simple reasons, firstly because she seemed really "normal" and down to earth and secondly because she had a really warm smile. I can appreciate that some people may think I'm a little nuts for not basing my choice on something a little bit more scientific/evidence based but for once in my life I let the chimp on my shoulder (what some might call gut instincts) decide and it didn't let me down! Abby and I quickly formed a strong bond and she seemed to understand me almost instantly. Her nonjudgmental yet thought provoking questions got me thinking about the core of the issues/challenges that I was experiencing. A coach will obviously never tell you what they believe you should do, but what I can tell you is that through my sessions with Abby I found the courage to step off the train, sit on a bench on the platform, sip my coffee, munch on a sandwich and enjoy watching the world go by for a little while..."

"Working with Abby has helped change my life in the most incredible way, both personally and professionally. My expectations of what I had hoped to achieve was superseded in the most incredible manner. I met with Abby with the idea of working on one concern in my life, but ended up tackling deeper, more challenging areas. This brought about extremely rewarding life changes, which allowed me to build a strong foundation to become a more whole individual able to tackle anything that comes my way. I am extremely grateful for the time I spent with Abby and value what I have learnt and will continue to use these tools for many years to come."

"Abby is one of the best things that's ever happened to me! She is bright, funny, honest and most of all, sincere. We connected immediately. There was no doubt that I could trust Abby and that she had my best interests at heart. She gave me clear direction and opened my eyes to new ideas, without pushing in me in any one direction. Our time together was definitely a collaboration; we were a team, working towards my goals. Looking back on our time together, I appreciate Abby even more. There are lessons learned that I continue to find myself using, in my professional life, and even more so as a mom.”

"I would like to again express my thanks for this opportunity. I think the best way to explain the development which has occurred for me is to use my metaphor for growth, the Blossoming Baobab Tree. Before I was this harried little engine lugging tons of baggage (a lot of it not even mine!) across the countryside of my life. Some of the baggage was so old that I couldn’t even remember why it was in the carriage. I was so busy ‘doing’ that I didn’t even stop to refuel at times and was constantly racing for the goal and the reward/recognition at the end. Only there was no end and sometimes no recognition. I felt betrayed, disappointed and had lots of self-doubt. As the Blossoming Baobab Tree I have found renewed vision and certainty of who I am and what I have to offer. I have found this ‘new way’ so much better – less stressful, lest frenetic. I have learnt to assess where I am, what I am able to do and what I need. It has changed the way I do things – more for my own contentment and sense of achievement, and less to please others. It has also changed the way others view me and interact with me. So as I enter this new phase of development, this 44-year-old Blossoming Baobab Tree is surveying her domain, checking the shift in the winds and preparing to bear fruit – when she is ready! Lol!"

"The coaching sessions with Abby changed my perspective about myself and my life's work.  I felt grounded and 'seen' on a very deep and congruent level and the work that we did together has set a foundation and grounding that has been highly beneficial.  Our journey together was extra-ordinary and has started a processes of me finding my rightful seat in the world and grounding myself with beauty, with wisdom and with a deep understanding of who I am and what I have to offer.  Abby assisted me to find this wisdom within and explore creative and inspiring ways to allow it to flow and be shared with the world.  Her presence and coaching style is warm and engaging, offering a integration of mind, body and spirit in a very refined way."

"I unfortunately only had a few sessions with Abby but it was still enough to have a great impact on my life. I felt truly understood and very safe in Abby's space, she is a very sincere and down to earth person. As I started the program I expected to have to ask myself some big questions and relook at my career path, what I didn't expect was a complete exploration of myself and way of being. Our sessions were incredibly thought provoking, deeply challenging and at the same time completely refreshing. I believe that our time together lead to a very powerful shift in my life and I have no doubt that I will continue to reflect our our conversations."

"Sometimes in your life you just need to talk to someone who has no agendas for you or your life - someone who is not family, or a friend, or a work colleague. Someone you can trust to help you make sense of where you find yourself in life and how you can navigate the path ahead in order to become the very best person you can be. Abby has been this someone for me – gently nudging me towards my authentic self – the person I know I can become if I do not allow myself to get distracted by the busyness of life. Abby’s coaching has helped me to define what is important for me, and to consciously and courageously start walking towards it."

“I was very anxious with the idea of having a coach. Being quite a reserved person, I thought it would be very difficult to open up to someone I barely know. What a pleasant surprise it was, meeting Abby for the first time, she has a friendly, warm presence that immediately puts you at ease. Abby’s coaching has helped me put in perspective what is really important in my life and in so doing, to achieve things that I thought would ordinarily be too difficult. She has this great skill of summing in one sentence issues I was battling with and asks thought provoking questions. I still today reflect on the conversations we had. Thank you Abby, I am very grateful that you were my coach.” 

“They say in life things happen for a reason and I think that Abby came into my life at exactly the right time for a specific reason – to see things more clearly for myself! While I had been coached before, and that too was successful, Abby’s combination of coaching skills, her psychology background and her innate intuition made this coaching experience a really remarkable one. She has an amazing insight to ask just the right questions and steer you in your thinking to your own solutions. I couldn’t believe how much I could think through myself. One of the greatest benefits of my ‘chats’ with Abby was her own personal understanding of the challenges of being a mother and career woman and her deep spiritual sense. Her offerings of mindfulness and more importantly how to get there were extremely useful and continue to be part of my journey forward. I would like to thank Abby for her time, her advice, her guidance and most importantly for really listening to me. I would encourage anyone looking for a coach to engage with Abby as I am certain she will be beneficial to you on your journey."

“Abby is extremely professional and connects with her clients on a level that makes you feel comfortable and able to talk about any issues, distractions or stalling blocks you may be having in your work environment or life in general. She opens your mind to new thought processes, and helps you to view things from a new perspective. She made me feel comfortable that there is no judgment from her, and that you are in a secure, safe environment for discussion. Abby enabled me to start looking at everything in my life differently, more optimistically, more accepting of others and more able to own my mistakes and achievements."