We are delighted to announce that Michael Donovan former CEO of Merryck & Co Asia Pacific has joined Amazing Results to head our CEO business mentoring team. In conjunction with Amazing Results, Michael has developed a number of world-exclusive Business-mentoring programs specifically addressing the unique requirements of the CEO, General Manager and Managing Director.

These programs are highly results orientated and combine practical business mentoring solutions with "C" level experience and credentials. New Business Mentoring Programs include:

• Amazing Results CEO "120 Day" New Appointment Business Mentoring Program designed to support the newly appointed CEO in their first 120 days of employment.
• CEO Emerging Talent Business Mentoring Program for an individual/s in line for promotion to the CEO position.
• CEO "90" Day Turnaround Business & Strategic Challenges Mentoring Program - a Business Mentoring Program offered to the Board or the CEO, to provide Business Mentoring focused on strategic challenges.

For a confidential discussion or appointment to discuss your specific requirements please contact Michael Donovan or Kylie Hammond - Managing Director of Amazing Results on 02) 9293 2507.

Michelle Dewell leads the charge in Western Australia in the Executive and Corporate coaching arena. Michelle is Amazing Results specialist Executive Coach based in Perth. Michelle has over 15 years of experience in business, in industries including food manufacture, vehicle production, global pharmaceutical supply and IT consultancy.

Initially working as a Chartered Engineer, Michelle has since held a diverse variety of roles which have encompassed areas such as Project Management, Sales Forecasting, Supply Chain Design and Management, Sales and Operations Planning, Business and Strategic Planning, Risk Management and People Management, during which time Michelle has worked throughout Europe and in the USA.

Through these roles, Michelle has gained significant experience in managing and motivating teams, mentoring individuals and coaching staff to increase performance. Welcome aboard Michelle!

Most companies have a policy of offering a position to a candidate for a probation period (usually 3 months) with the view of offering permanent employment at the end of this period.

The probation period is designed to work two ways: the new employee has a chance to be part of the company, experience its culture, find out expectations and most of all, experience the job in 'real time' as well as working with the team of people with which the position is intended to interact with.

The company has a chance (through its management) to see if there is a match between the new employee and the team of people they are meant to work with. The probation period also allows the company the chance to see how their (the employee's) experience matches the expectations of the position, how well they perform on the job and in what ways could the company help them.

In the majority of cases, after the three months probation are up, a permanent employment is offered. But what does it mean if this is not the case? Many people who were not offered a permanent position feel frustrated, many think that they have been dealt an unfair hand (and sometimes this is indeed the case), and their self-esteem suffers. Yes, this is a very unpleasant event, but should you amplify its effect by entertaining feelings of resentment? Should you lose confidence, going over and over again over the 'what ifs' you think could have made a difference? The answer is of course, NO. The only thing you should do is to learn from this experience and make sure you apply the lessons you learn today and implement them in the future.

Before anything though, remember why companies are offering a probation period rather than offering full employment straight away:

1. An interview can not cover more 'intangible' aspects of working in a company such as: fit with the company culture, fit with the team you will be part of, etc.
2. During an interview, not all the people involved later in working together can be present. Sometimes the real interaction proves to be nothing like what was expected.
3. The probation period is to confirm whether the new appointee is able to effectively perform and cope with the job and sometimes this is not the case for various reasons.
4. The company does not want to be bound to keep a new employee regardless of how well the employee fits with the job or the company.
5. The probation period gives the new employee a chance to experience working with the company and decide if they want to stay with it or not.

By keeping this in mind, one can look at a termination during the probation period in a more detached, unemotional way and understand that in the end it is less of a personal matter and more of an economic, bottom-line type of occurrence.

This month's Coaching Corner Article has been submitted by Ninive Badilescu CPC our Lead Executive Career Coach specialised on assisting her clients through periods of career transition.