I worked alongside Melanie throughout 2023, Melanie was an external contributor and Chair of an Advisory Board.
 
Melanie’s dedication and leadership as the chair of our advisory board for a women’s leadership development program were truly invaluable. Her collaborative approach fostered an environment of open communication and idea-sharing, ensuring that diverse perspectives were heard and respected.
 
Melanie’s ability to guide discussions with a balance of structure and flexibility allowed us to navigate complex issues effectively and reach consensus-driven decisions. Her inclusive demeanor made everyone feel valued and empowered to contribute, resulting in programme decisions that truly reflect the needs and aspirations of our sector’s women leaders.
 
Moreover, Melanie’s informal mentoring was instrumental as a new employee within my organisation. She generously shared her expertise, provided constructive feedback, and offered guidance, inspiring confidence and growth as I navigated a new role.
 
Working alongside Melanie was not only a professional pleasure but also a tremendous learning experience. Her leadership style exemplifies collaboration, empathy, and a genuine commitment to fostering women’s leadership. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked so closely with her.

Amy Hartley (She/Her)
Programme Development Manager
www.advance-he.ac.uk

Melanie Armstrong is an amazing designer and facilitator of learning.  Melanie establishes a comfortable and fruitful environment where participants truly engage and contribute.  She gently and effectively challenges and enables constructive reflection.   Her training workshops really make a difference to those attending and they clearly have a transformative leaning experience.  This was evident when Melanie was a facilitator on our Grow Aspire Lead (GAL) programme recently.  She adopted a style and techniques which ensured optimum learning for students of varying ages, back grounds and nationalities.  She made a huge impact on the success of the programme.  I am delighted to endorse Armstrong Consulting.

Melanie is an experienced Organisation Development professional who has delivered both group support sessions for our members and 1:1 mentoring and coaching.  She has created safe confidential spaces for individuals to connect, share and reflect developing their leadership skills and confidence through a mix of theoretical and practical activity work.  Melanie has a lovely calm demeanour which quickly puts people at ease.  Through her excellent listening skills and by gently challenging, she encourages honest conversations enabling individuals to assess and resolve any difficult situations, empowering them to become more effective and resilient in their leadership.

I was exceptionally lucky to have Melanie as my coach and mentor at a particularly difficult time in my career. Melanie always made time for me. She was confidential and respectful and I felt I could speak freely. After I had spoken to Melanie I felt as if someone had ‘lifted a mirror’ to myself and allowed me to see myself through a different lens. She allowed me to arrive at my own answers, and see a way forward though an action plan from difficulties I was having. She helped me see that not everything was mine to do and that I should ask others to help. She then gave me confidence to reach out and ask key individuals to help me. Between us we arrived at actions and a timeframe in which to report back on how this was going. This really helped me in my role and allowed me to move forward in my career.

I would highly recommend Melanie as a coach and mentor. She was extremely positive, and caring. She was generous with her time, knowledge and skills.

Melanie is a well-respected expert in coaching and mentoring and a valued member of the UK mentoring community. She is a very experienced and highly skilled practitioner, offering the full range of support for establishing, maintaining, enhancing and troubleshooting programmes. Melanie’s credibility is borne of her practice experience, combined with her commitment to professional training and development, and she is highly qualified in a full range of professional areas, tools and frameworks. She has a background of successfully delivering strategic organisational change through engaging productively with employees and teams across the whole organisation.
 
Working with Melanie on different projects, I have been inspired by her integrity, inclusiveness and openness to new learning, she is a true collaborator. As a colleague, Melanie is a highly supportive, empathetic, and empowering person to work with. She is open and generous in sharing insight and advice, and a force for positive problem solving in practice. I greatly enjoy working with Melanie, and I highly recommend her services.

I had the pleasure to support Melanie implement Everything DiSC Certification for members of her team at GCU. From her initial enquiry through to her involvement during the training, Melanie was an absolute pleasure to work with. She managed the practical aspects diligently to ensure that everything and everyone was fully prepared to enable the maximum learning.
As a facilitator, Melanie is clearly competent and personable with a genuine desire, and the skills required, to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere. Her gentle, yet focused approach, definitely brings out the best in those she is working with.

I worked with Melanie in March of 2021 while I was struggling to see a way through some significant issues at work. I work in a senior position within a public service in which expectation and demand had outstripped resources, and the leadership team ( including myself ) had lost focus and were exhausted.

Melanie was recommended to me by a friend; on making contact she was immediately both interested and very focused on how she might help. Her patience while we agreed focus and the use of the sessions really helped me to find clarity on the areas which were within my control to strategise and hopefully resolve, and to recognise and accept those which I could not.
I continue to utilise all of the strategies, tools and helpful guidance offered during the sessions, all of which have served to enable me to maintain an equilibrium at work, and manage the balance of work and home life much more effectively.
I cannot recommend Melanie more highly.