Meet the coach interview
Profile
Chris is the principal of Set to Change, a practice committed to supporting sustainable purposeful change. He is an experienced coach, facilitator and adult learning practitioner who formulates bespoke interventions that support clients to manage in environments of complexity, enhance leadership capability, lead organisation and cultural change, unlock mindsets shown to support innovation, and develop and implement effective talent management processes. Chris draws on evidence-based practice from the fields of positive and coaching psychology, innovation, and change, and more than 20 years as a senior HR leader in the manufacturing, construction, capital equipment, technology, and industrial services sectors.
Chris holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Applied Science (Psychology of Coaching) from the University of Sydney, a Master of Business (HRM) from Charles Sturt University, and a Bachelor of Economics (Industrial Relations Major) from the University of Newcastle. The International Coaching Federation accredited Chris as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) in 2021. Chris has presented at the University of Sydney 2020 Coaching Conference and the 2023 IPPA World Congress in Vancouver.
Since graduating from the University of Sydney in 2012, Chris has coached for more than 3,000 hours scaffolding the development of more than 450 people employed across more than 150 organisations. Leading global corporations employ Chris’ coachees who live in Australia, the Pacific, Asia, North and South America, Europe, the Indian Sub-continent, and the Middle East. They represent Business Owners, C-suite leaders, Senior and Middle Management, Emerging Leaders, Individual Contributors, and those seeking to make purposeful change through a private coaching engagement.
Chris coaches with compassion, drawing on the evidence-base of purposeful change, positive psychology and coaching psychology that enables him to hold the space for the tension associated with deep reflection and decision-making. When coaching, his focus is on the journey of purposeful change. Chris is known for challenging thinking through deep questions that drive reflection that identify pathways forward. As an evidence-based coach, do not expect him to have the answers; he focuses on scaffolding individuals to dig deeply to identify options that secure meaningful change and find answers in a safe environment.
Qualifications
Master of Applied Positive Psychology – Melbourne University
Master of Applied Science (Coaching Psychology) – Sydney University
Master of Business (HRM) – Charles Sturt University
Professional Certified Coach – International Coach Federation (ICF)
Certified Practitioner The Leadership Circle
Certified Practitioner Harrison Assessments
Certified Practitioner Strengths Deployment Inventory
Certified Practitioner Hogan Assessment Systems
Certified Practitioner Strengths Profile
Photos
Reviews
Leave a Review. Cancel reply
Map
Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.
Sorry, unable to load the Maps API.
24 Reviews on “Set to Change”
I thoroughly recommend Chris as a coach as throughout the six month he spent time to get to know me and my various challenges, asking probing questions and providing reference reading materials to help me in my walk to be a better leader. Chris has vast industry experience which he applies and shared during these coaching which helped me to visualise improvement opportunities for myself.
It’s my absolute pleasure to recommend Chris. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with Chris throughout my coaching journey. He guided me through some difficult times and helped me tremendously with my personal growth.
I have had the fortune to work with Chris as my coach for some time now. I found an instant connection with Chris. He has worked effectively with me through some tough periods professionally and personally and helped me find new ways to manage these challenges. In the time I have worked with Chris, I can see for myself the changes in my approach to my work as an individual contributor and as a leader. I can comfortably say that I have taken significant steps forward in my own personal development through working with Chris.
Chris was my coach for approximately 2 years. During that time he was instrumental in guiding me through the various challenges of launching a new solution in a market that was not familiar with the concept of digital coaching. I looked forward to my sessions with Chris as he was always a great sounding board and helped me to build structure into my day and ensure I was focussing on the high reward activities. Chris helped me stay away from negative thoughts and focus on the positives, ensuring I had the energy, motivation and enthusiasm to drive the results needed for the success of the APAC region. I would highly recommend Chris to anybody looking for a coach. He’s worth his weight in gold!
Chris has been instrumental in my professional and personal development. As a coach, he has provided invaluable perspective and equipped me with the tools necessary to navigate and excel in challenging situations. I highly recommend Chris to anyone looking to elevate their career to the next level or people who want to improve their work life balance.
Chris was my coach for six months and it’s a pleasure to recommend him to you. He is an excellent listener. With his extensive experience, he then very perceptively gets to the heart of the topic at hand. Whilst coaching me, he provided several techniques and resources which ensured I got a lot from the coaching. I achieved my goals, and I regularly refer to the work I did with Chris as part of my ongoing professional development.
I met Chris via company offered coaching program. Chris is calm and insightful. He did not push me for change, but used carefully designed questions and process to lead my reflection. He helped me with mindset change also improved my wellbeing. It was a pleasant journey.
I recently had the pleasurable experience to have Chris as a coach and mentor. The experience throughout was nothing short of excellent, his insightfulness, psychological analysis, and constructive intuition, made for a wealth of learning and third eye view from my perspective across a range of topics and problems. Chris was invaluable over a period of months during our regular catch ups, and I would recommend Chris to anyone seeking mentorship or coaching around their career path.
Chris was a wonderful coach. He was always very calm and asked great probing questions that really made me think about the issues we were discussing. I would highly recommend Chris!
He helped me understand and carefully craft what I actually wanted to do in my career before providing advice that would enable me to not only understand the situation and social parameters surrounding it, but the overall trajectory and the steps I need to take. He did all of this in a clear and actionable manner, free of ‘fluff’ terms and other qualitative expressions, something that I hugely appreciated.
I am now more confident in my career, in the direction I am taking and especially in how I interact with colleagues and people in general. I highly recommend him as a coach, the value is both immediately apparent and something you will consider long into the future.
Such a privilege collaborating with Chris, and receiving his mentoring and insight. Behind his considerable humility and kindness are a wealth of experience and wisdom. I highly recommend him as both a coach and mentor coach.
I met Chris at a time when I needed an anchor to help me get through a difficult stage in my career and help get some direction on where to go next. Getting coached by Chris not only helped deal with change, it helped clarify my goals and next steps. He helped me deal with my emotions, priorities my personal goals and my career.
Chris’s strength is in asking questions that help reflect on your own journey, get different perspectives, and get to the answers yourself. His ability to listen and hold the space for you is something I have not experienced with many people. I was able to discuss various aspects of my life both personal and professional because of the psychological safety and trust Chris was able build right from my first conversation with him.
What was wonderful is that Chris gave me tools to stay the course even after the coaching assignment had ended. Post the one year of coaching with Chris, I felt empowered and in control. I have a lot more clarity of the life I want to build for myself and for that I will forever be grateful to Chris.
Having the opportunity to be coached by Chris in 2022/2023 was truly a remarkable experience. Chris possesses exceptional emotional intelligence (EQ) and demonstrates an impressive ability to actively listen. His coaching style is characterised by a unique blend of logical thinking and genuine care for his clients’ well-being. I look forward to continuing my coaching and self-discovery journey with Chris well into the future. Thanks Chris!!
When it comes to choices in a career, you don’t trust and open up to just anybody. It needs a special person. Chris has been this person many times. And his coaching made me think and feel differently. He helped me put my thoughts to more clarity, build candour and get rid of doubt. Great coach indeed!
If you ever need to find a somebody for a special choice in your professional life, talk to Chris. He surely will put your mind to ease and help you take the best choice possible.
Thoroughly enjoyed working with Chris who uses a very structured and methodical approach for putting together a plan to help individuals accomplish their personal goals. Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and is an excellent listener and mentor. Highly recommended
I have had the privilege of working with Chris as part of our AHRI formal mentoring program. With a breadth of experience, Chris was able to use his extensive life experience and industry knowledge to ensure fit for purpose conversation and consultation. His coaching skills are exceptional. He takes a pragmatic approach in supporting professionals, helping them to take a deep dive into their professional roadblocks. His coaching capability, along with his professional and calm disposition as well as a great sense of humour makes him a pleasure to work with.
We engaged Chris to assist our businesses leadership during the 12 month implementation of our succession plan.
Chris was always one step ahead of us in this journey, he was always very well researched and prepared for each session, this prepared us for the next steps of our journey.
Chris operates from an applied psychology perspective; he rarely offers his opinion and instead operates from the perspective of peer reviewed research. This makes each session targeted and meaningful, leaving us with clear outcomes and applications that are proven and backed by science.
I am happy to be contacted either through Chris or directly if you would like to discuss this further.
Chris was my coach over the past 3 months. Throughout several coaching sessions, I was able to discover a lot about my strengths and how to use them in addressing my issue.
Chris helped me reflect on my past experiences as well. With his help, I was able to get insights into real causes of the problem, develop goals, create plans, and achieve my targets. I learned a lot from Chris. His coaching style was very effective in challenging me to get out of my weaknesses and look at the issue from the outside for a better view and understanding.
Thank you Chris for everything and looking forward to working with you again.
I have worked closely with Chris over the last few years and supervised him as he has coached numerous individuals as part of positive psych education and coaching projects I have been running. I have found Chris to be extremely organised and thorough in his approach to coaching and has a tenacity for applying research to his practice for the benefit of those he is coaching. I have also had direct feedback from his coaching clients clearly articulating the high level of support, encouragement, and development they have experienced through Chris’s coaching approach.
Chris was my coach over the past 3 months. Throughout coaching sessions, I was able to discover a lot about my strengths and how to use them in addressing my issue. Chris helped me reflect on my past experiences as well. With his help, I was able to get insights into real causes of the problem, develop goals, create plans, and achieve my targets.
Being a coach, myself, I learned a lot from Chris. His coaching style was very effective in challenging me to get out of my comfort zone and look at the issue from the outside for a better view and understanding.
Chris gets my highest recommendation as a coach and mentor. He helped me prioritize what was important in my life. He is a special coach whose insights are always on target. At all times I felt very supported and championed in the attainment of my goals. I looked forward to our coaching sessions because I knew that I would learn something exciting and new that would enable me to change things for the better. Thank you so much for all your assistance Chris- it is greatly appreciated.
As part of my training I was coached by Chris last year. We worked together on a number of study related goals, and I found the coaching to be very helpful. Chris is an inquisitive and engaged coach who gently nudges you toward the relevant issues and challenges your thinking around those. All in all, it was a wonderful and highly insightful experience. I can recommend Chris to anyone seeking evidence-based coaching that is delivered effectively and with care, ultimately getting you results.
Chris was my coach for a project as part of my Masters in Coaching Psychology at the University of Sydney. His coaching style and insights helped me not only to achieve my academic goals but also navigate a life changing moment I was going through, parenthood. Chris is a fantastic caring coach that guides, listens, and challenges. I would highly recommend him.
Engaging with Chris Gildersleeve as my coach during the University of Melbourne Better Up program was a transformative journey that significantly impacted my career and personal well-being. Chris has an extraordinary knack for offering clear, actionable insights amidst the complexities of professional development, illuminating paths and possibilities previously unseen to me.
His coaching style masterfully balances encouragement with the right amount of challenge, pushing boundaries while fostering a secure, supportive environment. This approach not only propelled me to achieve my goals but also instilled a greater sense of confidence in my abilities.
What truly sets Chris apart is his dedication to the coaching process, particularly through his meticulous follow-ups. This commitment to accountability was instrumental in maintaining momentum toward my objectives, making each session with him both productive and enlightening.
Moreover, the benefits of working with Chris extended far beyond professional growth. He provided invaluable tools for stress management and self-care, contributing significantly to an improved work-life balance and enhancing my overall quality of life.