About Miriam
I am a Kerry woman by both birth and sheer good luck and now I am living in Kinsale, Co. Cork. I am a dedicated facilitator and organisational development consultant with over 26 years experience in business. My experience has been broad and varied having spent 19 years in IT, starting out as a programmer and developing onto project management and IT Management.
Early Career
My IT career spanned the wholesale and distribution industry, banking and insurance and latterly, the pharmaceutical industry. During this time I was constantly working on projects that involved changing how people worked and communicated with each other. Experience taught me that it didn't matter how good or bad your technology was, if you didn't pay proper attention to the people side of managing change, your project was doomed for failure. Engaged and enthusiastic people, on the other hand, could make the worst technology work well for them and their organisation.
Organisational Change Consultancy
In 2006 I took on a role as an internal organisational consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. I worked in a manufacturing plant that was made up of self-managed teams with a flat organisational structure. I facilitated and coached the teams on good teamwork and high performance, but to be honest, these teams taught me a way more than I could have ever taught them.
I was responsible for ensuring that behavioural skills training needs were being met across the plant and delivered training courses wherever needs were identified.
I worked closely with the management team in the plant constantly reflecting on and reviewing the organisational culture and work processes and putting them forward for challenge where we felt necessary. I facilitated many team and plant wide processes particularly where inclusive decision making was key (this plant operated very much through an inclusive decision making culture) such as annual budgets, safety performance improvement, team performance reviews etc.
Space For Change
In early 2011 I set up Space For Change and I am now dedicated to helping organisations and individuals find more collaborative, engaging and rewarding ways to master change and deliver on their goals. My approach to my work is based heavily on Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based process and philosophy for change and development. For more information on the services I offer please check out the link How Space For Change Can Help You.
Qualifications
In 2010 I received my Masters in Organisational Consultancy from the Ashridge College in the UK. Other qualifications include...
- Diploma in Project Management from the Institute of Project Management Ireland and University College Cork (2002)
- Diploma in Applied Business Systems Analysis from the British Computer Society (2003)
- Post-grad diploma in Computer Science from University College Cork (1986)
- B.A. degree in Psychology and Sociology from University College Cork (1985)