Schiavello Construction QLD worked closely with Dr Cathryn Lloyd in delivering coaching programs and support through Maverick Minds for our Brisbane based construction team. We found the program well prepared and was delivered over a few weeks ensuring adequate space between meetings to allow the team the right amount of time to put learnings to the test and reflect on the nature of these outcomes. Our program was a blend of task based research and analysis, as well as active participation in smaller subgroups as we worked collectively to navigate the coaching conversations. Our team were highly engaged and remarked on the positive outcomes achieved through the learning experience when contemplating the demands and pressures we face as a collective. Upon reflection, the learnings have help us engage better; support one another and narrate our next move so that we remain a highly performing and successful construction team.
I highly recommend Dr Cathryn Lloyd in the implementation and facilitation of such team based coaching programs for any business looking to promote engagement & improvement in order to achieve success in their teams.
Steven Kourevelis
State Manager / Director
Schiavello Construction (QLD) Pty Ltd
“A review and change in my professional life brought me to a point where I had a number of options to consider. I took the opportunity to explore one of those options, a business idea, with Dr Cathryn Lloyd of Maverick Minds. The discovery coaching session provided me with some much needed creative and reflective space to explore the many emerging ideas for this business project. Through guidance, questioning, using images as visual stimulation, metaphor, and stories I was about to see the bigger picture as well as detail for this project. It allowed me to see the various parts, put names to these parts, gain a new perspective as well as clarity. Cathryn is a skillful coach. She holds the space well for people to focus on what’s important for them while drawing out what else is possible. I would recommend Cathryn and can see the potential for working with her again at points along the way.”
Kerryanne Farrer
Executive Producer
QMF
“I was lucky enough to be introduced to Cathryn in late 2021, and enjoyed our wide ranging conversations around business, leadership, creativity and philosophy. Whilst at first I didn’t know exactly how we could utilise her skills to assist Inertia, I inherently knew that there was an alignment to our business purpose and beliefs and something great we could tap into.
Over a number of conversations, and some early work around strategy and bringing creative thinking to that work we developed the idea for a whole of business day with primary theme of ‘connection’. We felt that as a fast growing business with many new people, we needed something to assist in tightening our team, and tying us back to the past, present and future of Inertia.
Cathryn worked closely with us to create the day and developed most of the ideas around sessions and content with our input. To be a success the day had to be fun, highly interactive as well as have elements of creativity and teamwork, which are essentially Cathryn’s expertise. We held the event at the QAGOMA roof terrace which really added to the idea that we were open and ready to step into creativity and collaboration.
Working with Cathryn was an excellent experience, she really made an effort to understand what our purpose was for the day. She is an excellent collaborator bringing forth ideas and also taking on board ours. The way she designed the day really encouraged connection, communication, collaboration and creativity which is what we wanted. It was a hugely successful day, one that exceeded my expectations and with very positive experiences following on, we can see the shift in how people are interacting with each other at work. It’s set the scene for further creative collaboration.
Cathryn is a skilled facilitator who genuinely cares about her clients and creating positive outcomes, and I have no hesitation in recommending her.”
Scott Clements
Managing Director
Inertia Engineering
“I highly recommend working with Cathryn. I sought out her unique skills to explore a burgeoning desire to bring my natural creativity to the fore in my professional life. It has led to some major changes! Cathryn is grounded in her work, she has an expansive knowledge of the arts and story telling and their significance to how we show up in our lives. I am looking forward to a future of ongoing collaboration with Cathryn to enhance my work.”
Jo-anne Knight
Founder
Up Tonic
“Where to next” program that was presented by Cathryn really help me map my career path and own my practice, my identity in the Queensland arts ecology, it helped me articulate and clarify the providence of my practice. The human centred design used in the delivery is an inside out process that Cathryn takes us through with careful consideration to each individuals journey and capacity. I would recommend Cathryn’s creative inquiry methods to any artist or any organization who is serious about being more adaptive and resilient hence more prosperous.”
Kuweni Dias-Mendis
Recently QPS held their Wide Bay Burnett District Annual Admin Conference for 2021. The theme of the conference was ‘Riding the Wave of Change’. With the backdrop being the harbour at Hervey Bay it was hard not to get into the theme. Change is a constant and QPS is not immune. As an organiser it was very clear from the onset that Dr Cathryn Lloyd of Maverick Minds would be able to present her very Seriously Playful Creativity workshop with the participants. Cathryn kept us all on our toes and through interaction and creativity we were all able to connect with our creative side. Cathryn helped us identify change and how to use our creative side to embrace the change. Cathryn is very easy to listen to and has the knack when audience participation was needed. Cathryn’s book Seriously Playful Creativity is well worth the read and a reference for later use. Thank you, Cathryn you were an inspiration.
Amanda Matthews, Queensland Police Service
My husband Paul, a painter and ceramicist and I decided to do the Mapping Your Arts Career Workshop hosted by Dr Cathryn Lloyd run by Creative Arts Gympie Region & Flying Arts. I run a small online business supporting the handmade community of Australian Artisans and was looking to ‘future proof’ my business. The day was full of wonderful moments of deep work, reflection, strategy and process. We received practical tutelage from a very impressive presenter who not only knows her stuff but delivers with authentic passion and understanding of the Arts community and its needs. Both Paul and I came away with new goals and a greater appreciation of the need for time management, work-life balance and creative accountability. Recommend this workshop to all on a creative path. Thanks again xxx
Averyll Fitzgerald, Handmade Exchange
I’ve really enjoyed Cathryn’s sessions. Our most recent Maverick Minds course was conducted online and encouraged us to explore and discuss our work preferences. Breaking the sessions down into two, generated a lot of thoughtful discussion and sharing among colleagues. It was a great opportunity to pause and reflect internally while also recognising the different styles of working that make up our cohesive team. I particularly felt the use of online breakout rooms and interactive drawing games strengthened the connection with my colleagues that, due to COVID times, had been lost a little. Thoroughly enjoyable – I look forward to our next session!
Elyce Keen, International Content Creator, Centre for University Partnerships, Federation University
Thank you for the wonderful sessions. I really learned to evaluate my performance; I guess I was pedalling along year after year, knowing I get things done but never really distinguishing or giving any conscious thought to what I am particularly good or bad at. Your training helped distinguish where I am really strong and made me realise where I excel, in the same way I realised that there are some gaps in my skill set that I hadn’t picked up on at all. These gaps tend to be in the areas of my work that I put off, let stack up and then begin to dread. Identifying these areas has now urged me to train and find some inspiration in how I can jazz things up and to find new appreciation for the things I usually dread. This will be at the forefront whilst organising my CPD this year. I have also given some thought to doing a couple of free courses in something I would never choose to do!
In terms of personal and financial growth, I often think of great ideas for apps or even a small business, which never seem to materialise. After seeing my profile broke down in to percentage, it is now clear to me why this is. I hope to develop these skills in order to move along some of the pipe dreams I have.
I can’t tell you how valuable I found these sessions, I honestly ‘buzz’ off your energy too. Thank you for everything.
Natalie Dobson, Program Support, Federation University
The course opens your mind to possibilities. Too often the process, concept/idea is locked into the boundary of this is how we usually do it, if it is not broken don’t fit it. This concept can reduce quality of the outcome. The world is constantly changing and the program gives you the tools to identify and work with change. The mindfulness concept I developed through my participation meant I learnt a lot about others and how they benefit and contribute to the level of the quality of an idea. That with their skills sets and passions any idea can be elevated to a higher level and functionality. Leading to not only a communicative workplace but a productive one. People often say ‘that was good, or it was great’ about a course. I would say I truly have grown a new skill set and recognise the amazing team I am part of due to this program.
Michaela Vann, Federation University
When I started my coaching sessions with Cathryn the aim was to seek her expert assistance in how to build on my current knowledge and make that leap to leadership at an executive level in state government. I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted out of the sessions and I decided to work with Cathryn as I knew that her approach would be innovative, creative and instinctual – I have done many leadership courses and workshops and I had the building blocks: I needed someone to help me put them together in a way that made sense to me and met my needs right now as a senior executive in the public service.
Each coaching session was completely different – I liked the way that Cathryn let me influence discussion topics but it was uncanny how she always had seemed to have been ready for where I was going in my thoughts and questions. This is the key to her approach that makes it, in my mind, highly effective: it is a searching kind of coaching that lets the coachee find their own way but guided by Cathryn’s instinctive ability to subtly direct and probe, asking questions that enabled me to come to my own conclusions.
The sessions gave me valuable tools to ask the right questions of myself and to have the confidence again to accept the leadership challenge and to better understand my professional needs and ambitions as well as how I can work better to achieve these.
Executive Officer, Queensland Government
“I had been considering a coach for over 18 months but could never quite commit to the idea until I met Cathryn. For some reason, Cathryn and I just gelled and she made me feel very comfortable sharing the kind of information required for a coaching relationship to work effectively. She is non-judgmental, listens very well and consistently helps facilitate successful outcomes without ever giving me the answers directly. She has been a great coach and has helped me enormously!
Cameron Henry, Partner, BDO
Thank you to Dr Cathryn Lloyd Maverick Minds and Julie Robson Flying Arts for organising such a fantastic course earlier on in the year. ‘Where to next?’ gave me a lot of clarity. I had so many ideas and to be able to place them in order was very valuable. As a mother of four young kids I don’t have time to sit and brainstorm and so to have such a great intensive made the world of difference to me and my business. I was creating wall art and had the idea of Ceiling Art, but after the course realised that Ceiling Art was in fact what I wanted to pursue most. I installed my first tiles in September and the media attention from the idea for patient benefit has been incredible. Thank you for putting together such a great course. I know that many more will benefit from it in the future.
Claire Rackley Artist and Business Entrepreneur
I was fortunate to have Cathryn as a mentor for almost a year. In the course of a year, Cathryn helped me in understanding my own potential to realising my leadership skills. Her expertise in creative thinking and application of leadership and management concepts gave me the inspiration to forge the development of my career path. I will always be grateful for the professional guidance that Cathryn has given me.
Megha Gupta Senior Advisor, ELICOS Austrade
“Given the unique challenge of finding talent to run a workshop session that combined not one, but three important yet distinctly different themes – team bonding, creative thinking and wellness – MaverickMinds was the perfect choice. Cathryn took the time to really understand our objectives and our people to provide a tailored solution unlike any other workshop experience. Her depth of knowledge in the creative field, innovative learning experience options and facilitation expertise enabled her to both design and deliver a session that had the right balance of structure and fluidity. There were so many valuable and varied outcomes for those who attended – everyone walked away thinking about creativity differently, particularly around the important role it plays in many aspects of our lives. As a team dispersed all over the country we especially loved that our session culminated in an activity that gave each individual a take-home ‘piece’ of our day that represented what we had achieved creatively together.”
Kylie Devine, Associate Director Marketing, CQUniversity Australia
“Dr Cathryn Lloyd is one of those rare individuals whose facilitation expertise is able to illicit natural and meaningful interactions between participants. She creates an environment for conversation and ideas. Her style is creative and inclusive, differing from traditional facilitation I have experienced in the past. It is a joy to work with Cathryn on a range of initiatives where she brings passion, expertise and action. Currently, we are collaborating on Maverick Mind’s Shift Your Thinking conversations, which draw participants from a range of sectors to interact on a contemporary topic. I look forward to continuing to work with her on this, and other, creative journeys.”
Alexandra Elibank Murray, Executive Director, FedUni Brisbane
“We were looking for a facilitator for our WELL Practitioners Network Conference held in Brisbane, November 2012 and were very fortunate to find Cathryn at Maverick Minds. From the initial contact we had with Cathryn, she started her research to identify what we are about, what the work of WELL Practitioners involved, the related government programs and identifying facilitation strategies that would benefit the participants. As a result of her research and preparation, Cathryn was able to add a personal touch to our conference, through having obtained a sound understanding of the WELL program and the people involved. Her participation in network and social activities, at the conference, enabled her to establish a sound relationship with conference participants which enhanced the effectiveness of her facilitation role. We would have no hesitation in considering Cathryn for the facilitator role at future conferences.”
John Molenaar, Strategic Project Manager, AWPN WELL
“The workshop facilitated by Maverick Minds helped me to focus on the inner work of leadership. The exercises were simple yet penetrating and directly applicable to my work in leadership. I anticipate that my reflections from the workshop will continue in the months ahead and help me to remain focused in my work.”
Ian Boardman, Director, Queensland Leadership Program, Benevolent Society
“Congratulations Cathryn. A most enjoyable workshop. I was delighted in the responsiveness in the group and they learnt to trust themselves and open their hearts. I see a broad range of application in the workplace.”
Louise Phelan, Senior Manager, OD&L, Ernst&Young
“I was a conference participant at the 2012 WELL Practitioners Network Conference where Cathryn was the MC / facilitator. I have been to a plethora of conferences and I have never seen an MC who was so passionate and vibrant! In the breaks Cathryn was constantly liaising with the organisers to discuss how best to get the message / purpose across regarding sessions. She fulfilled on her promises to send information the next day! Cathryn has a no nonsense style yet tactful and fun style, she is not afraid to make the hard calls and professionally but firmly advise presenters to stick to their topics and reduce the less interesting things such as company introductions and get into the meat of their presentations, so conference delegates can learn and engage. Whilst Cathryn had minimal knowledge in the conference topic, she versed herself in understanding what goes on and this was evident by the poignant questions she posed to speakers, plenary, etc. Cathryn was approachable during breaks and welcomed this, and was open to bringing up topics in an open forum / or particular sessions that conference delegates wanted. It was an absolute pleasure working with Cathryn and I appreciated her support to speak about our organisation in an open session, if she had been less encouraging or not interested, I wouldn’t have got the knowledge expertise of conference participants”
Julie Richards, Conference Delegate, Community Partnerships Coordinator, A Gesture – Food for the Community
“At Medland Metropolis we invest in our people. My request of Dr Cathryn was to improve the communication within the office, and to our clients. While learning through art was not the most risky investment in training we’ve made, initially there were some sceptics. With many hours of briefing and background work, we received exceptional value for money! In very little time, the result was an awareness of our communication strengths and problems, basic skills to overcome the problems, and a commitment from the team to improve. Our ‘finished artistic product’ – the communications prototype, was a far cry from our first attempt, and will remain an office masterpiece as a reminder of our quest for effective communication. I highly recommend Maverick Minds for communication sessions, and I imagine any other topic you could think of would also be a success. We’ll definitely be looking for a longer term relationship with the skills we’ve witnessed in these sessions.”
Todd McCann, State Manager, Medland Metropolis QLD
“Over the last 2 years as you worked with the Queensland Police Service Women’s Network, I developed a better understanding of the contribution you make to organisations, through building the creative potential, collaboration, and communciation of an organisations most important asset, its staff. From the feedback I have gathered, combining the areas of arts and business certainly made a significant contribution to the creative and personal development of the members of the Women’s Network”
Lynn Rowsell, Human Resource Officer/Employee Wellbeing; State Coordinator, Queensland Police Women’s Network
“It was a great pleasure; an enjoyable time and a illuminating and learning experience to attend the Maverick Minds develop and facilitated Creative Decision-Making and Teamwork Tango workshops. I have been delivering courses in creative problem solving and team work for many years, both in Australia and internationally, and did not really expect any new ideas to emerge; I was delightfully mistaken. The concepts, ideas and activities were new and fresh. The energy of Cathryn and Yael was infectious and quickly converted a group of strangers into an effective learning group. Since undertaking this one day composite workshop I have applied several of the techniques with good to outstanding results. I would recommend this program to the beginner and experienced trainer alike. For the beginner it give a solid foundation of techniques in this area. The more experienced facilitator/trainer will not only revise these – or learn new ways of implementing old concepts – but will also profit from watching the style and processes of Cathryn and Yael Thank you to you both.”
Peter Kieseker, Principal, TACT Training and Consulting Team
“Since the workshop with Maverick Minds we are more aware of having clear communication, and more regular communication. The process of change won’t happen overnight, we are all aware of that, but small, significant changes are a great starting point, and we’re definitely doing that. If we can keep building on these, we are doing well!”
Susan Mercer, Group Opportunities, Medland Metropolis
“Dear Cathryn, just a quick e-mail to let you know how much I enjoyed the session you facilitated on the Sunday of the Ideas Festival. We had a great time with some wonderful enthusiastic people, and your movement and trust games made it all so much easier to connect.”
Paul Williams, Ideas Festival
“I’ve been meaning to write to you and thank you for a fantastic session. It was completely unexpected! I think everybody at the festival was surprised at how easy it was to talk to each other, considering we were strangers… and a lot of us were from different backgrounds, ages, etc. I learnt a lot from the experience and think your concept of arts-based learning is a fantastic one, a good way to break the boundaries of logical thinking that we endure during the week.”
Leanne Hughes, Wicked Campers, Ideas Festival
“Maverick Minds – Communication in MM office Session” – The session we had at the office was extremely helpful. I think the biggest change to the office is the awareness of staff of what communication really is and the different forms we can use to communicate. As we finished off each session everyone went away and tried to work on a different thing (something they felt needed to be improved within themselves) in understanding a better way to communicate with others in the office. Since this time, I can say that everyone has made a definite improvement, some more than others but with those that have made large changes they are also helping to make the communication better with those that haven’t been able to change that much. By everyone working on a different form of communication to change (understanding/perspective, speaking up, not multi-tasking etc) those that are good at one form can often help those who are in need of changing in trying to achieve their desired goal. And vice versa. Through a continued approach (and reflection) to changing and trying to openly communicate via our communication model (bricolage) we focus on things that we as a group can achieve and sort out quickly rather than spending time trying not to step on each others toes or worry about hurting someone’s feelings. We just get our point across clearly and in a grippy way so that everyone is sure and able to understand what needs to happen when we leave a conversation. These sessions were a fabulous way of leaning the different forms of communication and allowed those who wouldn’t normally take part to offer their input and be involved. I recommend anyone with communication problems in their office to take part and be fully on board to realise what can be changed and set about doing it.”
Marni Pearson, Admin Manager, Medland Metropolis
“Cathryn was an excellent MC and facilitator at the recent training focused WELL Practitioners national conference I attended. She also ran a really lively “open space” session”
Maree McEvoy, Conference delegate, Ideas That Work
“Cathryn conveys a ‘credible intimacy’ which makes people feel comfortable to delve deeply.”
Daniel Sharp, Government employee
“Dr Cathryn Lloyd recently presented to the Safety Chicks Network about the “Journey into Stories” – this topic is so important in the WHS profession as we are change agents and need to influence people’s behaviours around safety. Cathryn’s topic invited us on a journey to discover how we as humans use stories in our everyday lives and the impact they have on us. It covered ideas such as what types stories we use, how stories connect with people and how connecting is how we build relationships. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with so many of the members stating how much they enjoyed the participation and opportunity to explore such an important but taken for granted topic. The presentation was full of great energy and discussion.”
Melanie McGaw Founder Safety Chicks, Safety, Quality and Environment Director, KDR
“Motivating, revealing, inspiring, thought-provoking and invigorating.”
Participant, Leadership Programme, NSW Police
“Challenging, I enjoyed this session. It took me out of my comfort zone.”
Participant, Leadership Programme, NSW Police
“The International Coaching Federation Australasia – Queensland Branch (ICFAQ) were delighted when Dr Cathryn Lloyd of Maverick Minds accepted our invitation to present at our PD seminar in May. The topic “Journey into Story: a process for engagement” was beautifully presented, thought provoking, interactive and experiential. Cathryn did indeed take us on a journey using story in a wide range of contexts, from personal to fairy stories, to newspapers and extracts from books, pictures and cartoons. There are so many opportunities for exploration, reflections rework, and reframing, with the telling of the story by our client. It is a simple but effective coaching tool. Cathryn’s presentation and interactive sessions improved our understanding of how this tool could be effective, and how to maximize opportunities for storytelling and story seeking. The simple question “Tell me your story” can provide space for the client to open up and for the coach to explore with them, taking them on a journey of reflection and clarity. I have used this tool most recently with my clients with great results.”
Eileen Duncan ICFAQ President, International Coaching Federation
“Cathryn helped clear my fog and reminded me of what was important to me by listening and guiding me. It was a safe environment to encourage me to speak. Thank you Cathryn. Tracey”
Tracey Coaching Client
“Dear Cathryn I had the privilege of attending a talk you gave to our Safety Chicks group in May this year, and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the message of “Journey into Story” and your presentation of the subject matter. I think, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we forget that we all have our own stories to tell. They shape us and make us who we are, and by really listening to the stories others have to tell we make relationships work. I know that I, personally, could relate to the story you told because it highlighted for me how much empathy and understanding is a part of our lives, yet we take those aspects for granted and rarely act on them. “Journey into Story” was enjoyed by all who attended, and it is a message that should be heard and heeded by many more people. Louisa Reid, WHS Adviser”
Louisa Reid
“Cathryn’s workshop was a wonderful creative journey of exploration and fun.
I gained some major insights into how to work and live more creatively.”
Dolores Cummins, C3 Leadership
“I would like to Thank you for facilitating a workshop as part of our Ruby Connection evening at Westpac Ashgrove. The subject of “Creativity in the workplace” unlocked an inspiring thought process into how we can accomplish growth in our business. Creativity comes in many forms and it was delightful to watch participants realise they were already using it and how powerful creativity is.”
Kaye Ross Bank Manager, Westpac
“With little time invested overthinking how the day would play out at TEDxKurilpa, I arrived at the registration desk alone – with an open mind. Abuzz with a hyped energy from all my pre-attendance activities – organising children, the drive to QPAC, getting a car park – some would say, I was stopping work to move bricks.Delegates were encouraged to talk to each other, greet someone new, and use the conversation prompting name cards. This ignited a pin-pointed interest in others and by identifying the self-nominated topics of discussion; people were focussing on subjects of importance to the individual – quickly bypassing the loop de loop of small talk and its waltzing conversational swirls.
In an interactive session designed and facilitated by Cathryn Lloyd to build a sense of community individuals physically placed themselves closest to a topic of interest, groups were formed. In a language unspoken, we invited each other into a space that allowed freedom of speech, thought and opinion. Intuitively we formed a circle so every face could be seen and every word could be heard. Participants cooperatively shared their core values based around the given field.The openness and willingness of each delegate, showed strength of character in allowing themselves to be vulnerable within a posse bound by a single common interest – the TEDxKurilpa experience.The seed of warm camaraderie was producing its first fragrant flower – rapport. Observations of facial expressions, physical and cultural differences examined with accepting affection. Most importantly the listening of eyes and the listening of faces.
The united message was developed into a group performance. Individual values were combined and pooled into a flowing collaborative piece.Spatial awareness – our ability to perceive and comprehend the relationship between shapes and areas around us became redundant. Revealing accomplished connection was centre focus. The fascinating result of this type of group interaction was the change in energy – the room accelerated and intensified to reflect a peak of creative synchronicity and openness. In this small, yet significant exercise each amalgamated pod delivered to the event in a short period of time; trust, respect, listening, engagement, collaboration, cohesiveness, quiet, stillness, passion and care for others. Connection. This strategy was indeed a credit to the TEDxKurilpa team.”
Luanne Wishart, TEDx Kurilpa participant 2014
“I have have had the privilege of participating in a workshop lead by Cathryn. It is impossible to articulate exactly what made the experience so great, however here are some things that Cathryn made remarkable. Firstly, she created a sense of purpose and focus that produced an exceptional level of engagement. Cathryn created a cohesive framework that invited adventure, provoked thoughtful exploration, and made space for the unexpected. The result was a fun and inspired sharing of ideas to a level no-one could have expected at the onset.
Cathryn is a visionary with a wonderful ability to engage people in soulful questioning that gently guides them through the unpacking and exploration of powerful ideas. Her unique approach is like an infusion of light and oxygen that recharges, inspires and unites people.Winfried Sitte.
Futurist. Coach. Architect.”
Winfried Sitte Futurist, Coach, Architect
“I work at the Centre for Sustainability Leadership where I am conducting doctoral research into creative practice for sustainability. During my research I came across the innovative processes that Cathryn Lloyd at Maverick Minds uses in her workshops. As she is one of the few practitioners in Australia who is working in this space, I traveled from Sydney to Brisbane to participate in her workshop on exploring your creative potential. And I’m extremely glad I did! The workshop was not only inspiring but most importantly of all productive. Employing artful practices ranging from story analysis to mind and body mapping, Cathryn skillfully and insightfully took the participants on a journey of discovery and meaning making and along the way we had some fun. This included reflecting on what it means to be creative, why it is important to nourish your creativity, and understanding the psychological and emotional barriers to achieving your creative potential. In the end I not only gained a clearer understanding on what it is I need to do to develop my creative potential but as a professional practitioner myself, I gained some great tips and ideas for how I could use creative practice more effectively. Whether you are in the corporate, government, academic or not-for-profit sector, if you are looking to find new ways to support your career and/or life objectives, or would like to provide creative development for your team and organisation then I would highly recommend Cathryn Lloyd and her innovative learning programs to help stimulate your imagination and bring ideas to fruition.”
Jeremy Mah Program Facilitator, Centre for Sustainability Leadership
“Cathryn is a very skilled facilitator and coach in her workshops and follow-up sessions. Her incisive questions gently push one to really think things through. She respectfully holds the group to its agenda, and artfully protects each person’s space on that agenda so that time is very constructively spent.”
Pam Blamey Art Therapist
“FutureNet engaged Cathryn as a guest speaker for ‘The Evolution of the Young Professional’ event held in Brisbane recently. Cathryn came highly recommended via a number of colleagues who had attended her Maverick Minds creative development workshop and she certainly did not disappoint. Cathryn’s presentation ‘Survive and Thrive; Creative Resilience and Creative Leadership’ was well received by the audience, as they were captivated by her passion for the creative mind. Cathryn enthusiastically interacted with the crowd; provoking thoughts, opinions and successfully facilitating several group discussions throughout her presentation.
It was a pleasure to watch Cathryn conduct the room with her passionate and professional mastery and I look forward to working with her again in the future.”
Michael Lawlor Associate Architect, Thomson Adsett/Future Net
“For the past 12 months I have been receiving business coaching and motivation from Cathryn Lloyd regarding my business idea. What started as a casual conversation about a tours business idea that I had been investigating while overseas, and subsequently put in the “too hard” basket, Cathryn has helped me and motivated me to revise the idea and look at ways to carrying out the enterprise considering other ways of doing it. To look at it from a different perspective to make it happen. She has been the motivational force behind the progress I have made so far. We continue to work together with regular meetings and I certainly look forward to her ongoing support and creative insight.”
Manuel Heredia, Extreme Beauty Tourism
“I have recently attended the Maverick Minds Creativity Development workshop with Cathryn. Previously I have worked in highly structured work environments and I felt like creativity was missing from my life. I wanted to understand what creativity was and how I could use it to improve my personal and work life. The workshop was a day that I will never forget. I came to the day with an open heart and mind and Cathryn was instrumental in making the day a success for me. Be prepared to try different activities and acquire a whole new perspective on the challenges in your life – throughout the day I had many moments where I could see through the “clutter” of my mind and see quite a few solutions. Cathryn’s careful planning of the day takes you on a journey – there are certain times where I felt like I was out of my comfort zone but when I reflected back on the day, it was those challenging moments that lead to the breakthroughs. Throughout the day, Cathryn provided a variety of activities (most probably that you have never encountered before) and her authenticity and genuine passion provides a very safe place for you to ask questions about creativity and explore the possibilities of understanding what creativity is. We live in a complex world and we will need different solutions- not just in the workplace but also in achieving our personal goals. Devoting a day to yourself to attend this workshop will be one of the best investments you will make in the long term for yourself and for those important loved ones in your life. You can have total trust in Cathryn’s facilitation, knowledge and skill. Best of all, you will have fun!”
Melanie Nicholoson 2014
“I became self-employed 3 years ago and came from a practical and analytical background. I wanted to bring more creativity to my work and life in general.I have been a coach myself and what really stood out to me were Cathryn’s listening skills. Cathryn was 100% present with me for our entire session which went over 2 hours – in our fast paced world, the ability to be focused on someone else for any period of time is a great quality to bring to the table.
I know people struggle to understand what creativity means and Cathryn was able to ask me the right questions to understand how it relates to my own circumstances. I learnt from Cathryn how to improve my life by tapping in to this creativity (which everyone has). After my first coaching session with Cathryn, I had the courage to ask a CEO of a company that I have always admired for a work opportunity that did not even exist! I found out 3 weeks after our session that my proposal (which was my dream job) had been accepted and I start next week.
If you are ‘stuck’ or just want to make a change or move ahead in your present circumstances, Cathryn is the coach to call to put you on track towards your life goals.
Melanie”
Melanie 2014
“I have my own Natural Therapies business and first met Cathryn whilst she was finishing off her doctorate and was coming to me for stress and ‘computer shoulder’ treatments. Cathryn subsequently invited me to attend one of her workshops and, as a health practitioner and a teacher, I was interested in finding out what ‘Maverick Minds’ was all about.
I wasn’t too sure what I was going to do on the day, but quickly realised that looking at the way I could enhance my business in a creative way really appealed to me and could be helpful. Cathryn guided me through the process which helped me to embrace the creative person inside. It was a little challenging, good fun and very productive.
I was encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ through a variety of carefully planned activities and to express my ideas in a visually creative way. By the end of the day I felt much more focused, had a clearer idea of where improvements could be made in the way that I approached the many facets of my business, felt more confident in being able to enact my ideas, was more resolute and was armed with a plethora of new resolutions.
An enjoyable and valuable day!”
Colleen Kelly, Natural Therapy Queensland 2014
“I found the Maverick Minds Creative Development workshop helpful and stimulating for all sorts of unexpected reasons. Many of the practitioners who use and promote creativity do so with new age enthusiasm but little training. In contrast, Cathryn Lloyd has high level professionalism, a doctorate, and methodological rigour. Cathryn has decades of corporate and high level experience. She was able to gently probe and guide all participants to finding a new path through terrain as varied as writing, corporate liaison, family relationships, and personal journeys. I wasn’t sure what project I would take to the seminar, but once I got there found all the material presented relevant and the application of it during the day challenging, stimulating and life-changing. I would recommend this experience highly to anyone, no matter their professional level or personal interest in creativity. It is an essential and rewarding part of the life journey. The Maverick Minds experience of taking mindfulness into creative directions was immensely useful and rewarding.”
Louise Martin Chew, Writer, Arthouse
“The Mental Illness Fellowship of North Qld undertook a strategic planning exercise in 2014. Due to time constraints and the availability of participants the session could only be run on one day which is not optimal but was our only option. Cathryn Lloyd, Director of Maverick Minds, co-planned and facilitated the strategic planning workshop but not before a number of discussions and consultations with me to come up with a plan for the day. It was great having someone who listened to what our needs were, suggested various options for the day and prepared a lot of very useful and relevant material beforehand. The pressure was on to achieve the goals for the day however Cathryn expertly facilitated the workshop drawing on her enormous creative and facilitation experience to guide the group to the point where it was able to agree on a new vision, mission and values statement. Cathryn’s facilitation style created the space for all participants to make meaningful contributions to the process and her offer of follow up support and guidance was much appreciated. I can recommend Maverick Minds as a creative, skilled and friendly organisation to work with.”
Jeremy Audas CEO, Mental Illness Fellowship NQ, 2014
“Cathryn’s boundless curiosity about people and their stories is the real foundation for her fantastic ability to support those who seek change. She is a naturally gifted coach, and has studied in depth the newest techniques for transforming her clients’ potential into reality. Her insight into my unique story has evolved, for me, into an ability to attract new professional opportunities and to bring a more confident, resilient approach to my life in every aspect. During our sessions, she listened carefully and responsively. She structured a collaborative approach to sorting through the maze of my thoughts, and this was very exciting. Our conversations have been transformational. As a professional visual artist and freelance arts writer (and a single parent) I have built up reasonably good skills for problem solving and self-motivation. However, working with Cathryn has moved me into feeling more confidence in following my deepest intuitions, both in my personal and professional life.”
Carol Schwarzman, Visual Artist and Arts Writer, 2015,
“Cathryn Lloyd is one of those rare gifts that come into your life, if you’re lucky. She is a coach of extraordinary talent, offering an opportunity for insight through her highly honed listening, questioning and synthesising skills which are some of the best I have ever encountered in 25 years of working life. It’s a gift to have an intelligent and wise professional give you their full attention and offer you the opportunity to see yourself and your situation through fresh eyes, and this is the gift that Cathryn’s coaching provides. “
Jill Chivers, Where Corporate Meets Creative, 2015
“What I observed from our time with Cathryn Lloyd/Maverick Minds and also the feedback from the senior management team was the importance of making time to get out of the trenches some creative thinking time and also to connect as a team. The various theoretical concepts Maverick Minds exposed us to and the relationship building processes really helped set the scene for how we communicated with each other. The design thinking building process enabled us to envisage new organsiational approaches was raved about. It created a shared understanding and language. It was fun as well and very collaborative. There was no room for judgments or rejections and we were able to physically see and engage with the ideas people expressed. Cathryn is an exceptional facilitator and was able to motivate all involved to not only participate and generate ideas but to give of themselves and share feelings and vulnerabilities in a safe space. It has been a very worthwhile experience for us as a leadership team. We look forward to following up on what we have started. “
Mark Walters, Director, SERCO 2015
“The Future Transitions Workshop quickly opened me up from my “Limiting Head Space Fears” to my hidden “Heart Felt Potentials”. The workshop encouraged me to explore and expand my real possibilities. The Final Full Body painting was so liberating. Since the workshop I have been able to implement a wider vision for myself and my business to attract new clients with love from my Heart. Thank you Cathryn”
Robert Vicary, Alive Radiant Therapies, 2016
“I had the great pleasure of working with Cathryn Lloyd on the very tricky business of self-perception. I am an actor, theatre director and teacher of acting. I came to a point in my life where I needed to earn the kind of money that anyone with my level of experience in any other field would easily accept. But how does one maintain one’s artistic integrity and believe in one’s self enough to convince other people of one’s talents. I fell into the trap that a lot of women seem to flail, in that I couldn’t see myself leading a team and yet so many less experienced male colleagues were confidently putting their hand up. The work that Cathryn explored with me was essential in clarifying my purpose, claiming my expertise and articulating my goals. Cathryn understands the creative process and really understood my language. I found the work at times challenging, always enjoyable and ultimately totally rewarding. I loved the sense of play and exploration that allowed new discoveries that took me by surprise. I unreservedly recommend Cathryn as a brilliant coach who through her perceptive use of a variety of tools has assisted me in embarking on a whole new career.”
Andrea Moor, Actor, Director, Educator
“I was honoured to receive the inaugural DTESB All Star Award in 2016. There were (and are!) so many deserving nominees within the department. It was incredibly meaningful to be recognised for my work, and I thank everyone who nominated me. While the recognition itself was invaluable the award provided me with a budget to attend multiple 1-1 coaching sessions with Cathryn Lloyd from Maverick Minds.
I’ve never worked with a coach before, and now that I have, I highly recommend the experience (and Cathryn). Initially, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found that Cathryn’s ability to challenge my assumptions and focus my thoughts allowed me to clarify who I want to be as a colleague, supervisor and leader. Working with a coach at a time in my life, turned out to be one of great change—leaving DTESB after 7 years—was powerful, and I will take my “light-bulb moments” with me into my new role. Thank you DTESB for this opportunity!”
Trudi Plaschke
“Working with Cathryn as my creativity coach has been a great experience. It’s been such a privilege to have someone to talk to that is solely focused on assisting with my professional development as an artist. The sessions were a catalyst for getting clear about my work and working towards my goals, which has helped me achieve much more in this past year than I anticipated.
Practising as an artist is solitary work, and although my friends and family are supportive it’s been really helpful to have professional support from Cathryn as she understands both the internal and external challenges that arise for creative professionals. Cathryn is warm and encouraging but also focused on challenging fears and beliefs that have inhibited me in the past. I can highly recommend working with Cathryn. “
Jo Dyer, Artist, 2018