When Iyan Barry, General Manager-IT at Safe Places for Children, first sat down with executive coach Shannon Richards-Green, the connection was immediate. What began as a step into unfamiliar territory quickly became a trusted partnership. Through their work together, Iyan found the space to lift his perspective, build confidence, and grow into the kind of leader he hadn’t previously imagined for himself.

When Iyan began his coaching journey, he was at a turning point. He was delivering value, and excelling operationally, his safe space. But he had reached a ceiling of his own making. “I didn’t know where else to go from here,” he explains. “I was content staying at that level, but my leader saw more potential in me. Coaching was about raising my altitude as a leader and building the confidence to back it up.”

For Iyan, executive coaching was uncharted territory. He had never worked with a coach before, and yet from the first session with Shannon, something clicked. “I just felt comfortable immediately,” he recalls. “I felt she had a genuine interest in my success and was invested in helping me get there. That made me more open to being vulnerable, to talking about my truth. Something I hadn’t experienced before.”

Over time, Iyan’s shifts became clear. One of the biggest breakthroughs was realising he had become a bottleneck. “When the team grew from three people to 11, I was still in the weeds. Shannon helped me see I needed to step back. That’s when I restructured the team into three streams, service delivery, technical delivery and project delivery. Same people, same skills, but now everyone can focus where they thrive.”

The impact went deeper than org charts. Coaching invited Iyan to make space for strategic thinking, not after hours, but as part of his role. “I used to believe strategy was something you squeezed in at night. Coaching helped me see it’s core to leadership. That shift changed everything.”

One tool in particular left its mark: the Immunity to Change framework. Working through it uncovered an underlying belief, a quiet but persistent voice telling him he wasn’t good enough. “That was one of those AHA moments,” Iyan says. “Once we labelled it, I could work with it. We built micro-habits, like spending 15 minutes each morning on myself, studying, writing, reflecting. It gave me momentum and a new way to hold myself accountable.”

The ripple effects have touched both work and home life. Iyan now leads with more openness, connects more deeply with senior peers, and embraces the possibility of failure as part of growth. “I feel like I’ve shifted from being a good leader to becoming a growing senior leader. Coaching opened up possibilities I never saw for myself.”

Asked what he’d say to others, Iyan doesn’t hesitate: “Be open. If you embrace it, you’ll get so much out of it. Coaching helped me realise I already had the answers, I just needed the space and the guidance to find them.”

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