Personal Note from Rachel

Looking Back, Moving Forward with Purpose

As the autumn season arrives in Ireland, it’s that familiar "back-to-school" time of year—a natural moment for reflection and recalibration. Just as students return to classrooms, it’s a reminder for all of us to consider the lessons we’ve learned so far and the work we still want to accomplish before 2024 closes. At 4Front, we anchor our work around the 6Ps of Positive Practice—Purpose, Personal, Professional, People, Products & Services, and Prosperity. This month, our focus is on Purpose.

As the days grow shorter, I invite you to reflect on the seeds you’ve sown so far this year. What are you currently harvesting? And more importantly, what purposeful and meaningful skill could you hone over the next few months that will make you look back on 2024, from the vantage point of New Year’s Eve, with pride and fulfillment? Consider how you’ve navigated the year so far—are you on a path that feels aligned with your purpose, bringing you closer to the life and impact you want to create?

Think about the areas in your life that are working well—how can you build on that momentum to create even more positive value and growth? In the areas that may not be going as smoothly, what are you learning about yourself, and what can you shift to generate different, more empowering results?

For those of you whose purpose is to cultivate environments where people thrive, I warmly invite you to consider our upcoming cross-industry, cross-professional Lead With Coaching 6-Day Programme starting on 10th September, based in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick-On-Shannon.  It could be the most impactful gift you give yourself and those you lead, helping you create a truly purposeful impact in the final four months of this year and start next year strong.  CLICK HERE for dates.  To confirm booking, email rachel@racheldungan.com ASAP.

Alongside this, for our readers in the pharmacy field, in this month's newsletter, I share one of my CPD Cycles, related to my progress towards the accreditation of the Lead With Coaching Programme with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).  Those of you called for ePortfolio review this year can use it as inspiration for your own professional growth while fulfilling essential requirements. In partnership with Reciprocoach, I continue to offer reflective practice super-vision for master coaches, recognising that, as professionals, mastery is not a destination—it’s a journey. Continuous growth is key to staying sharp, resilient, and ever-evolving in our professional practices.

This month, I had the pleasure of attending a coaching mastery session on addressing complaining by activating client autonomy, and I share some insights with you below. For those in the Waterford area, I am proud to be contributing as a coach to the Waterford Regional Leaders Programme, which kicks off shortly. I’m also celebrating the publication of an article in the September issue of Irish Pharmacy News (starting on page 70), entitled Lead With Coaching: Empowering Sustainable Growth and Workforce Wellbeing. You can check it out here.

As part of Lead With Coaching Institute's ongoing growth, I’m excited to announce the initial launch of LCI's new website, www.leadwithcoaching.org, a space where you can access dates, resources and offerings for the remainder of 2024 and 2025 related to leading with a coaching style of leadership.  This website also houses our participant's learning centre.  As this is phase 1 of our website, James and I invite your feedback/insights re: www.leadwithcoaching.org

Finally, as the biggest invitation of all, if you have the desire to deepen your leadership capabilities and create meaningful, positive change, I encourage you to join us for our LIVE Lead With Coaching 6-Day Programme in Carrick-on-Shannon,  facilitated by co-founders Rachel Dungan MCC and James Martin ACC, starting on 10th September.  Is now the perfect time for you to join and make the most of the remaining months of 2024—seizing the opportunity to align with your purpose and empower others?

Wishing you all a purposeful September, rich with reflection, growth, and forward momentum.

Warmly,
Rachel 
Co-Founder, Lead With Coaching Institute and 4Front Pharmacy

4Front’s 6Ps of Positive Practice focus on Mastering Six Inter-Connecting Factors – Purpose, Personal, Professional, People, Products & Services and Prosperity.

This Month's Focus: Purpose

 The Role of Purpose in Pharmacy Leadership -Part 1

Introduction: Have you ever considered how a clear sense of purpose can propel your career as a healthcare professional, especially in the pharmacy field? Purpose isn't just a philosophical notion; it's a cornerstone of professional excellence. In this two-part series, we'll delve into why purpose matters, what science tells us about it, the risks of neglecting it, and how it aligns with your pharmacy leadership role, as outlined in the "6Ps of Professional Excellence Self-Assessment for Healthcare Managers and Leaders."

Defining Purpose: Purpose is the profound reason behind everything we do, the 'why' that fuels our actions. It's the force that gives our lives and careers meaning, transcending the day-to-day tasks and contributing to something greater.

Why It Matters:

Having a clear and compelling vision for the future of pharmacy is the cornerstone of leadership. It's your purpose that drives this vision and inspires your team to follow. Purpose ensures that your actions align with the values of the pharmacy where you work, creating a harmonious and effective workplace. By providing a sense of meaning and purpose to your team members, you empower them to excel in their roles. Purpose connects you with the core mission Click here to read the complete article.

Interested in cultivating a positive Pharmacy Practice?  Consider Coaching.   Complete the  Identify Your Saboteurs and/or VIA Strengths Finder Survey, then click the  "90-Minute Strategy Session" link to avail of one of a limited number of 1-2-1 sessions, and search my calendar for a suitable time for you.  .

My CPD Focus:  Integrating Coaching Leadership into Pharmacist CPD: Achieving International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation for Lead with Coaching Programmes

Introduction:

As the Director of Education at the Lead With Coaching Institute, my role involves developing and accrediting ‘lead with coaching’ programmes that align with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) standards. This CPD cycle focuses on enhancing my non-clinical competencies as a pharmacist, particularly in leadership, education, and professional development, by achieving ICF Level 1 Coach Education accreditation for the Lead With Coaching Foundation and Practitioner Programmes. By integrating coaching leadership into pharmacist professional development, I aim to contribute to the broader development of pharmacists' personal, professional, and organisational skills.

Self-Appraisal:

What I Intend to Learn and Why:

1. Programme Accreditation Process:

• Learning Intention: Gain in-depth knowledge of the ICF programme accreditation process to successfully lead the Lead With Coaching Programmes through Level 1 accreditation. 
• PSI Core Competency Framework Mapping:
  • Professional Practice: Developing and maintaining professional competence, accountability, and leadership in coaching.
  • Organisational and Management Skills: Applying management principles to the accreditation process, ensuring quality assurance standards. Click here to read the complete CPD Focus article.

If you are a pharmacist who has been called for ePortfolio Review this year, and you would value partnering with a pharmacist colleague to Just Get It Done, CLICK HERE to schedule a 1-2-1 session with Rachel. Most colleagues find this partnership approach to be way less stressful and more fun to meet regulatory requirements and create valuable learning.  

Upcoming Opportunities for

Reflective Practice with 4Front

The most successful and inspiring professionals understand the importance of regular reflective practice. By dedicating time to reflect, they become better equipped to avoid burnout, find deeper fulfillment in their careers, and navigate challenges with renewed clarity. Whether you're a coach, pharmacist, or leader, prioritising this space for reflection allows you to step back, gain new perspectives, and enhance your impact.

If you're ready to prioritise your well-being and professional growth, consider partnering with me for group or one-on-one supervision or mentor coaching. Together, we’ll strengthen your reflective thinking skills and develop strategies for a balanced and rewarding career.

For coaches seeking to deepen their competencies, I offer ICF Mentor Coaching (ACC, PCC, MCC).  Through competency-focused mentoring, we work on honing your unique expression of coaching skills within professional relationships, offering a rich space for growth.  Recently, I had the honour of deconstructing an MCC Exam Pass recording live, helping Professional Certified Coaches (PCC) understand what it takes to pass the MCC performance evaluations and apply those lessons to their own practice. Ready to focus on your unique path to mastery?  Click here for Rachel | 10 Questions to Ask your ICF Mentor Coach

Group Super-vision for MCC Coaches: I’m excited to lead a monthly MCC supervision group through Reciprocoach, providing a deeper experience for those who prefer a more intimate and ongoing reflective practice. In this group, I get to reflect on recent coaching experiences with MCC coaches, to deepen our understanding and practice in a supportive, structured environment.  Click here to learn more about supervision groups with Reciprocoach.

Reflective practice is a powerful way to unlock your professional potential. For those ready to take the next step, I invite you to book a 4-session block for private super-vision or a 3-session block for mentor coaching. Click here to book your sessions with Rachel.

Recent Events

Leadership Development | Looking Back and Growing Forward

 As leaders, we constantly strive to refine our ability to empower others and ourselves in complex environments. This month, I share my reflections on a leadership development training I attended in August and share some forward-looking plans for September as we continue our journey of growth and learning.

August Recap: Coaching Clients Towards Actionable Solutions

In August, I participated in the Coaching.com Coaching Centre of Excellence Membership Workshop entitled “Stop Complaining, Start Acting: Coaching Clients towards Actionable Solutions,” led by Liz Lotardo. Liz, author of Leading Yourself, is dedicated to helping leaders regain their personal agency, even when facing imperfect systems, challenging bosses, or organisational constraints. As someone always seeking to grow my capacity as a leadership and team coach, Liz’s workshop was an excellent opportunity to deepen my strategies for empowering leaders, managers, and team members.

A key insight from this session was recognising how often we underestimate our influence due to external pressures. We can become fixated on barriers like “This won’t work here” or “My hands are tied,” which hinder progress and keep us stuck in a cycle of complaint. I found the strategies shared by Liz valuable, as they help break this cycle by reawakening our sense of personal power and responsibility to act, regardless of external constraints.

Her teachings align seamlessly with 4Front’s and LCI’s values of personal leadership and empowerment. By focusing on actionable solutions instead of complaints, leaders can elevate their ability to navigate obstacles and bring about meaningful change.

Key Learning Takeaways

Liz’s teachings echoed many principles we value at 4Front and Lead With Coaching Institute, particularly in helping leaders shift from a reactive, complaint-driven mindset to a proactive, solutions-oriented approach. Here are three key takeaways I found most impactful:

1. Shifting from Powerless to Powerful: Often, we find ourselves in a Victim mindset, feeling powerless over circumstances. Liz’s framework encourages us to take a Powerful stance, recognising that while we do not control everything, we do control our responses. This aligns with 4Front’s 6P focus on personal leadership, helping leaders cultivate a mindset of personal agency.
2. From Disempowering Judgement to Sage Navigation: Rather than focusing on what we can’t control (a tendency of the Judge Saboteur), Liz emphasises redirecting energy toward what truly matters and what we can influence. By activating what Positive Intelligence calls the Sage Navigate power, we gain clarity on what is most important, enabling us to make empowered decisions.
3. Shifting from Perfection to Progress: Perfectionism (Stickler Saboteur) can hold us back from meaningful progress. Liz teaches that focusing on progress rather than perfection enables leaders to take consistent steps forward. This is about celebrating progress, overcoming fear, and managing inevitable failures with less stress and more learning.

Examples to Apply in Your Leadership Practice

Liz provided some powerful reframes that continue to shape my own leadership approach and might inspire you as well:

• Reframe from Problem-Focused to Opportunity-Focused: Shift your language from “I have to answer those urgent questions” to “This is my chance to add more clarity and ensure we are aligned.” This simple reframe transforms a burdensome task into an opportunity for growth and connection.
• Balancing Risks with Potential Benefits: When faced with uncertainty, ask yourself, “What’s the upside?” For instance, if things go wrong, what are the risks? AND, if things go well, what’s the potential benefit? This balance helps mitigate fear and fosters a more open approach to taking calculated risks.
• From Output Goals to Input Goals: We often set output goals we don’t fully control. For example, instead of setting the goal "Our team will administer 300 vaccinations in October," shift to an input goal: "Our team will invite 20 customers a day to check their vaccination status." This focuses on actions you can control, making success more achievable.

By integrating these mindset shifts into your leadership practice, you’ll notice a positive shift not only in your own leadership but also in the culture and productivity of your team.

📚 Discover Books to Elevate Your Learning Journey!

Welcome to our book corner, where we curate insightful reads to complement your learning from our workshops

		Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have (Despite Imperfect Bosses, Weird Economies, Lethargic Coworkers, Annoying Systems, and Too Many Deliverables)

Leadership Development | Growing Forward 

With the start of Cohort 3 of the Lead with Coaching programme on Sept 10th, I'm excited to share my learnings from our journey in the next newsletter. This cohort brings together at least 15 participants from 8 diverse industries, each bringing a wealth of experience and perspective. Taking time out of the daily "doing" to immerse in a peer-learning environment often provides powerful opportunities for growth. The diversity of industries represented in this group is very likely to expand the learning, allowing participants to challenge their thinking, exchange ideas, and develop new leadership strategies that transcend sectors.  I am so looking forward to seeing what will emerge and sharing key reflections from this transformative programme.  Stay tuned for insights on how leaders are learning to harness the power of coaching to drive meaningful impact, create positive workplace cultures, and cultivate resilience in a dynamic world.

Upcoming Opportunities for Leaders, Managers and Supervisors 

Coaching: 4Front's ABCDE™ Pharmacist Coach Academy

Bespoke 1-2-1 Coaching for Experienced, New and Aspiring Supervising & Superintendent Pharmacists.  

As my client, I invite you to embrace coaching with wholehearted curiosity as you navigate challenges and dive to the heart of what is truly most important for you (as an individual and/or team). 

4Front's Pharmacist Coach Academy Programme: The 6 Ps of Positive Practice is an innovative hybrid programme meticulously crafted to provide an empowering learning journey for all participants, bridging the gap between knowledge and action. Whether you seek to elevate your current success, find balance amidst the busyness of life, or face challenges in various aspects of your well-being, this programme offers a transformative experience tailored to your specific needs.

In this bespoke programme, you will embark on a path of self-discovery, growth, and development, guided by mentors and coaches who will empower you to identify and cultivate essential skills for success. The programme equips you with practical tools and resources and nurtures a mindset of continuous learning and collaboration. Participants benefit from personalised guidance, peer discussions, and access to a resource library to enhance their skills and decision-making abilities.

Enroll now in 4Front's Pharmacist Coach Academy and embark on a journey to unlock your full potential, enhance your leadership skills, and positively impact your professional and personal life. Don't wait any longer to invest in your growth and well-being. Take action today and join us on this empowering and transformative experience!

If you are interviewing a coach, mentor coach or coaching super-visor you are considering working with to progress your goals, here are some questions you could consider asking - and my responses to those questions.

• Rachel | 10 Questions to Ask Your Coach

Professional Leadership

Local Leadership (ICF Ireland partnership with Waterford Regional Leaders Programme): Through collaboration with the Waterford Regional Leaders Programme via ICF Ireland, I contribute to local leadership development initiatives. This engagement enriches my understanding of regional leadership contexts and strengthens my coaching approach with insights into community dynamics and local business challenges. For my clients operating in regional markets or seeking to enhance their local leadership impact, this involvement equips me to deliver coaching that resonates with the unique needs of their teams and stakeholders, facilitating sustainable growth and community engagement.  Click here to review the brochure for the Regional Leadership Programme.

Don't miss out

Unlock Your Leadership Potential with Lead with Coaching

As we gear up for the Lead With Coaching Institute event in September, I’d like to extend a warm invitation to attend. Our focus will be on empowering leaders to embrace a coaching mindset, lead with authenticity, and cultivate a healthy and productive workplace culture. If you can’t make it this time, mark your calendar for 2025—we’re planning even more impactful sessions to help you refine your leadership skills and bring out the best in your teams.

Together, we can continue to shift from complaint-driven mindsets to solution-focused leadership that inspires and empowers. Let’s lead the way forward.

Join us for the transformative Lead with Coaching program—a 6-day journey designed to elevate your leadership skills and empower your team. This program will help you get clear on your core responsibilities, understand the coach-approach to maximize your team's potential, and build a professional coaching toolkit tailored to your needs.

To learn more, visit www.leadwithcoaching.org

Upcoming Dates

Lead With Coaching | Foundation - In-Person & Online

• Sept/Oct 2024: In-person 10th, 11th, 24th, 25th. Online Oct 2nd & 9th. Venue: Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim
• Feb/March 2025: In-person 4th, 5th, 25th, 26th. Online February 12th & March 5th. Venue: TBC
• Sept 2025: In-person 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th. Online 10th & 17th. Venue: TBC

Lead With Coaching | Online Only

• May 2025: May 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd

Lead With Coaching | Practitioner

• Oct/Nov 2024: In-person Oct 22nd, 23rd, Nov 12th, 13th. Online Nov 5th, 19th. Venue: TBC
• Oct/Nov 2025: In-person Oct 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd. Online Oct 29th, Nov 5th. Venue: TBC

CLICK HERE for the full brochure, including

• Programme outcomes
• Focus for each module
• Why develop yourself and your team as leaders and managers
• Participant feedback
• Meet the 'Lead With Coaching' team

 🌟 Productivity Tip: Mastering Remote Collaboration! 🌟

As many of you know, Therese Winters now serves as 4Front’s Operations Manager and my Executive Assistant. I've often been asked about my experience working with a remote assistant, and I'm excited to share some insights!

In our collaboration, we’ve discovered a few valuable tips that might resonate with you as well. In today’s digital landscape, effective remote teamwork is essential. Tools like Trello are transforming my collaboration with Therese. Here’s some of the ways we enhance our productivity:

🔹 Organise Tasks: Therese partners with me to break projects into manageable pieces and clearly assign responsibilities.

🔸 Streamline Communication: By using comments, we keep discussions focused and minimise the need for excessive meetings.

🔹 Set Deadlines: Establishing clear timelines helps us maintain momentum and accountability.

🔸 Capture Ideas: We create dedicated spaces for brainstorming, allowing us both to contribute in real time.

🔹 Reflect on Progress: Regularly reviewing our boards helps us identify what's working and where we can improve.

Whether you're collaborating across the globe or just down the street, which of these strategies could significantly enhance your workflow and productivity? 💪✨

#RemoteWork #Productivity #Collaboration #TrelloTips Connect with Therese on LinkedIn.

Action Step:  Complete the  Identify Your Saboteurs and/or VIA Strengths Finder Survey, then click the "90-Minute Strategy Session"  link to take advantage of my special offer and search my calendar for the perfect time for you.