Corporate Training and Development
“Christina is the top 10% in terms of employee feedback and evaluation.”
Christina is a star. Of all the consultants and professional facilitators that we bring into our organization Christina is the top 10% in terms of employee feedback and evaluation. Once staff members have experienced her work she is highly sought after to be brought back into the organization. In addition to classroom facilitation, she has coached staff and worked with in-tact teams to assist in strengthening relationships and working through differences.
– Joanne Stinson, Manager, Learning & Organizational Development, City of Burnaby
“Christina is awesome!”
I have received very good positive feedback about this session. The content is good and most of all, Christina, the presenter is awesome. Staff are getting a lot from the training.
– Dominic Vinci, VP Sales & Service, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“You took the discomfort out of it by creating a friendly, safe environment!”
I wanted to thank you again Christina for a really inspirational two days! I always head out for training sessions with great trepidation as I do not like being in the spotlight or voicing my opinions in front of a group. Like a lot of people, I find this very uncomfortable. But . . . . . you took the discomfort out of it by creating a friendly, safe environment. I got so much out of the session and I’m really, really looking forward to putting it into practice.
– Sally Cornies, Asst. Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“Phenomenal amount of positive feedback from all my staff on Christina and how she led this last run course.”
They are all coming back fresh, alive and regenerated. They are complementing her on how she brings things down to a more practical, useful and understanding level. It’s great to see the enthusiasm remain constant.
– Kevin Andrews, Manager Westbank Branch, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“You took the discomfort out of it by creating a friendly, safe environment!”
I wanted to thank you again Christina for a really inspirational two days! I always head out for training sessions with great trepidation as I do not like being in the spotlight or voicing my opinions in front of a group. Like a lot of people, I find this very uncomfortable. But . . . . . you took the discomfort out of it by creating a friendly, safe environment. I got so much out of the session and I’m really, really looking forward to putting it into practice.
– Sally Cornies, Asst. Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
Group Facilitation
“Christina is an amazing facilitator!”
She got the group talking, showed the team members new ways to look at the decisions they make. Additionally, she was upbeat and positive throughout the entire session. We had some conflict, but Christina quickly addressed those situations and turned them into positive outcomes. Again, Christina is an absolutely fantastic facilitator it was a pleasure to see her at work!
– Kent Embleton, Channel Engagement Manager, Telus Communications*
“The workshop has done wonders for the cohesiveness within the extended team.”
It was such a great opportunity for all of us to become acquainted. There are many more faces smiling in my direction than there had been before. I’m hoping that together, we can keep it up. I did share a lot of the feedback they gave with the other managers and we are putting together some action plans to help bring more humanity into the call centre. Thanks again for your great facilitation of the workshop. I know they enjoyed it thoroughly.
– Cathie Helgeson, Channel Engagement Manager, Telus Communications*
Motivational and Keynote
“It was the first time anyone’s ever felt positive after walking out of a staff meeting!!”
I have received a lot of positive feedbacks on your performance. You were very professional, positive and focused through out the session. I am expecting to see some changes as we shift our focus towards positivity, and make it a more enjoyable working environment for everyone’s well being.
– Cindy Bui, Consultant, Propaganda
“The guys really bonded early!”
The overall feedback was very positive. I think it was a good way to start off our 2-day event with good energy and the guys really bonded early.
– Pierre Chavigny, Claims Manager, BC Region, Gore Mutual Insurance Company
“Thank you so very much for another fantastic, motivating night of self-searching.”
I am hearing great things from the membership.
– Angie Kovats, Treasurer, Women In Aviation – Vancouver Chapter
“You bring such heart and professionalism to your work! I feel inspired!”
– Brent Stewart, Masterlink International
Corporate Coaching
“My sessions with Christina have been invaluable”
My job as a Manager has changed drastically over the years and coaching is now a huge part of my everyday. My sessions with Christina have been invaluable in helping me fine tune my skills and more importantly help the transition from Manager to coach. A difficult and dynamic shift for someone who has “managed” people for many years, it was a privilege to have Christina coach me into seeing the huge benefits “coaching” can have not only on my staff but on me.
– Carl Marshall, Branch Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“I really valued being able to think out loud.”
Your ability to re-cap where we were and what we talked about was always accurate and thoughtful. You also set a very easy, trusting, comfortable tone to our sessions. Your use of metaphors to provide a “visual” to an issue is amazing and was very helpful to me.
The fact that I knew our conversations were confidential was very much appreciated. You provided a very safe environment. Because our conversations were confidential I really valued being able to “think out loud” and not only hear myself say things and then either agree or change my mind after hearing it out loud, but I also got feedback from an impartial person.
– Kelli-Ann Armstrong, Manager Rec Services, Parks Dept., City of Burnaby
“Great motivator and ability to highlight my strengths.”
You have such a good ability to make a connection and relate to my challenges with personal experiences.
– Erik Schmidt, Superintendant, City of Burnaby
“Coaching helped me understand what my hot buttons are and to recognize when they’re being pushed. “
By being more aware, I can better manage my response. Coaching helped me understand that how I perceive things isn’t necessarily how they are. So while I may have a strong reaction to a situation, I pause and reassess and typically respond in an appropriate or professional manner even if my first impulse is to “blow a gasket!”
– Becky Clements, Branch Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“Coaching is about getting honest with yourself: facing your fears and barriers, acknowledging who you want to be.”
I have received great benefit because you create a safe environment which allows me to uncover what my motives or obstacles are; why I have them; and decide what I want to do about them. Coaching to me is about getting honest with yourself: facing your fears and barriers, acknowledging who you want to be, and then removing that which is prohibiting you from progressing to become the person you aspire to be. Questions such as, “Is this working for me? Knowing what I now know, why would I want to continue? What can I do to prevent this was re-happening in the future? What can I learn from this? What can I do about this, if anything?”
From these questions, I can devise precautionary measures to help prevent reoccurence and develop tools to assist me when trying to establish new habits.
– Linda Martel, Branch Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“I will certainly sing your praises!”
Our session was definitely very helpful. I was very impressed with Christina’s ability to guide my stream of consciousness. She pushed and pulled at the appropriate words and moments in order to make sense and help me open doors on the thoughts and feelings that I was experiencing. I was amazed at how much of my personality she could decipher over the phone. By the end of the conversation I felt like she had known me for years. She was an excellent resource and a fresh perspective that allowed me to re-evaluate some previous ways of viewing myself, my goals, abilities and self-imposed obstacles.
– Jay Gosselin, Venue Manager – Event Services, VANOC – Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee
Group Coaching
“I feel better about myself and have an increased energy level following each session.”
My goal is to keep that energy level high during my work day. The one thing that stands out for me is that I need to be accountable for what I do and feel, and I avoid looking to others to justify my feelings. I will work on not having a ‘woe is me’ initial reaction when things don’t go the way I expected, and look at new situations and initiatives in a positive way.
– Ron Ryman, Manager Kelowna Branch, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“You did great at ensuring participation from all!”
– Mike Miller, Branch Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“I really enjoyed our group session today and got a lot of value from it. “
It’s also refreshing to know that my peers are having some of the same problems that I am. I thought that it flowed very well and gave us an opportunity to learn.
– Karina Scott, Branch Manager, Interior Savings Credit Union*
“You were bang on with every topic we covered!”
Your insight and understanding has really helped me to see myself clearly, and you were bang on with every topic we covered. You are so gifted in your ability to coach, and your future begs you to change, for the better, the lives of the people you will meet in your practice. It’s going to be great for everybody!
– Rosemarie Tirshman, Women in Aviation conference
Life Coaching
“I have never met someone who has such depth, openness and such a big heart!”
Your passion for what you do emanates from you. You have brought my life up a level in so many ways.
– Diana Zitko, Diana Zitko Mortgage Team
“Christina is the best coach I’ve met!”
She is amazingly sharp and clear about pretty much everything I’ve asked her to guide me with and she gets right to the core of the issue. I owe her many of my successes, both professional and personal. I am looking forward to many future collaborations with Christina and I would gladly recommend her to anyone who is looking to find their way in a time of confusion.
– Camelia Wilkinson, Vancouver Sports Massage
“You had an uncanny ability to see through me.”
Without my knowing it, I sometimes send out signals as to what I might be feeling and you read them loud and clear! You’re patient, understanding, well-educated, you can break things down into understandable pieces for those of us new to digging deeper on an emotional level. You’re genuine (that is, you don’t come across as holier than thou), you’re easy to talk to (non-judgmental), you don’t try to correct me (you guide me to see things from a different perspective), your tone of voice is calming (never ridiculing).
I’ve been told by my partner that there is a remarkable difference in me, and how I carry myself these days. I feel more self-confident, have a better relationship with my parents/sister, and most of the time don’t feel too negative at work (trying to be more myself at the office and less self-critical about my skill set).
– Melissa – private client
“People who are ready for self-exploration to access their greater potential would benefit from coaching with Christina.”
Coaching with Christina was very effective for me. I come from a spiritual, holistic sense of myself and I feel that she could hold all parts of me in our conversation, in fact even the parts of me that I was having a hard time being with and finding the gifts there.
Leaders, managers and entrepreneurs would benefit from working with Christina, as well as progressive organizations who want to retain and nurture the talent within their ranks. A session with Christina, brought me new awareness and acceptance of myself – and I consider myself to be a pretty self-aware person already.
– Lynne Brisdon, Professional Coach, Living in Vision
“You are an excellent listener and intuitively know when you hear something significant.”
I think you tune in so finely that you are able to sense when something is significant and then intuitively dig deeper. You have immense clarity in that you know when all of what needs to be disclosed is not yet out in the open – laser-like in that way I found, and have high levels of recognition of what things really are – are able to see around my description of something and recognize what is hiding underneath.
I felt very safe in your guidance forward – it always felt as though you knew where we were going. I often thought we had reached the end of the path and had no idea at all how we could go anywhere from there, and you always did – it was really impressive.
I truly loved how you took some things that I had seen/ discovered and then led me 100km further forward – quite brilliant I thought. You created a safe environment in which I could completely expose myself. It helped immensely because I wasn’t afraid to expose anything at all, even stuff I didn’t know about. I felt expansive in our sessions – not at all constricted and pulled in.
It felt like an adventurous journey in your hands. I loved some of the personal examples. They made me feel more normal/ less odd. Your style is incredibly encouraging and full of recognition and acknowledgement, which I so appreciated. I looked forward to our sessions and every one of them elicited previously unknown pieces for me. Incredibly valuable. Thank you!
– Su Townsend, Career Transition Coach
“Coaching with Christina is an experience I will not forget.”
She is insightful and kind. As importantly, Christina is on point—focusing on the specific issues I brought to help me find the root causes of these issues, not just the symptoms. She is also very flexible about meeting times and places, allowing me to choose what is best for my schedule. If you want to make real changes in your life, Christina is an extraordinary person to help you with the process.
– Bethe Stenning, Pilot
“You will be a huge success wherever you go!”
I came away from our meeting feeling very inspired in terms of revising my business plan and proceeding with my action steps to obtain a business loan, create business cards, and get my web site up and running. Thank you!
– Ruth Seeley, YMCA New Ventures Program
“I felt uplifted and positive”
I found Christina Sestan to demonstrate very strongly the power of coaching to transform your life. She is direct and caring without being overbearing. After speaking with her, I felt uplifted and positive about the changes I was seeking to make in my personal and professional life.
– Jane Terepocki, Women in Aviation conference
Lunch & Learn
Comments from Waterfront Properties Lunch & Learn
- “Best session offered in the series!”
- “Inspirational & informative…”
- “Powerful speaker, very motivating…”
- “This seminar was excellent and I wish it was longer!”
- “Brilliant! Wonderful presenter.”
- “One of the best sessions I’ve ever attended. I will recommend Citrus to colleagues.”
Comments from Pacific Center Lunch & Learn
- “Christina presented the session so professionally. Your attention was focused throughout the whole seminar.”
- “Excellent speaker – very enthusiastic, energetic and powerful…”
- “Christina had a lot of energy and gave great “real world” examples.”
- “Reinforced my decision to change my attitude.”
- “Very practical information…”
- “Great discussion. Exactly what I am reevaluating in my life.”