Paula Whylie
What do you know?
I left school in 1986 and started my first job in a shoe shop on a YTS scheme earning £26.50 a week, by the time I was eighteen I was in my first management role, running my own shoe shop. I changed track and began working for the NHS in 1989, starting in a very transactional role of data entry, I worked my way up to North West Area Training Manager and was part of the national training management team before taking my final strategic role there as Operational Manager.
It was during those 18 years that I was able to take a step back and realise that the culture of an organisation isn’t brought to life by the words on the wall, it’s brought to life from the behaviours and actions of the people within. A qualified coach for longer than I care to remember, curiosity drives me in all that I do. I was part of a project team who restructured and streamlined the NHS Business Authority in 2006 where I restructured my own role out of the business because it was the right thing to do.
Why do you do what you do?
Someone once said to me “Paula, you don’t always have to connect all the dots” and this has stayed with me. I spent ten years working in the social housing sector as Head of People Development and Head of Employee Engagement and Experience, both roles I absolutely loved as I hadn’t realised just how important a link housing was in communities up until that point.
I was invited to be part of the design and delivery group for Leaders In GM (funded by GMCA) looking at affecting change at scale through systems leadership across all ten boroughs, this helped me see just how many dots had been left unconnected and I felt a calling to help people and organisations to spot any gaps or see connections for a whole system approach. Being part of the Do-Well band helps me to support people and organisations across many systems. I’m a believer that we all have an inner explorer in us which we encourage at Do-Well
How can you be useful?
I have a strong track record of helping people at all levels understand their role in affecting change. I’m a believer that anyone who is serious about personal development and organisational change should always start with exploring personal and organisational readiness. I help people identify any gaps in aspiration and behaviours.
Albert Einstein once said: “Play is the highest form of research”. I can help you, your teams and your minds to play and explore possibilities.
If you’re wanting to explore culture, coaching, team development, leadership, personal resourcefulness systems thinking/doing, storytelling, public narrative and much more, if you’re interested to know more, let’s have a chat
What album has most inspired you?
I’d always go for a buffet instead of a meal so narrowing down is tough! I like most music; I grew up with Elvis and country music, in my teenage years New Romantics ruled, 90s was all about #Madchester and dance, which I’ve never fallen out of love with. I’m going to choose two songs by Lou Reed as they remind me of when I met my husband: 'Take a Walk on the Wild Side' and our wedding song, 'Perfect Day'.
