Gavin Dagley

Gavin first qualified in Chartered Accounting, working in what is now Ernst & Young. He made an early move to industry and took on the role of Company Secretary and GM Finance at Levene & Co where he reported to the Boards both at company and Group level on the financial and administration functions of the business.

Gavin is also a registered psychologist. He has been a fulltime executive coach and researcher since 2004 and has completed more than 1,600 paid hours of coaching with high potentials, senior leaders and C-suite executives in private and public sector organisations. As part of his coaching work with professional service firms, he has worked with a number of top- and second-tier legal firms coaching from senior associate to senior partner/director level. He has also worked with executives at senior levels in the public sector including state and local government. In addition, he has extensive experience coaching in the private sector in banking and finance, manufacturing, resources, retailing, wholesaling, technology, services, and logistics organisations.

Gavin has been actively involved in the development of the research and standards base for coaching. He was a member of the Standards Australia committee that produced the Handbook on Coaching in Organisations in 2010 and led the ‘Exceptional Executive Coaching’ and the ‘Executive Presence’ research streams for the Australian Human Resources Institute from 2005 to 2013. Gavin has presented his research to Melbourne Business School, the Australian Human Resources Institute national conference, and the Australian Psychological Society, and the International Coach Federation.

Gavin’s approach to coaching is focused on helping people better understand how they respond to their environment – particularly when under pressure. Building in additional choice in those situations usually means gaining a clearer understanding of the beliefs and unconscious choices we make that underpin our actions (and their consequences), clarifying individual and team roles and expectations, and then building and testing new ways of responding so that they become viable options under pressure. The work builds more flexible and self-aware individuals and more functional, adaptive and outcome-oriented teams.

Gavin has medalled in numerous national and international sailing events and was the 2016 Laser Grand Masters World Champion. He has coached at world level and was awarded the Victorian Coaching Program of the Year 2012.