Ciara is an accomplished mindset and peak performance coach, working with professionals and corporate leaders on a global basis to deliver transformational growth.
Ciara's mission is to see people THRIVE and not just survive. She believes that people can reach their full potential in a way that promotes their mental stability and their happiness.
Ciara is the Director of Liston Ferry Partnership Ltd, a company leading in the field of successful professional, personal and corporate transformations.
Ciara coaches ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs to identify beliefs that are holding them back and permanently shift them, unlocking their strategies for change and propelling them to action.
She also works with forward-thinking Corporations to put in place programs to support more women to reach the top and improve mindfulness throughout the workplace.
Ciara draws on her Psychotherapy and Neuro-linguistic Programming training in her coaching practice, on top of her personal experience as a corporate high-flier turned business owner, wife, and mum!
Ciara Banerji, Peak Performance Coach
Tell us a little about yourself, Ciara.
I’m a mindset, and peak performance coach, mum, avid music fan, and sports fanatic…and I’m on a mission to help women truly thrive: breaking through glass ceilings to reach their true potential without compromising in any area of life.
I truly believe that we can have it all!
The key is unlocking the power of the mind to identify your purpose and breaking down limiting beliefs to reveal strategies for growth that are aligned with that purpose. Once you reach that level of clarity and release, the newfound energy can be channeled towards success with consistent momentum.
I absolutely love my one-to-one work with clients, and I revel in every success story - and I’m also a huge advocate for future-forward corporations with whom I work on a strategic level to invest in their female talent.
What brought you to work as an executive life and career coach?
Since the mid-2000s, I have been coaching and recruiting senior executives in the corporate worlds of oil and gas, tech, and consulting. Over that time, I learned how building people’s confidence had a direct impact on their results. Results I just absolutely loved being a part of.
I identified patterns of underlying beliefs that were holding highly talented people back from the senior posts they so richly deserved. Without stereotyping too much, there were notable consistencies between the issues that came up for women, and somewhat different themes present for men.
Still, it was clear to me that the difference between those that thrive, and those that survive or are struggling, was not capability but a mindset. And I firmly believe that people can reach their potential in a way that promotes their mental stability and happiness, and without paying the price in their home life or relationships.
So I created my own high-performance coaching technique (the LFP framework), which I use in consulting with my clients globally to reprogramme limiting beliefs, build new mental blueprints, and actively propel them to take action towards their goals.
At the same time, I’ve taken my own journey of personal growth to be where I am today.
From a young age, I was taught the power of the mind and excelled in the fields of music, sport, and academia from a foundation of setting a vision and working hard towards that goal, building belief along the way.
I have always been around very successful people, with both my parents and my husband (with whom I have played a major part in his leadership development over the past 11 years) holding C-Suite positions in global organizations. I want to see the badge of burnout taken off the corporate jacket and for women to have the tools to solve what I call the “Rubik’s Cube of life”.
I have also experienced my own career twists and turns to lead me to where I am today. For example, just as I was due to begin a role as a Partner in a well-known firm, I found out I was pregnant. I chose to be upfront even though I was only 7 weeks pregnant at the time, largely because the company had sold family values as one of its core principles. To my shock, on hearing my news the four male directors strongly discouraged me from coming on board. I was fortunate: I walked away and channeled my disappointment into action by creating my own business. However, this discrimination is probably one of my biggest drivers to be an agent for true, long-lasting, breakthrough change for women.
I also had to learn to commit to trusting on a deeper level than I had ever known after the loss of my second daughter during full-term childbirth. I believe it’s my responsibility to use my voice and teach others how to use theirs toward their dreams because she - and sadly, so many others - are not given that opportunity.
I’m Irish by birth, Aussie by upbringing and I’ve also lived in India before settling in London, so I’ve learned to see from a wide range of perspectives - and I’m so pleased I get to serve so many clients internationally. Today!
Most of all, I love to bring sparkles of joy and kindness to those around me: my precious family, friends, and clients.
What is it that you do for your clients?
Well, first, it is important to say that my transformation coaching is bespoke - not solely based on a one-size-fit-all video program - which means the content is always tailored depending on where my client is at, and the particular needs and goals they have.
That said, my LFP framework is designed to take them on a journey in which they will uncover progress-limiting subconscious beliefs, completely shift them, build momentum and generate immediate, tangible life and business results.
Unlike with some coaching, where theory is imparted, but you are left to your own devices to apply it, my coaching is exceptionally action-oriented, and I actively support clients to take clear implementation steps between sessions.
For those on my more career-focused peak performance program, mindset work is complemented with an incredibly effective system to get my clients mastering their career story and out-perform in the recruitment and interview processes. This comes in handy for the entrepreneurs that I work with also when they start to scale their companies, as recruitment is a very costly thing to get wrong.
I’m so proud of the results my clients obtain, often before coaching has even been completed. For example, 90% of my 2020 coaching clients secured promotions, new roles, or significantly grew their own business, and every single one of them described having shifted limiting beliefs and improved confidence.
Who should work with you?
I tend to work with three kinds of clients.
Firstly I work with entrepreneurs who know that they have greatness inside but are struggling with how to build their path to growth. They come to me to both improve their business results and also ensure they are supporting their personal happiness with their business journey. Quite often, they need to scale yet are afraid to delegate or have limiting beliefs about what impact they can truly make and therefore start self-sabotaging habits. I absolutely love working with entrepreneurs and helping them to exceed even their own expectations.
Secondly, I work with senior professionals who know they want and can achieve more in life and are truly ready to stop excuses and take action required to get there. These are often executives that are excelling on paper but sense they are leaving something on the table. I will support them to make bold moves like stepping up further or discovering how they can contribute in wider ways to increase their impact satisfaction.
Other times, they are successful professionals who are struggling to balance work, relationships, parenting, and passions and maybe experiencing stress or suffering as a result. I help them solve the Rubik’s Cube of life and to find harmony. Some of my most experienced clients have gradually become aware of how much of their authentic selves they may have buried in their career journey. I support them to continue performing whilst becoming true to themselves and their purpose.
Thirdly, I work with forward-thinking- thinking committed corporations who want to see more women at the top and want women-specific leadership programs. I provide strategies to assist the CEO in getting a better gender balance through their management teams.
Let’s dive into that a little - tell us about your framework and coaching approach.
In developing my methods, I’ve been able to draw on training in Psychotherapy and Neuro-linguistic Programming as well as many years of experience to devise highly effective systems to deliver permanent change for my clients.
However, I think it’s really important to point out that I’ve also walked the walk, as a senior female leader and business owner - and so I’m able to draw on my own experience as well as that of helping hundreds of professionals to reach the next level.
In my view, strategies are very important, personal experience is essential, but passion… that’s the real magic ingredient! And I’m my clients’ biggest cheerleader.
What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Well, as I mentioned above, I’m passionate because I’m on a mission!
In 10 years' time I plan to have helped thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs to reach their potential without sacrificing their mental health and personal life. After running successful businesses for the past 10 years myself - and living the benefit of that daily, I fully intend to spend the next 10 supporting others to live their dreams too!
So my goal is to deliver the mental platform for success - for both corporate professionals and entrepreneurs, serving their markets, customers, or shareholders, by fundamentally supporting themselves.
I also want to see more and more talented women reach their true potential and not fail because of a false belief instilled at a young age. I love the work that I do now, helping women overcome their obstacles and soar past what they thought they could aim for. But I would like to intervene at an even younger age to prevent some of the limiting beliefs from forming and build confidence from the get-go.
So helping children and young girls develop an empowered mindset is something I’ve started working on with an amazing organization called Inner Wings. I would love to continue working in this space as it’s going to have a huge impact on all our futures.
I also want to see far greater gender parity in the boardroom and Senior Management in general in my lifetime - and in particular for women leaders to feel empowered AS women in their own right. It’s therefore really important to me to grow my work with future-focused corporations that share that vision and are willing to invest in their female talent at all stages of their careers.
I also fully expect to feel 10 years younger, ten years from now! ;-) It’s my firm belief that how you thrive in one area of your life is how you thrive in them all. I am unwavering in prioritizing my self-care, family life, and my passions for music, sports, and the outdoors, and I receive so much joy and love in return.
What would be your biggest piece of advice for Entrepreneurs and Professionals for whom this really resonates?
My most important tip is that getting out of your comfort zone is an absolute must if you are going to reach your potential.
In my experience, getting into that place is uncomfortable, yes, but it can also be done with the deepest sense of trust and self-belief - and doing that consistently drives enormous change in the results, you will see, as you progress towards your goals.
Not easy to do, but essential! And super exciting for me, as a coach, to witness and be a part of inspiring this journey for my clients.
