Yaakov Atik

Regions:: North East, Yorkshire

Background

I have worked as a facilitator and consultant for over 30 years in the area of people management.

My focus has been in the areas of teambuilding, coaching, action learning and consultancy.

I first learned the skills of facilitation in the Teambuilding unit of the Israel Defense Forces. I moved to England in 1990 and completed an MSc in Organisational Psychology with a thesis on the relationship between conductors and orchestras.

I have worked independently since 1992 in the public sector, mostly in the NHS.

Between 2004 and 2006 I was a full-time facilitator for the Clinical Teams Programme, a pilot project run by the Royal College of Nursing.

In addition to some coaching and teambuilding, I am currently working as a volunteer mediator for the Leeds Community Mediation Service.

Executive Development

I try to build an atmosphere of collaboration with those I work with and see my coaching and mentoring work as that of building a relationship.

Recently a senior GP/Manager that I coach described my work with him as follows:

“Yaakov helped me to feel the feelings that others feel about me. If that’s a bit scary, you might want to try a lesser coach.”

I am influenced by the theory of Dialogue, as described by William Isaacs. The whole area of conflict resolution interests me greatly but I am also aware of the many obstacles that prevent resolution. I like the Bridges model of Change and Transition and have felt a particular empathy with Gestalt psychology.

I am particularly fond of the saying, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Sometimes I manage to live by that adage.