Joan Laine

Born and bred in the UK of Jamaican ascent, Joan Laine moved to France at the age of 17 with her French boyfriend, whom she later got married to (and later divorced from). Joan then spent just over 20 years in France, working in diverse industries ranging from catering, insurance and finally the fashion industry working for Polo Ralph Lauren in Paris.

It was during her 11 years at Polo where Joan's passion for change and transformation was brought to the fore, since she began intially in the warehouse making cardboard boxes and left as Retail Operations Manager for the Factory Outlets after spending four years in the IT department and developing in-house training programs for the new integrated systems. During the last four years there, Joan spent a lot of time traveling around Europe for the company training managers and their staff on these systems for the Retail Factory Outlets division of the company.

Always a peoples person, Joan's inherent ability to perceive others greater potential lead her to seek new horizons which would allow her to develop those skills further and whilst at the height of her career in 2001, she chose to go to South Africa with her 3 children. At that time, it was truly an unconscious choice which was to however shape her future and eventually lead her into the world of coaching.

On her own jou ey to self-discovery, Joan began to discover that the world of coaching, life coaching, business coaching, in fact coaching in general was vast and that there were many people who called themselves coaches who were not and others who were coaches but who had not gone through any qualifying processes. She developped the desire to bring structure to her own coaching business and has been enrolled in the CCI training academy since 2008, using the Consciousness Coaching (R) method developped by founder, Marc Steinberg to coach her clients.

Distinguishing between life coaching and business coaching is important since the approach to each is perceived differently by the clients. Consciousness Coaching (R) covers all aspects of coaching, however the depth with which it allows a person to develop their own sense of ownership and self-mastery of their own choices is experienced at the level to which the person is aware of the power that they have for themselves to effectuate change and the willingness to transform their lives.

In addition to coaching, Joan provides personal development workshops through her company Tau Pi. She has developped the company to offer services structured around people development, which she is now extending throughout various aspects of her network by creating strategic alliances with other quality service providers. To this effect she is developping her own online network called headstart PBS. She has created a coaching forum on the site and is currently in discussion for mentor coaches to provide support services to Tau Pi.

Joan lives with her youngest son in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her two eldest sons sharing their own appartment a few blocks away.

She is a member of several online networking forums and her blogs may be found at http://aaliceinw.wordpress.com/.

In January 2008, Joan featured in an article by Palesa Mazamisa in South Africa's Oprah Magazine entitled "How to Start... a jou ey to Self Mastery".

She was also interviewed in January 2009 on South Africa's radio statio SAFM presenter Karabo Kgoleng, following her blog, the "art of being selfish" http://aaliceinw.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/the-art-of-being-selfish/

Joan has a passion for young people and seeks to use her networks to link mentors to them in order to support them in becoming the great leaders in Africa that they have the potential to be. She also enjoys walking, being with her pets, swimming with dolphins, reading and seeking answers to the questions most people do not dare to ask out loud!

As part of her own growth and spiritual development, Joan also acquired the skills of a Reiki Master and several healing techniques which she still uses today essentially for herself, although she does on rare occasions offer spiritual counselling to others. The techniques learned, enables Joan to lead a balanced life between the demands of the corporate world, family and nature.

Joan is well aware of the consequences of choices she has made and is making in her life. Those of the past has shaped who she became today, those of today are shaping who she is tomorrow and each moment in the present, Joan is aware that the freedom of conscious choice isrnthat which allows us to truly be the change we wish to be at any given moment in time:-)