Kenton Smith
Kenton Smith is a Leadership Consultant and Executive Coach. He enables individuals, teams, and organisations maximise their potential and accelerate leadership abilities through focused solutions aligned to business performance.
Kenton has considerable experience as a leadership consultant for IBM across their Growth Markets (including Latin America, Central Europe, India, China, and Southeast Asia). He has worked with senior business executives to improve leadership performance through consulting, designing, coaching and facilitating leadership learning approaches and interventions.
Kenton excels in working with heavily matrixed organisations and is passionate in supporting leaders create clarity, simplicity and direction, from complex situations . He applies the Human Performance Improvement methodology, aligning business goals and desired outcomes to the specific behaviors which will drive them.
Kenton has designed and facilitated workshops for senior leadership teams across many countries, including China, India, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, the U.S., and Australia. Interventions include the alignment of strategy with execution, executive performance coaching, conflict resolution, improving collaboration, improving retention and employee engagement, influence across boundaries, virtual/remote and cross-cultural management, and improving organisational effectiveness.
Prior to working within Leadership Development in IBM, Kenton was a senior consultant in Strategy and Change in both the U.S. and Australia, focusing on large scale IT implementations, supporting change through clear communication, leadership initiatives, and organisational development interventions.
Qualifications and Training
- Bachelors of Science – Biology – University of Montana
- Teaching Certification – University of Montana
- Masters of Science – Organisation Development
- Certified Corporate Coach – Corporate Coach University
- Development Dimensions International (DDI) Certificate – Workshop Facilitator.
- National Training Labs Behavioural Institute Certificate – Human Interaction Laboratory.
- Centre for Performance Technology – “How to Plan, Develop and Evaluate Training.”
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) administering Practitioner Certificate.
- Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) – Certified Facilitator.
- Trained in the Human Performance Improvement Consulting methodology
What they say about us...
- Successful Executive generate simple, effective, powerful solutions in a complex world.
Ben Ramsden, Director, Strategy & Business Development
Telstra Consumer Marketing & Channels - I far exceeded my expectations in terms of achievement of all of the goals I set out at the beginning of my coaching with Successful Executive. It amazes me that in a few short months I could view the world so differently.
Vanessa Riley, Culture & Capability Consultant
Vodafone Australia -
Di Burns from Successful Executive was an excellent coach for me during my recent significant career transition. She adapted to my specific needs, provided excellent advice, acted as a sounding board and ultimately helped me find what I really wanted to do next. Di was extremely generous in proactively sharing her network to support my next steps. I have no hesitation recommending Di as a coach for senior executives wishing to undertake significant career change or evolution.
Nick Roberts, GM
Vodafone -
I have found my coaching with Successful Executive useful as well as challenging and fun. Their methods for helping me see ways I could do things better myself and particularly get better results from my dealings with others were effective and have served we well during an interesting time in the racing industry.
Peter Legg, General Manager
Australia Turf Club - My 12-week coaching with Successful Executive has indeed been ‘LIFE CHANGING’!
Janet Boey, Business Director
Initiative Australia - Coaching with Successful Executive has given me the tools that I need to operate in a more challenging environment and create the outcomes that I desire.
Simon Winston Smith, Executive Chairman
Bengalla Agribusiness - Successful Executive have the great ability to swiftly get to the heart of the issue and to empower people to better manage themselves for improved business performance.
Karl Schuster, President Asia Pacific
Carlson Marketing - The approach Successful Executive takes to their Career Transition Program, is unique in the marketplace. Their strong background and experience in coaching is an outstanding platform for offering additional depth to the career transition coaching process.
Anne Carr, VP Human Resources Asia Pacific
Landis+Gyr - Maggie has developed a very capable team and she uses her understanding of the business needs and the individual to match manager and coach. Maggie has also proven to be an invaluable resource and was able, through her very extensive network, to provide assistance way beyond her brief.
Shaun Palmer, General Manager - Human Resources
Xstrata Coal - I can categorically state that Successful Executive challenged me to adopt new ways of doing business, which has improved my bottom-line. My business has grown. My income increased by a quarter and my profitability by a third. Additionally I have reclaimed most weekends as my own.
Leonie Kelly,
Tracey, Brunstrom & Hammond Pty Limited - Successful Executive’s relaxed, yet caring and focused coaching demeanour, appears effortless but is extremely powerful and makes a difference in one’s personal growth, career, and family.
Gareth Rumbelow, Head of MS Network Operations
APAC - Successful Executive helped me to get clarity on some priorities and to adopt some more effective ways in dealing with them. This clarity stays with me and a number of people who work closely with me, have commented on subtle but significant changes in the way I am operating.
Jane Sherlock, Director Human Resources, Global Outsourcing and Infrastructure Services Asia Pacific
Unisys - The outcome of the coaching with Successful Executive resulted in subtle changes in both verbal and body language and changes in my management style. These changes supported me as I made some significant changes in the management and structure of my team.
Jo Till General Manager, Solutions Delivery
Vodafone Australia - By reconnecting with my values and ‘brand’, developing my constitution, and applying the practical leadership tools I now have in my arsenal, I have been able to re-prioritise the chaos of work activity, improve efficacy, and reclaim repressed personal values. I am still coming to terms with the new me… empowered, pragmatic, more confident, and more capable, both personally and as a business leader.
Gerard Forrest, Regional Head – Health, Safety & Well-being
Vodafone Australia - If top sportsmen and elite sporting teams recognise that the best way to improve is to rely on an experienced and professional coach, then why is it any different in business? Successful Executive can identify and correct flaws and exploit strengths that you didn’t not know you.
Michael Kenny, CEO
Sydney Turf Club - Successful Executive have some fantastic new tools, new ways of thinking and ways of approaching issues which greatly improve effectiveness and satisfaction.
Andy Gorey, State Manager
APP Corporation Pty Ltd - Successful Executive will guide you towards clarifying your goals, teach you powerful techniques for identifying and overcoming blocks or self defeating behaviour, and assist you to gain greater confidence in pursuing and achieving your goals.
Simone Novello, Director
Novello Vantage Point - Coaching with Successful Executive doesn’t involved sticking to a rigid structure and the sessions are always relevant to personal needs and situations. Their approach is very well balanced – probing in getting to the root cause of issues, yet not antagonistic or pressuring.
Duncan Arthur, Business Director
Initiative Australia - Successful Executive’s professionalism, business networks and insights into the job market during their Career Transition Program were far superior to anything I had encountered previously.
Rebecca Darley, Country Marketing Manager
IKEA Australia - Successful Executive coaches showed a personal and genuine concern for my wellbeing and success. They were excited about seeing somebody else succeed.
Adam Spence, GM
Customer Experience – NSW - I always left my coaching sessions with Successful Executive with a sense of clarity, a plan of attack and feeling better about myself.
Brad V, Senior Consultant
Consulting Services Division - NSW - Successful Executive’s Career Transition Program assisted me throughout my job search, aided me through a minefield of change, while empowering me to embrace this change and assess the opportunities presented to me. It is obvious that Successful Executive are passionate about helping their clients uncover their potential, and equip them to take on new challenges.
Emma McRobert
Marketing Executive – NSW - Successful Executive have a strong commitment to supporting clients develop careers which have a clear sense of purpose. With a natural ability to hone in on the issues, they remove the road blocks and facilitate clear outcomes in each session.
Helen Tuffy, Leader and Senior Marketing Executive – NSW
- SE has provided me with the necessary insights and knowledge to give me the courage to start my own company. They have truly challenged my ways of thinking and made me see the world with different eyes. I benefitted greatly from this experience and would not hesitate recommending SE to anyone who requires leadership coaching.
Barbara Albert, Managing Director
Sustainable Business Consulting
- 'Working with Successful Executive has been an invaluable experience. Their coaches are supportive, compassionate and dedicated, helping me gain clarity. They have the capacity to quickly assess an individual, using their strengths to help guide them in the right direction. Successful Executive have been instrumental in helping me achieve my goals, were always there when I needed them and guided me through my decision making process.'
Virginia Papinyan, Vodafone Australia
