Faces of CoWork Me: Fleur Mouchemore – Mouche Consulting
Too many people are reactive leaders and Fleur Mouchemore would like to get them to think proactively.
Have a read of our interview to find out more about Fleur and her consulting business.
Can you tell me a bit about Mouche Consulting?
I mostly do freelance work that centres around leadership development. Essentially, I am coaching leaders on how to be better leaders. I also do lots of training and facilitation for a number of different companies. What I have found is that people need coaching on how to develop their skills to become a leader.
At the moment I am trying to shift into doing my own courses rather than freelance work as I want to create my own content in leadership and development.
Can you tell me about your background?
I have been working freelance for around three years, prior to that I had a corporate job in learning and development.
My degree is in primary education, however I never taught. After studying I took on a leadership role that gave me great experience and then I went on to complete my masters in training and development.
How would a client come across your service?
Interestingly enough, my clients have mostly been connections through people I knew from my corporate life. Once people knew I was working for myself, quite a number came across to me.
I don’t do any marketing at the moment, however, I know I will have to at some point.
How would you conduct a consult?
My preference is to meet in person for the training, however, most of my clients are spread out so coaching is done over the phone.
Usually the coaching is done over five hours, however the client is able to stretch that out however they like. It’s a very flexible process.
What do people struggle with the most when it comes to leadership?
When I talk to people, often their biggest concern is having challenging conversations with their staff. For example, if a team member is not performing or is difficult, I help them manage this.
I have also found that people struggle with change. Most organisations I speak to are going through heaps of change which disrupts people as they have emotional attachments to work through during this process.
Another issue I encounter is time management. People can often be overwhelmed as they don’t have systems in place to protect their time. A solution to this is definitely teaching peopl how to delegate.
Do you have more males or females as clients?
Funnily enough, the client contacts are females as I’m dealing with HR. However, the clients that I have are predominantly males.
What do you think makes a great leader?
I often think about this because leadership is not just one thing. It is very hard to define. Generally, one common answer is that if people want to follow you, no matter what your title is, you are a leader. If you can inspire, motivate people, and give them confidence you are a leader.
I often think about this because leadership is not just one thing. It is very hard to define. Generally, one common answer is that if people want to follow you, no matter what your title is, you are a leader. If you can inspire, motivate people, and give them confidence you are a leader.
Why did you choose to work out of CoWork Me?
I was working at home, however I needed to separate my work from my home life. I looked at another office space before CoWork Me, but when I walked in here I knew straight away that this would be the right fit for me.
What is your best networking tip?
It’s funny because I probably don’t do anywhere near as much networking as I should. For me, networking is all about being curious in what people do and how they do it.
What is the hardest part about being a business owner?
I was speaking to a few friends about this the other day: I think it’s the fact that you don’t know what you don’t know.
What is your advice for someone making the transition from working for someone to being a leader?
I often say that if you can’t lead yourself it will be hard to lead other people. However, I think that talking about your new role with someone else who is not involved is important.
Best tip for someone starting out?
You need to persist and don’t give up too soon.
