Michael’s story – unlocking skills with the Birkman Method®

Michael’s story is one of transformation—finding purpose, overcoming challenges, and landing a job he loves while learning to manage his PTSD. Thanks to Alice’s coaching and the Birkman Method®, Michael discovered strengths he didn’t know he had and gained the confidence to pursue a new career. In this post, he shares how the process helped him understand himself better and led to a breakthrough in his professional life.

“G’day Alice,

I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for believing in me and helping me to believe in myself.

I thought you might be interested to know that I found employment (finally!). It’s been the craziest few weeks of my life and I’m loving it.

You made me feel like my PTSD was able to be dealt with and, if anything, it’s helped me in my career. Your constant reinforcement of my skills and abilities as well as the direction to pursue them has been what pushed me enough to succeed in my role.

I can’t thank you enough. No words will ever express my gratitude that I met you when I did.

Michael B
Graduate of Alice Bacon’s school of Philosophy”

How did you find out about The Birkman Method®, and what did you expect to get from it?
I had never heard of the Birkman Method® until Alice introduced me to it. I was sceptical at first, however, after conducting the test and then walking through the results with Alice, I was better able to understand where my strengths and weaknesses lay at that current point in my life.

What did you think of the Birkman Assessment?
This was useful, as it allowed me to successfully pivot into a new industry and has helped me navigate the many different challenges that have come up over the past year.

Did you find your Birkman report to be relevant to you?
Yes. It highlighted how I could best use the skills and knowledge developed over the past decade, to effectively align myself to my chosen profession.

As you went through the coaching journey, were there any new strengths you have developed?
I do not think I developed more strengths, I think Alice helped me identify what was a strength and how to use it. I did not understand what the civilian workforce looked for in a person, and many times I was shocked at what I considered to be very basic skills which were actually skills that were sought after.

Did you surprise yourself through the coaching series? What were the main changes you noticed?
It was really powerful to gain insight into who I was and how I could then effectively use this new knowledge to break into a new industry.

What was the thing you benefited from and/or enjoyed the most?
I enjoyed how Alice helped me understand myself better. I had been caught up in delivering outcomes for a decade and hadn’t ever really thought about what skills, attitudes or knowledge I had developed over that time.

What do you see as the major insights or breakthroughs you made through coaching with Alice?
Alice identified that I was capable of ingesting large amounts of seemingly unrelated data and quickly deriving a solution or pattern, she also identified the ability to keep calm in chaotic environments, empathetic yet firm leadership and a high capacity for planning and execution.

What will you now do differently to how you operated before the coaching experience?
Now I will do what I do with purpose, rather than habit. This is crucial, as it has allowed me to teach these skills to those that I lead and create a more effective team.

Would you recommend people having a Birkman with Alice and if so, what would you say to them as the reason to have it?
Absolutely. The test won’t tell you who you are and everything you will become. But it will show you what you are good at, where you might struggle, how you think, things you naturally are more aligned to as well as things you should potentially avoid. This test is an assessment of you at a certain point in time and you are not tied to it for life, but it is a highly accurate representation of you in the current moment, and for that reason alone it is a very powerful tool.

Contact Alice today to experience the power of the Birkman Method®.