Ms. Sarah Jessie Appiah is the Executive Director of SJA Associate and a John Maxwell Team Executive Director. She is a Global Executive Coach and a Value-Based Transformational Leadership Coach. She has over 30 years accumulated working experience within the United Nations System, Corporate & private and public sectors, as well as voluntary, non-governmental entities and faith- based organizations.

Design, Facilitation & Training: Sarah specializes in team development, strategy planning, stakeholder analysis, leading focus groups, fostering a knowledge sharing culture, implementing change and management approaches and processes; reinforces key organizational messages and behaviours based on values, promotes capacity building, provide support for leading and developing effective multicultural teams around actual work- based deliverables.

Coaching (C-Suite Executives; Leadership Teams): Sarah works alongside executives/leaders ready to take their performance to the next level; She enjoys working on one-to-one and team coaching settings. In team coaching settings, she creates a challenging, appreciative and experiential environment for leaders and their teams to learn to succeed within a safe and strengths-based framework.

Sarah is a passionate results-oriented coach who helps clients access their resourcefulness, bringing them out of the ordinary into the extraordinary state. She specializes in workforce planning and OD, reinforcement of key organizational messages and behaviors and promotes capacity building.

 Academic Qualifications

• Professional Dipl, Management, Open University Business School, United Kingdom, 1998
• MBA, Business Administration, Open University Business School, United Kingdom, 2001

Certifications

• Certified Transformational and Leadership Coach, The John Maxwell Team, 2016
• Independent Certified Leadership Coach, Teacher & Speaker, The John Maxwell Team, 2014
• Certified Learning Leader, International Coach Academy, 2012

• Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coach Federation (ICF), 2017
• Certified Professional Coach (CPC), International Coach Academy, 2011
• Certified Human Behaviour Consultant – DiSC Assessment Tool, Atlanta, 2014
• Certified Practitioner – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) Steps 1 and II, San Diego, 2012
• The Thomas-Kilmann Instrument, San Diego, 2012
• The John Maxwell 360° Leadership Assessment Tool, 2014
• Strategic Intervention Robbins-Madanes Training (Ongoing)

Clients

• Breakfast Club Africa
• Media General
• Governments of Paraguay, Transformation Paraguay Programme, Costa Rica
• UN System: UNCTAD, ITC, IITA, UNFPA
• Public sector: FHI360°; USAID/EDB; Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana; Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieure et de la Recherche, Sénégal ;
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana
• Beautiful Soul AfriCan, Senegal
• CGF Bourse
• L’Oréal-Ghana

Professional Experience

 SJA Associates, 2014 to present

Executive Director and Leadership Coach, Trainer and Speaker

• Founded and launched a human potential and development company to undertake needs Assessment and Curriculum Design
• Developed Methodologies for Transformational Programmes at National and Sectoral Level
• Conducted several facilitation and training at Workshops for Corporations, Women and Youth Audiences:
• Organized Seven Masterminds and Roundtables for Transformation Process

John Maxwell Team, 2014 to present

• Executive Director, Corporate Training, C++ Coaching/Mentoring
• Train-the-Trainer – Country Transformation for Paraguay

Beautiful Soul, 2011-2016

Curriculum Designer, Facilitator, Trainer and Leadership/Executive Coach

• Designed Corporate Curriculum for Organizational Development for Boutique Financial Institution, facilitated and coordinate all training programmes
• Conducted over 100 MBTI Assessment administration and debriefing interpretative reports
• Coached over 100+ clients resulting in over 400 coaching hours (One-on-one and group coaching)

Accelerator for Rural/Social Entrepreneurs, NGO Leaders, 2011

Designer/Facilitator, Trainer and Executive Coach

• Designed and delivered five Mentorship training programmes/workshop
• Designed and facilitated four capacity building and business development workshops for entrepreneurs/NGO leaders: Integrated cultural sensitivity approaches for participants from different ethnic backgrounds and expatriates all in leadership roles

Private Sector-led Strategy Development: Yam Industry and Associated Farming Systems for Ghana – Joint Project of the International Trade Centre and IITA, 2012

Co-Facilitator

• Organized focus groups and facilitated workshops for retailers, wholesalers and transporters of yam industry value chain
• Successfully completed a Stakeholder analysis of the gender dimension of the value chain which supported the creation of first ever national export strategy for yam in Ghana

USAID /EDB: Creating the Private Sector Foundation for Education in Senegal, 2012

Co-Facilitator, Strategy Planning Consultant

• Co-facilitated the coalition building process over several months in the creation of the first ever privately sponsored foundation for
• Supported defining of vision, mission and values of the foundation

FHI 360°: Teambuilding –Strengthen Performance and Integration, 2013

Facilitator, OD Consultant; Executive Coach

• Designed and delivered a teambuilding workshop which resulted in actionable deliverables for the top team and supporting managers
• Trained/debriefed 35 staff on personality types which impacted intra-organizational communication channels and improved team cohesiveness and increased performance level. Conflict within the team was greatly

 CGF Bourse: Transition from a Boutique Financial Set-up to a Financial Institution, 2013

OD Consultant, Leadership/Executive Coach

• Designed programme and accompanied transition of Senior Management Team to successfully navigate shift and buy into a shared vision
• Facilitated the Implementation of the designed change management process approaches and supporting a culture of employee engagement and shared vision

International Coach Academy, 2013

Facilitator and Trainer

• Designed and delivered a year-long monthly presence of an Executive Coaching

• Created an online open space forum for Executive Coaches / Students and engendered a knowledge sharing culture for the community

Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche : Team building on « Confiance, Cohésion et Performance Collective, » April 2014

Co-Facilitator, Leadership/Executive Coach

• Designed and delivered teambuilding workshop
• Group debrief and coaching of assessment tests
• Co-create realistic action plans based on test results

CGF Bourse: Creating Trust, Teamwork and Integration for New Managers, June 2014

OD Consultant and Leadership/Executive Coach

• Designed curriculum and training programme for newly recruited
• implementing management process approaches to enculturate new
• Coaching (group and one-on-one)

CGF Bourse: Vision, Mission and Values Crafting, August 2014

OD Consultant and Facilitator

• Supported the strategic planning exercise for the entire staff
• Reinforced key organizational messages and behaviors

 Deputy Director-General (DDG) of a Scientific & Industrial Research, Ghana, September 2010

Leadership Coach

• Supported DDG to successfully manage transition into new position; and the associated change from a scientific specialist position to strategic/operational functions and honing emotional intelligence state

 CGF Bourse, Dakar: March-June 2013

OD Consultant and Leadership/Executive Coach

• Supported Director-General for successful transition into new position and worked on the articulation and communication of a powerful vision
• Provided continued support through One-on-one coaching for Senior Management Team

Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieure, April 2014 to June 2016

Leadership/Executive Coach

• One-on-One debriefing and coaching of MBTI interpretative reports for the Minister and his 25 Senior Management Team. Provided Coaching 4 Directors to support behavioral leadership competencies

International Trade Centre, 1984 to 2013

Office Manager/Events Organizer

• Held several managerial positions at the divisional and executive directorate level of the organization handling administrative, human resources and budgetary functions. Designed and implemented administrative and monitoring processes for the Team members in establishing and running the flagship programme – National Export Strategy Platform

organized annually as a think tank for all Public-Private Partnership as well as the regional events in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Economies in Transition.