In this Q+A series, we’ve asked our Coaches to share their insights into the work they do and how our services can support you. Whether you’re looking for guidance on Leadership, Succession Planning, or Business & Strategy, this series will give you a deeper understanding of how we help Rural New Zealanders navigate challenges and seize opportunities. Our goal? To provide the knowledge, tools, and support you need to move forward with clarity, confidence, and a strong network behind you.
Read Ashley Burdon, our Associate in Southland's Q+A below.
Who are your typical clients?
I work with a combination of Rural farming clients, Agricultural contractors and Commercial businesses in Southland. The farming clients range from Dairy Farm equity partnerships to Family farm businesses, and also younger couples in management roles trying to progress through the industry.
There’s a wide range of ambition in this mix—some are looking for structure and clarity in what comes next, while others want to work on their leadership and team culture or improve how their business runs day to day and achieve their growth objectives..
Which Rural Coach services are most popular with your clients?
A lot of business owners I work with are juggling so many things that stepping back to think big picture feels impossible. That’s where structured business coaching really helps—we work together to clarify what the business is here to do, and where it’s heading. What follows is regular meetings that focus on setting annual and shorter timeframe goals and establishing actions to achieve those goals. My role is to ensure my clients are doing what they say they will do, and challenging and supporting them along the path. This approach helps bring some order to the chaos and makes progress easier to track.
When I’m not playing in the business planning space, I’m focused on family Succession Planning—an area where many families know they need to plan, but often avoid starting the conversation. It’s not just about numbers or fairness—it’s about understanding what’s important to each person and finding a way forward that everyone can live with.
What are the most common challenges you see your clients facing?
With Succession Planning, it is knowing how to start and how to break a challenging process down into manageable chunks. Our process can help with that. Fronting up to challenging conversations is also a regular sticky point. It takes real courage to name what’s going unsaid—especially when it comes to family—and to keep the conversation constructive. With Business & Strategy planning, one of the main challenges is taking the step of committing to stepping out of the business on a regular basis to work on the high-level issues instead of burying the head and working in the business day in and day out. It’s a mindset shift—from reactive to intentional.
How do you get the clients’ good ideas out of their heads?
My role is Coach and a Coach’s best friend is a good question, so there is a lot of that in all of my meetings, which ensures the client is opening up. Having worked with people over a long time, it is about developing a sense of someone wanting to express something and my role is helping them find the way to get it out and articulate it to their family or business partners.
Leading them to hold the courageous conversations they need to is a big part of the journey.
What factors do you see commonly preventing clients from achieving their dreams/objectives?
The fear of the unknown around how their family will react to challenging issues/conversations, so they do nothing. Fear of damaging family relationships when or if asset allocation is not equal, so they avoid the conversation entirely. We work through those fears gently but directly—naming what’s hard, and figuring out the real impact of staying silent versus stepping forward. Of course, capital can be a constraint and is different for every business and family. Inertia with executing actions that need to be completed to move the business forward. Someone ultimately needs to do the mahi.
What gives you the most joy when working with your clients?
I received feedback from a couple of clients recently who completed the Ignite Rural Leadership course, (where they learn the skills of a coach) that the lessons have been life changing for them, and it has changed their whole approach to how they lead their teams. That sort of shift—that ripples out into how people live and lead—is pretty cool to be a part of, and I am proud that I am helping to make a difference in the leadership space in Southland.
Some of the business owners I coach have shifted from just surviving to actually creating space—for their families, for themselves, and for new opportunities. Watching them through this transition has been one of the most rewarding parts of this work.
Tell us about any recent client wins.
I have recently begun Succession Planning with family, and following the family meeting, their child—who was about to embark on their OE, shared with the parents that they felt really good about knowing where everything was at with the rest of the family and how everyone saw things with the farm.
They were able to go travelling with no lingering doubts about what the future looked like for them, and it was cool to hear them being able to enjoy the next chapter with a feeling of calm.
If you're ready to take the next step— whether it's gaining clarity on Leadership, tackling Succession Planning, or setting a long-term vision—we're here to help. Click here to find a Coach in your region.
