GLWS™ An intelligent, insightful wellbeing solution
It was created by EEK & SENSE, a long–term partnership between psychologists Audrey McGibbon and Karen Gillespie.
While working with corporate leaders and professional service firms as far back as 2008, Audrey and Karen began noticing that leaders were experiencing persistent threats to their wellbeing. Worse, this was having a knock-on effect, negatively affecting their teams’ and their organisations’ performance and productivity.
Drawing upon their extensive experience in senior executive roles with one of the foremost global psychometric test designers and publishers in the world, and further study into wellbeing and wellness, they designed a new, sophisticated wellbeing tool – the GLWS.
And so GLWS was born.
That was back in 2015 and since that time, the GLWS has grown from being a single solution to address a specific unmet need for individual executives, to a range of sophisticated and customisable individual, team and organisational wellbeing options which can address multiple pain points at multiple levels across organisations.
It was created by EEK & SENSE, a long–term partnership between psychologists Audrey McGibbon and Karen Gillespie.
While working with corporate leaders and professional service firms, Audrey and Karen began noticing that leaders were experiencing persistent threats to their wellbeing. Worse, this was having a knock-on effect, negatively affecting their teams’ and their organisations’ performance and productivity.
Drawing upon their extensive experience in senior executive roles with one of the foremost psychometric test designers and publishers in the world, and further study into wellbeing and wellness, they designed a new, sophisticated wellbeing tool – the GLWS.
Karen and Audrey could see the emerging trend for wellbeing becoming a mainstream leadership growth area. And they knew that by developing a measure to help leaders and teams identify wellbeing priorities and take actionable steps to improve them and maximise performance they would help fill an important gap in the leadership development space.
And so GLWS was born.
That was back in 2015 and since that time, the GLWS has grown from being a single solution to address a specific unmet need for individual executives, to a range of sophisticated and customisable individual, team and organisational wellbeing options which can address multiple pain points at multiple levels across organisations..
Audrey McGibbon
Co-Founder GLWS, CEO Eek & Sense
Audrey wishes she knew at 30 what she now knows at 50+. The link between wellbeing, success, strong and sustained performance, sense of fulfilment, life satisfaction and happiness seems so obvious now – but it has taken a lifetime of experiences and 30 years as a psychologist to truly get her head around it.
With the GLWS, Audrey has become an accidental researcher, entrepreneur and technologist. While it was never in her plans to do so, her expertise in psychometrics, organisational psychology, coaching and leadership development have converged as a natural evolution. GLWS provides Audrey with a strong sense of purpose and inspiration, and has enabled her to bring her talents for gently challenging clients’ self-awareness, judgement, and behaviours to reach more leaders than she would ever have imagined possible.
In her personal life, Audrey is deeply compassionate and understanding of how messy life can be, and that we often have to look hard for the positives, dig deep to nurture key relationships and stay focussed on self-care.
A psychologist since 1990, she was Managing Director of SHL Australia Pty Ltd, a role that gave her first hand insights into the stresses and strains of life as a senior executive and the impact of leaders’ behaviours on a team’s wellbeing. Since setting up EEK in 2001, Audrey has coached 500+ senior executives on an individual and team basis. She and Karen worked closely together for many years (pre-dating GLWS by a decade), and have enjoyed a strength of partnership that is a rare and beautiful thing!
Audrey has an MA (Hons) in Psychology and Business and an MSc in Psychotherapy Studies, focussing on the factors that drive wellbeing for senior executives. She is a Registered Psychologist in Australia, as well as a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS), an Associate Fellow of the BPS and a member of the Division of Occupational Psychology and Psychotherapy Sections of the BPS.
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Karen Gillespie
Co-Founder
Karen and Audrey have enjoyed a long friendship and working partnership from the days they each arrived in Australia from the UK. Believe it or not, they both grew up in Scotland, only 30 kms apart and attended the University of Edinburgh to study Psychology at the same time. Karen went on to specialise with a Masters in Occupational Psychology and then kicked off her consulting career by working for two consulting firms in the UK before joining Audrey’s management team at SHL in Sydney.
Following two spells of maternity leave, Karen sought the flexibility of being self-employed and set up her own boutique consultancy (Sense Organisational Psychology) working with leaders and organisations across a range of sectors. This period also included taking time out to raise her two kids and move to a small acreage north of Sydney. Karen reconnected with academia in 2010 undertaking a post grad in Wellness, and began talking to Audrey about how they could best support leaders with their wellbeing. From little things, big things grow…
A few years on and the GLWS is being used globally by several hundred accredited coaches and organisations, reaching thousands of leaders. Not a bad effort from a few conversations!
Yet, all good things come to an end, and Karen has been drawn to the opportunity to indulge her own wellbeing doing the things many of us put off – travelling to see the parts of the world she hasn’t been to yet and exploring community based volunteering focused on the natural environment. She remains in close contact with all things GLWS and sits on the GLWS Advisory Board so she can still nag Audrey on occasions!
Marisa Bosotti
Principal Consultant
Marisa’s background in organisational psychology combined with over 20 years consulting experience working directly with organisational clients in relationship building roles, makes her ideally suited to working collaboratively with our clients and Partners. She is the master of establishing relationships and working collaboratively with clients to unpack and achieve their strategic, business and tactical needs.
With a 7-year tenure at Eek & Sense, Marisa has worked extensively to advocate, upskill and educate organisations on the importance and opportunities for workplace wellbeing solutions, and has very much been a pioneer in evolving and maturing organisations’ and practitioners’ thinking about employee wellbeing. For many clients, Marisa is their first port of call to discuss their needs around employee wellbeing and what GLWS programs can help them achieve.
There’s never a dull moment in Marisa’s life, as in addition to GLWS she is also primary caregiver to 3 young children and a heavily committed partner, not to mention competing in the odd triathlon, coaching junior netball and running the school P&C.
Another relationship that has stood the test of time, Marisa goes back a long way with Audrey and Karen, first working together in 1998!
Marisa has a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), in Industrial & Organisational Psychology.
Eileen Brennan
Executive Assistant & Accounts Manager
Eileen has vast experience supporting senior executives at Managing Director/Board level across multiple sectors, including banking, consulting and construction.
She has worked “behind the scenes” with Audrey for over 20 years and clients rave about how she’s super-efficient, reliable, accurate, flexible, accommodating and really easy to work with.
Eileen has the unenviable task of managing Audrey’s diary, emails, calendar and ever-growing “To Do List”! She is also responsible for Supplier Agreements & Contracts, Accounts Reconciliation and Project Support.
When she’s not switched on to all things GLWS, and in between juggling family commitments, she does occasionally switch off with the help of yoga, walking and catching up with friends.
Margo Kan
Projects and Operations Manager
Margo is our chief systems troubleshooter and all round “Jill-of-all-trades”. She works “behind the scenes” to ensure that all aspects of GLWS systems, operations and projects are seamlessly delivered, streamlined and efficient. Margo is passionate about providing an exceptional client experience and being involved with the creation of resources for the GLWS community. She draws on over 20 years of experience working in dynamic, fast-paced, deadline-driven environments within varied roles including instructional design, training and facilitation, health and safety, recruitment, systems administration, and advertising.
Margo holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Business (Marketing & Management), Graduate Diploma in Communications, Graduate Certificate in IT and Graduate Diploma in Adult Education.
Outside of GLWS, her skills and experience are broadened through strategy workshop reporting. When not in work mode, Margo immerses in the joys of raising two teenagers, school volunteering and maintains sanity with yoga, gardening, beach walks with her dog and catching up with friends.
Carly Arkinstall
Principal Consultant
Carly comes with extensive senior management experience across a range of specialist strategy, governance and delivery roles spanning talent, leadership development, capability, OD, employee engagement and executive assessment.
As a psychologist Carly is particularly passionate about helping organisations to develop progressive evidence-based health and wellbeing strategies, and has designed and implemented a variety of leader-led learning and development initiatives that build awareness and skills to help leaders and teams to thrive.
While a natural big picture and organisational solutions thinker, Carly’s sense of fulfilment and reward is at its highest when working one to one with senior leaders to support their own wellbeing. Carly has experience providing early onset health and wellbeing 1:1 counselling and coaching services to employees, leaders, and executives through a specialist EAP provider.
Outside of work, Carly is married to her high school sweetheart and has two gorgeous and energetic girls. In her downtime, you’ll find Carly strolling under the gum trees in the countryside, mountain biking with her kids, or just pottering in the garden.
Carly has a Masters in Organisational Psychology, Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Human Movement.
Finola Daly
Client Services Consultant
Finola calmly and cheerfully keeps the cogs of our GLWS Clients Service Bureau turning smoothly. She’s most likely the first point of contact for many of our clients, responding to queries promptly and tackling any issues with efficiency and a positive perspective.
She brings with her varied experienced gained in hospitality, mortgages and credit, and finance roles. She has completed an Advanced Diploma in Accounting.
Finola and Audrey’s friendship began back in 2001 where they met in Mothers Group, with their sons being born one day apart. Their families have enjoyed making memories together throughout the years.
Finola loves her fitness, and she is currently obsessed with F45 and lots of walking, but balances that with a thriving social life. Finola is a mother to two University students, both of whom are living at home while studying. She is currently studying Italian with the hope to live in Italy for a few years with her husband.
Christine Challita
Executive Assistant
Christine is the latest addition to the GLWS team and job-shares with Eileen to manage Audrey’s hectic diary and organisation. She also provides valuable support on many of the other administration tasks for operations and projects.
Christine brings a wealth of EA and administration experience from previous roles in the banking and finance sector where she has supported senior executives.
She has returned to the workforce after 8 years of living her dream of being a full-time mum. In her free time, she loves cooking, spending time with family, gardening, volunteer work at the school/church and a watching a good rom-com movie to unwind!
Christine has studied Hospitality Catering Operations with experience in a 5-star Hotel as a pastry cook, and later studied Business Administration.
See the GLWS™ in action now with a suite of sample reports
If you are a leader, or a coach working with leaders, you can find out how the GLWS works in practice by reviewing our suite of reports. Sign up here to get instant access.
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