Coaching

Why work with a coach?

Coaching is a confidential, 1:1 relationship where the client can discuss what is important to them. Clients can:

• reflect on their thoughts, feelings and experiences,
• develop clarity and insight,
• practice skills for application in the “real world”,
• create strategies and action plans to address their challenges,
• appreciate their strengths,
• become more effective, and
• achieve their goals

Who can benefit from working with a coach?

Individuals

Are you keen to tackle a challenging personal situation? Or perhaps you want to create a better future, but you’re not sure how to get started? A coach can help you:

• identify barriers and roadblocks to your dreams, and find ways to overcome them
• recognise ineffective patterns of behaviour and thinking, and develop new approachs
• practice new skills in a safe, non-judgemental and supportive environment
• clarify your values, abilities and passions and make a plan to maximise them in your life

Managers

Do you want to develop your people management skills? Maybe you need a sounding board while you work through a transition, career change, or create a strategy for your goals? A coach can help you:

• gain insight into your strengths as a manager, and how you can use these to enhance your effectiveness
• pinpoint areas of weakness and put together a team to support your performance
• diagnose the factors that are holding you and your team back from peak performance
• detect the hidden strengths amongst your team and create an action plan that will draw these out

Teams

Is your team stuck in ineffective habits, not moving forward? Or would they benefit from improved communication and collaboration? A coach can help your team:

• uncover unhelpful beliefs, and understand how these create behaviour and actions
• define your shared values and goals, and use these to drive decisions and performance in the desired direction
• understand the stages that all teams move through as they mature, and how to get the most benefit out of each stage
• develop tools and strategies to support effective teamwork and performance

FAQs

What does a coach do?

• Provides a confidential, 1:1 space, focused on the individual.
• Acts as a sounding-board by taking a non-judgemental approach as you explore your thoughts, feelings and experiences.
• Works with you to discover and unleash your inner genius.
• Makes observations and asks questions to help you identify patterns that hinder or help you achieve your goals.
• Supports you to translate insights into concrete actions.
• Provides accountability.
• Helps you recognise and celebrate progress and success.
• Offers a balance of challenge and support as you navigate your development journey.
• Seeks out ongoing training and professional development, extending their knowledge in order to support their clients more effectively.

What won’t a coach do?

• Give detailed advice or tell you what to do.
• Listen to endless complaints without challenging you to take action.
• Affirm your victimhood or blamelessness.
• Do the work for you.
• Provide a quick-fix feel-good solution to deeply embedded issues.
• Address employment relationship (HR) problems.

How does the coaching process work?

Note: all coaching sessions are held via Zoom unless otherwise agreed.

Discovery call

We start with a free, no-obligation video or phone call to talk about your goals, your current situation, your concerns, and what you’d like to get out of working together. I’ll ask lots of questions to learn more about you, and I encourage you to ask me questions too!

At the end of the session, I’ll invite you to take some time to reflect on whether you believe we’re a good fit for working together. I don’t expect an answer within the session – I’ll follow up with you a few days later. I’ll also be reflecting on whether my skills are the right fit for you.

This is always a “no-obligation” session – you’re not signing up to any programme or committing to any future coaching.

First session

Once we agree to work together, we’ll set up our first coaching session. This session takes about an hour and a half, because we’ve got a lot to cover! Before our session, I’ll send you a copy of my Coaching Standards. This is a set of guidelines to help you get the most out of our sessions.

We’ll discuss how we’ll work together. This includes outlining and agreeing our expectations of ourselves and each other, and whether coaching will be delivered on an as-needed or programme basis. We will also talk about your goals, your context, and identify some practical actions that you can start taking right away.

If you select the programme option, then after our meeting, I’ll provide you with a recommended plan, including the timing and frequency of sessions. This will be based on your context and goals, as discussed in our first session.

Subsequent sessions

Ongoing coaching sessions take around an hour. This gives us time to dig into what is going on for you and to work on your goals and action plans.

We’ll start with a check-in and review the previous actions you’ve committed to taking. Part of my role as a coach is to hold you accountable to your commitments. This helps ensure that you are getting the best value out of our sessions and making solid progress toward your goals.

Then, we’ll talk about what you’re currently working on, what’s working well, what needs changing, and how you can use your strengths to serve your goals. You’ll identify action points and takeaways that you can implement immediately, and we’ll finish up with an overview of the session and agreeing on the timing of our next session.

If you're ready to find out how you can benefit from working with me as your coach, book your discovery call today. It's easy to do - just pop over to my Bookings page to get underway.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no hard-and-fast rule for coaching – it depends on your goals, your context, and what you can commit to. I’m realistic – it’s better that we work within what’s do-able for you than set ridiculous expectations that drain your time and energy instead of unleashing them.

Do I have to sign up to a plan?

I offer coaching on a casual or programme basis.

• Casual means that you get in touch when you need some support – it could be every few weeks, every month or two, or a couple of times a year.
• Programme means that we work together for an agreed number of sessions, based on your goals.

Your programme could range from a couple of sessions focused on a specific situation, to a longer programme that facilitates a step-change in your work and life. Rest assured that I only offer programmes to those who will benefit from the structure of an ongoing coaching relationship.