What to expect from Coaching

Having a coach in your work life is like having a PT at the gym. There are times when having that person alongside you really helps you achieve what you'd never imagined possible.

"Out of all the personal development activities I've had over the years, without doubt it's coaching which has had the most positive effect on my career"

Senior manager, manufacturing company

Whether you're still early in your career and preparing for your first formal leadership role, early in your leadership experience, immersed in full-on day-to-day leadership and management or considering your path to retirement, my coaching will be tailored perfectly for you.

Sessions available weekday evenings or weekends to suit you.

If you're unsure whether coaching might be right for you, here are some questions and answers which may help you decide

What is coaching?

Which coaching standards do you follow?

What does coaching look and feel like?

How can coaching help me?

How much time will it take?

Do I have to commit to a series of sessions?

Coaching - what it is and isn't

If you ask 10 people or organisations for their definition of coaching, you will probably get 10 different answers. It’s easy to get caught-up in a word game. What’s important is that coach, coachee (and sponsor if there is one) all understand and agree on their definition of coaching.

An important distinction is worth making around sports coaching, which is a specific specialism I do not offer.

The ICF defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential”.

In that very “pure” definition of coaching, the assumption is that the coachee is the expert in their field and within them lies everything they will need to achieve whatever they bring to their coaching sessions. The coach is the expert in helping the coachee discover, develop and become aware of the path they want to take. In these cases, the coach is coaching the coachee as a person, not getting into the coachee’s topic.

It's quite common, however, for coachees to want more “input” from their coach, so this may be included if the coach has experience or knowledge which may help the coachee progress towards their goal. This is sometimes referred to as a mentoring element. This would never become advice nor instruction.

Some examples of areas of expertise where I may be able to include useful input to the coaching include :

Leadership and team management
Career direction and development
Managing change
Dealing with ambiguity
Performance of self or team
UK apprenticeship schemes, including UK levy management
Managing complex L&D departments
Personality trait profiling
Motivation in work

The type of coaching you (the coachee) want – whether “pure” or including an element of input (and if so, to what extent) is agreed in our initial contracting conversation when we're setting up the coaching relationship.

The coaching standards I follow

I am a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and hold their accreditation as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC). The ICF is widely recognised as setting standards of coaching practice which are the gold standard in coaching. As an accredited ICF member I uphold the Values, Code of Ethics and Core Competencies in my coaching as set out by the ICF.
I hold the Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School, a course which is accredited by the ICF, AC and EMCC.

What coaching looks and feel like

Early in building our coaching relationship we will talk about confidentiality and ethics so you can build trust in the process. We'll discuss and agree whether you want any of your coaching to be shared with others (the default is "nothing shared") and I'll explain the circumstances under which I might need to break confidentiality (specifically legal or safety concerns) which form part of compliance with the ICF code of ethics.

A large part of being coached is about your coach being inquisitive, to learn about you and your context. This can often take the form of questions. It's important to know though that it's not an interview and it's not your performance review at work, which were perhaps the last time you were asked questions about you and your work!

In coaching, the questions you are asked are purely for you to consider, you're not being held to account nor tested. Coaching enquiry is to help see if the answers take you somewhere useful on your path to achieving what you came to coaching for.

Answering the questions honestly - you're answering to yourself - in the safe knowledge that your coach will be non-judgmental, can take a little time to get used to if you're new to being coached. I can help you through that process if that's the case for you.

Many coachees report after the end of a coaching session of 90 minutes that they can tell they've been working hard. Feeling a little tired and having a "busy brain" are common comments.

Some coachees spend a lot of time talking in their sessions, others use the time to a lot of quiet reflection. There's no pressure for you to be talking lots if that's not what's right for you. Holding a silence, giving time to think, can be a very powerful coaching tool. I will make sure the session runs in the way which is most effective for you.

The techniques I use will also be guided by how I understand and learn your preferences. There are tools which suit those who prefer fact-driven approaches and others for those who are more feelings-driven. Perhaps you have a science background, or an arts background. Maybe having targets is important to you, maybe you're not driven by those. As I learn about you, I'll use the best techniques to enable your coaching to be the most effective it can be for you.

How coaching could help you

Some coachees want to be challenged by their coach, some prefer a close rapport. You might want to set boundaries beyond which you don't want to explore. You might want to focus purely on work situations, or home, or a mixture of both. Sometimes coachees bring a problem they want to solve, others may be wanting to make important decisions about a choice they need to make. You might be doing really well and want to do even better, it's not always about fixing something that's not working. If you're unsure if what's on your mind would be suitable for coaching, please do book in for a free 30 minute initial discussion so we can chat.

Coaching is a forward-focussed process for those who want to engage with achieving their aims and feel able to do so. While coaching shares many methodologies and roots with psychology, it is not counselling.

The amount of time coaching takes

When you're first considering coaching, it's worth taking some time to consider three questions - "what has prompted you to seek coaching", "why now" and "what do you want to be different by the end of the coaching". Don't worry if you're not sure of the answers. These are questions we'll explore early in the coaching process and it's just helpful for you to have begun to give them some thought beforehand.

Our first meeting will be a zero-fee introductory one, typically lasting around 30 minutes. The purpose is for you to begin the decision process of whether coaching might be the right intervention for you at this time. If you want to proceed, the first coaching session would be what's commonly called the "chemistry session". It is for us to explore your coaching topic in a little more depth and to discuss what the coaching process would look like. We would agree any stakeholder involvement, set expectations, agree initial length of the overall coaching and if we've not already agreed them, fees. This is also the opportunity to find out more about me, so you can decide if you feel I will be the right choice of coach for you.

Each coaching session would typically be 90 minutes long. A typical coaching programme might be from 6 sessions upwards in duration, it very much depends on the individual and the topic. We would agree on-going arrangements as it's important they are flexible to meet your needs.

When considering how much time coaching may take, it can also be useful to factor in any time you might want to take in between sessions to perhaps implement ideas you've had, have other conversations, do journalling or prepare for your next coaching session.

The commitment involved

You don't have to commit to a series of sessions. Once we've had the free initial introductory session and the set-up session, you can decide what (if any) commitment you want to make. There's no expectation and no pressure. Even if you commit to a programme of coaching sessions, you may withdraw at any time.