Why Coaching

Coaching, either in the workplace, or individually, is becoming much more mainstream, yet there is still some confusion around how it actually works. So it’s important to define what it is and isn’t.

First - it is something that generally needs a qualifying descriptor (leadership, executive, life, career). But however you qualify it, the ‘what’ is the same. A coach works to improve your cognitive fitness just as a sports coach works on physical fitness. A fit mind allows you to know yourself better - the good and bad, to be more conscious in your actions, and have a much better sense in where you are going in your work, and life. A coach will give you a process for self-improvement and hold you accountable for the things you want to do.

You generally work with a coach for a set period of time (say 6 months, or a year) and work to specific goals - although these can change over time.

An important differentiator from mentoring and advising is that it is not the job of a coach to tell you explicitly what to do. Their job is to ask great questions, get you thinking and expand the range of options available. A good coach will give you honest feedback, and offer challenging perspectives - but this always is in service of the client.

In some areas where the coach has direct experience of the issues a client is facing (either personally or professionally) the coach will share their experience - again in service of the client and their own choices, rather than as advice.

When is the right time for coaching?

It can come at any time, but coaching will help you accelerate the changes you want to make and navigate a wide range of challenges, including:

  • You are questioning your ‘why’ - your work, connecting to your values, and a bigger purpose

  • You want a better balance in life - to focus on what’s really important

  • You’re just stuck - it all seems foggy and you can’t see a way through.

  • You need to shake things up - to make changes at work, or at home

  • You’ve had a rough time and need to process what’s happen, and try to get your mojo back

  • You’ve just started in a new job or have new responsibilities and want to be the best you can be

  • There is something you are desperately yearning for and you need a plan for how to get there

What will I get out of it?

Everyone is different and, like anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out. My clients have typically reported the following outcomes:

  • Increased self-acceptance, expression, confidence and personal authority

  • Increased emotional intelligence and ability to navigate challenges more easily

  • Identification of limiting beliefs and creation of empowering beliefs

  • Clarity on personal and professional vision, movement toward that vision with practical actions

  • Improved relationships, both personal and professional, and influencing skills

  • Better understanding of self and others motivations, increased ability to develop others and expansion of leadership range

  • More effective communication, feedback tools and ways to handle difficult conversations

  • The benefit of time and space for self reflection and self inquiry

More than anything, it helps build mindful resilience - the strength to experience and appreciate whatever life throws at you. You can read some of our client testimonials here.