Understanding Executive Coaching
Things you might choose to work with a coach on:
- Making the shift from operational to strategic.
- Developing your confidence, resilience and self-care.
- Overcoming your inner critic (self-criticism) and managing self-doubt.
- Reducing unhelpful thinking, ruminating, and worrying.
- Building better relationships and influencing others.
- Giving and receiving feedback and having difficult conversations.
- Better time management – learning to say no (and when to say yes!)
- Responding (instead of reacting) to conflict.
- Transitioning to a new role, or to retirement.
- Making important decisions about your career (direction, impact & legacy).
How can coaching help me?
Coaching can help you to:
- Develop emotional management skills you can use in all facets of your life.
- Learn to manage your responses and reactions to others.
- Acquire better communication skills to deepen relationships.
- Improve your self-confidence and help you manage self-doubt.
- Gain skills to bring out the best in yourself and other people.
- Strengthen your brand by dialing-up and dialing-down behaviours.
- Find time to be still – an independent sounding board for self-reflection.
How does a coaching engagement work?
As a first step, we will discuss your needs and determine if coaching is the right option.
Coaching is a very special relationship, based on absolute confidence and trust, so it’s important to make sure a connection exists before you choose a coach. Most coaches will offer you a free introductory meeting. This meeting is often referred to as a ‘Chemistry’ or ‘Exploratory’ Meeting, as it’s a conversation to ensure we are a good match.
There is no “off the shelf” coaching program, because coaching is bespoke to you. What we work in in coaching will be influenced by what you want to focus on and the outcome you are seeking from your investment of time and money.
Each coaching session is unique and I will provide relevant resources between sessions to assist you with your progress toward your coaching objective/s.
If required, we will talk about the best way to collect information that will be useful to you in achieving your objective. In coaching we use data to create self-awareness, but there are a range of methodologies available such as:
- Self-assessments (personality, strengths, motivations)
- Seeking qualitative feedback from key stakeholders
- 360 degree feedback
- Self-observation (of feelings, reactions, emotions)
- As an ICF certified coach, I have pledged to act in accordance with the Standards of the ICF Code of Ethics and to fulfill my ethical and legal obligations.
How long is a coaching engagement?
What happens in coaching sessions?
In the first session we will spend time understanding your current reality and desired future, so we can clarify the objective for coaching… what will success look like? what will represent value to you? In every session we will explore and make progress toward your objective, with the focus of each session driven by you.
Between coaching sessions I will provide you with resources to support you with your coaching objective. This could include an article, a video, or a podcast. This is not homework … your use of the resources is always optional.
How long are coaching sessions?
What is different about employer-funded coaching engagements?
In a sponsored coaching arrangement, the first 30-minutes of the second coaching session can include a 3-way meeting with your Leader to ensure alignment with the objective.
The first 30-minutes of the final coaching session can also include a 3-way meeting with your Leader to review progress against the set objective.
When coaching is the right option.
- You need to build your confidence about a new role/challenge.
- You are having trouble making an important decision.
- You have changed role and you need some help to adapt.
- You are feeling dissatisfied with your work.
- You need to get your ‘mojo’ back.
- You need some strategies to improve a relationship.
- You need help to manage workplace conflict.
- You need to stop procrastinating and start doing!
- You are having trouble speaking-up and contributing at work in the way you’d like to.
- Your work/life balance could do with some ‘tweaking’, but you’re not sure where to start.
When coaching is the wrong option.
Coaching is not suitable when:
- There are significant performance issues, which have not been managed within the organisation.
- There is no commitment to change, or outright resistance to coaching.
- There are mental health issues present. These should be treated by a suitably qualified practitioner, not a coach. It is however possible to sometimes engage in coaching and therapy concurrently, where the two interventions have a different focus.
What will my coach expect from me?
Your first (and most important!) job is to choose the right coach.
It is important to understand the difference between coaching and other leadership development interventions (mentoring, counselling, training, consulting, advising) so you can ask questions of your prospective coach about their coaching qualfications, credentials, experience and style.
Should you decide coaching is the right option and you choose me as your coach, I will ask you to sign a Coaching Agreement. The Coaching Agreement outlines your responsilities and some of these include:
- To prepare for and be fully present in coaching sessions.
- Participate openly and honestly in coaching sessions.
- Experiment between sessions and apply learnings.
- Provide relevant key stakeholders with updates about coaching progress.
- Provide ongoing feedback to your coach.
While coaching can sometimes feel a little like magic, it is not a ‘magic pill’ and what you get out of it will depend on how much you are prepared to put in. I have seen some amazing transformations with coaching clients – these transformational changes are most likely to occur when people are honest and follow through on their commitments.