Coaching
‘Building awareness, responsibility and self-belief is the goal of a coach.' Sir John Whitmore
What people need from coaching varies greatly, and it is important to clarify, from the start, what the coaching is for, and how it is going to help.
If this is a coachee's first session, we will want to look at their current situation and what they would like to get out of the coaching session. One of my intentions is that, at the end of the session, they are surprised at how much ground they have covered – and how quickly the time has gone by!
If they have had a previous experience of coaching, it is important that, in their work with me, they gain fresh insights that build on the previous work.
Another good use for coaching is the opportunity it gives the coachee to stand back and take a more objective look at their working life, to see if the path they are on really is right and heading where they want it to go. And, if not, how to make adjustments or devise workable strategies for change.
Coaching can be really useful as part of the 360 degree feedback process, so that the learning from the process can be fully understood and translated into productive and meaningful action.
Similarly, after having undertaken a psychometric test, either privately or as part of a management training or MBA course, a coachee may want to look deeply at the findings, to absorb them and to work out how to take their learning forward.
Coaching works best if we can meet, however, working on the telephone can also be very effective, particularly if we meet once first.