Confused About Coaching?

Are you confused about coaching, wondering who engages a coach, what they talk about and how working with a coach could benefit you and your team?

I have written this article to help lift this fog of confusion and highlight some of the key reasons why business people work with coaches and some of the benefits they receive.

How could coaching help you?

Whether you want to develop your personal potential or take your business to new levels, coaching can help. Executive coaching, and Coaching in general, is practical, focused on results and makes optimum use of your limited time.

Coaching is still an underutilised resource in business. In sport, if you want to be the best, you work with a coach to continuously improve and maintain your performance, so why not in business?

The word ‘coaching’ literally means ‘to transport someone from one place to another’. All forms of coaching involve helping the client to move forward in a specified direction.

So what would we talk about?

People bring a variety of topics and issues to their coaching sessions. Sometimes my coaching clients come to me to work on one specific issue such as:

  • Solving a problem
  • Making an important decision
  • Managing a difficult business relationship
  • Working on some feedback that they have received
  • Learning a new skill
  • Developing self-belief and confidence
  • Becoming more strategic
  • Deciding what to do next with their career
  • Improving their performance such as selling, presenting and leading
  • Preparing for a future leadership role
  • Improving their motivation
  • Preparing for an interview, meeting or presentation
  • Managing their stress and improving well-being

Sometimes coaching clients want someone outside of their working environment who they can talk to, and get support from, across some broader issues. Perhaps they:

  • Have been promoted recently
  • Recognise that they need to make some behavioural changes in their current role
  • Want to be a more effective leader, manager, director or sales person
  • Want to improve the performance of their team or their organisation
  • Are a senior executive in a business and want someone from outside of the organisation who they can talk to confidentially and seek support and guidance

How does it work?

The exact nature of the coaching relationship will depend on the type of coaching that you want and your individual needs.

Typically for working on one specific issue, we would agree a series of between four and six sessions, each lasting between half an hour and two hours, at regular intervals depending on your needs. Either before the coaching starts or at a slightly longer initial session, we would discuss how we are going to work together and agree the focus of the sessions.

If you are appointing us to work with one of your employees, we will have an initial three-way discussion with you and your team member.

Coaching sessions can take place face-to-face, via video conference or over the telephone. How about trying our outdoor Breath of Fresh Air® approach? Through this we create space and time for you to think more clearly.
Through a series of focused and challenging conversations, a coach will help you to identify where you are now, where you want to be in the short-term and in the future, and how best to get there. A coach will then support you and keep you on track until you achieve your goals.

For more general issues, we would agree a coaching package over a period of six months or a year, with an agreed number of formal coaching sessions and unlimited email and telephone support for ‘in the moment’ coaching.

What are some of the benefits?

Here are some of the benefits:

  • Enhanced personal and business performance.
  • Challenge and motivation from an independent, impartial catalyst.
  • A space to explore what is really important rather than being constantly distracted by ‘fire-fighting’.
  • Positive and sustained action towards desired goals.
  • Support to keep the commitments that you make to yourself.

What do I do next?

If you are interested in coaching and want to know more about it, give me call on 0118 9690783 or 07774289726 or send me an email – j.harris@breathoffreshair.uk.com and let’s have a conversation.

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