What Can I Expect from Coaching?

Uplifting client session this morning. At this first session, with this lady, who had recently made the move from a senior role in a corporate to consultancy. She found herself devoid of motivation, procrastinating and felt she was being undisciplined about work and general life chores. Everything suddenly seemed like a chore. Within the hour, we had found a different and more positive understanding to what was causing this way of thinking; realising there are many areas she is not excited or interesting in doing, she chose to work differently on some tasks and delegate others where possible. She left with practical solutions and feeling happier and more motivated to do the things she needed to do in the next few days.

Met today with a senior executive of a international company; we looked at what needs to change in order to reduce stress, be less involved in detail and create better accountability, increase delegation of responsibilities and improve communication where required. One of the key aims, which was achieved in the hour session, was to find realistic and practical ways to encourage two departments to work together rather than blame each other.

Having had an incredibly busy week, filled with lots of travel, lengthy all-day meetings, and endless dinners with colleagues with little respite, my client on the call this morning was close to meltdown! Her key concern this week had been her emotional state which had been less than her usual balanced self, due to being so very tired. As a result, sometimes her disappointment at certain comments during meetings had been all to visible via her facial expressions. We looked at how best to manage such scenarios when we are feeling low and lack the inner strength to control emotions, and with a little thought and exploration, the best solution my client came up with today was to give more positive feedback in meetings when she was at her lowest, thereby showing a confident supportive front of others and their achievements, and taking the focus off herself and giving positive support to her peers and colleagues.

With only two weeks remaining until my client steps into his new role, as a partner in a niche legal firm in the city, the sessions have been focused on the best ways to hit the ground running from the day he starts in his new job. Regardless of our years of experience, starting in a new place of work can be daunting and comes with its own set of challenges; we want to fit in, to be seen to be making a valued contribution early on, to be excited and motivated to bring about effective results and all that with learning the systems, getting to know the other employees and settling in, can be challenging and not always go to plan. The coaching sessions prior to the start in his new position have enabled my client to put together plans, to set in place procedures and clear direction on how he will manage his first days and weeks in the new workplace to increase his chances of doing as well as he possibly can from the moment he sets foot in the door. The structured approach we have taken to the coaching sessions is exactly what he wanted, the business experience that he was able to tap into has enhanced what he has received and achieved from the coaching and added value greatly beyond his expectations. This has given him confidence to know that he can start from a place of focus and efficient working practices to create effective results in his new role.

During this eighth and last session in the package my client had signed up for, we discussed all the changes that my client has experienced in the few months we had worked together. After a break-up from a turbulent relationship, where my client's values had never been met, and she had not listened to her own intuition about this not being "right" and had allowed herself to be deceived and mistreated for many months, the focus of the coaching sessions had been self-esteem, self-confidence and making herself a priority in her life. Looking back she was able to summarise the differences in her life today, through the coaching process: "It has helped me a lot with my self confidence and looking at things from a different perspective; I feel more mature and more confident for sure, and it has made me realise what I want and don't want, so I'm more authentic to who I am. You gave me stability and it's good to meet up from time to time to check back..."

This was a three-hour breakthrough session, whereby my client, an intelligent high achiever, found herself struggling with lots of self-doubt and procrastination which was getting in the way of her passing exams that she needed in order to work in her chosen career here in the UK. With past traumas and belief patterns undermining her abilities to focus, to believe in herself, to value herself, she was not able to study with the concentration and attention that was required for her to guarantee that she would achieve the result required to progress to the next stage. Using specific NLP techniques, that disconnected the emotion from the traumatic experiences of her past, that affected her sense of self-esteem and self-worth, she was able to let go of the old trauma and update her conscious and unconscious mind with a new awareness of valuing and respecting herself where she is today. The session ended on a very positive note, where my client felt she an inner strength, an inner drive and motivation to get on with her studies, to be focused and committed, and could see herself achieving the outcome she desired.