WHY COACHING?

Welcome to the site! So you're interested in organising some coaching? This is where I would like to tell you a little about what personal performance coaching involves, my coaching philosophy and why coaching works. There's lots more information on the rest of the site, but this is where you can start to decide whether coaching is right for you and what I can offer you as a coach.

Coaching defined

Coaching sits beautifully between the various forms of professional support with its focus on the present, its emphasis on helping and supporting clients to achieve their own goals and its ability to enable the client to become the best they can be.

As a coach, my role is to work in a collaborative partnership with you, based on your desire to move forward in your life. My role is not to advise but to use a myriad of different questioning techniques, reflection, observation and summary, to help you discover your own best way forward. As you generate your own options to achieve change, you are more likely to implement those actions, achieve your goal and make a lasting change.

My coaching philosophy

Having experienced the benefits of coaching myself, I have a clear philosophy about how a good coach should work with clients and why coaching can be so powerful in bringing about change.

'Real help consists of listening to people, of paying respectful attention to people so they can access their own ideas first. The brain that contains the problem usually contains the solution, often the best one.'
[Nancy Kline, 'Time to Think']

Good coaching involves:
  • observation and feedback - by listening, questioning and observing, I can raise your awareness of what's really going on in your life
  • balance - you can then use your new self awareness to take a more balanced and complete picture of how things are and how they could be
  • being realistic - the key to lasting personal change is to set realistic goals for yourself involving manageable and achievable actions, especially at the start of coaching. You can then build on your accumulated successes to move on to bigger goals and challenges.

Why coaching works

  • Comprehensive coverage - the coaching process takes clients from the goal setting stage through a reality phase (what's going on now?) to an ideas and options stage, finishing with a decision stage (what will you do, when and how?). This process is often referred to as the 'GROW model'. The process enables you to thoroughly review and consider the issue while also encouraging action to resolve it.

  • One step at a time - the benefits of breaking down a problem (and its solution) onto manageable chunks, is best described by a recent client: "by breaking down a problem into small parts and having the opportunity to clearly define what the issue was, enabled me to establish an action plan to actually do something about the problem. Previously I would have just thought that there was a big 'problem' and hence far too daunting to actually tackle and change!" Kate, Vice-President, HR

  • Future and action oriented - coaching won't leave you analysing your problem ad infinitum. While exploring reality is a crucial part of the process, it's not an end in itself. You will use the information and awareness gained to move on to considering a solution. This keeps the problem in context, ensures the tone of sessions is upbeat and positive and reassures you that change is possible.

  • Accountability - having to 'report back' to someone about your progress on agreed actions can be very motivating. Having to do this on a regular basis helps maintain momentum and ensures you have a clear timescale for your actions. "It was the steering of thoughts, plus the directive to set time frames for goal achievement, that was of great benefit. Coaching sessions in themselves were milestones by which to deliver action points - a great way to monitor progress." Marcoms Consultant/Producer, Creative Industries

  • Non-directive - a good coach can help you to be creative about the possible options for change. By refraining from offering advice, you are supported to come up with your own ideas for change and these ideas are usually the best and most appropriate to the situation/person. As a result, they will have the greatest chance of being implemented. "Coaching has allowed me to better understand my own inner workings and will allow me to apply the lessons learnt during coaching to a wide variety of other challenges". Mike, UK Strategic & Pre-tactical Manager, NATS



    © All rights reserved Kay Pearson, 2010