FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

A whole variety! Coaching is for anyone and everyone, from top-flight executives looking to grow their business, to lone parents seeking the time to get everything done, to young people struggling at school and employees looking for a greater work/life balance. The issues are everyday and practical. Many people seek coaching when they:

• Feel they are 'stuck' in some part of their life, eg they have lost motivation to study
• Wish to make a change, eg change of job/career
• Want to make an area of their life work better for them, eg communication with a family member.

The key requirement is that you really want to make a change now and to move forward.

Usually sessions last 45-60 minutes, but there is always flexibility to schedule shorter sessions to fit in with work or other commitments. The session starts with a brief review of progress since the last session and then moves on to agreeing a goal for the session. This may be part of a bigger goal such as changing career, eg by the end of the session, I want to have developed a plan to find out what sort of work might suit me.

The next step is to look at where you are now, what you have done so far to achieve your goal, what has worked well and what resources you have to help you achieve the goal. Then it's down to brainstorming ideas on how you can move forward, followed by an assessment of the pros and cons of each option.

The last step is for you to decide exactly what you are going to do, when and how. We will also look at any support that might be needed and work on some ideas to keep you on track should there be any setbacks.

Throughout the session, I will encourage and support you using a series of questions, reflections, observations and some short exercises (eg visualisation) to help move you through the process.

From experience, I have found that an initial commitment to four sessions works best, plus an initial intake session. The intake session covers the issues you wish to bring to coaching, together with some details about your background, values and expectations.

Counselling tends to be retrospective, focusing on issues that are causing some level of distress or dysfunction to a client. By understanding the past, the client can then move on emotionally. In contrast, advisors tend to diagnose the problem faced by a client in order to recommend solutions and offer one or more possible courses of action.

In contrast, coaching works on the desire of a client to move forward in their lives. It is non-directive and uses a myriad of different questioning techniques, as well as reflection, observation and summary, to help the client discover their own way forward. As the client generates their own options to achieve change, they are more likely to implement those actions and achieve their goal. Link to The process.

There are many reasons why coaching is such a powerful process but here are five key ones:

1. Non-directive - 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 you and your situation.
2. Comprehensive and structured - by taking you through goal setting, exploring reality, developing ideas and options and finishing with deciding the way forward, you will be able to thoroughly review and consider your issue while also deciding on actions to resolve it.
3. Future and action oriented - coaching won't leave you analysing your problem ad infinitum. You will use the information and awareness gained to move on to devising a solution.
4. Client accountability - having to 'report back' to someone about your progress on agreed actions can be very motivating. Doing this on a regular basis builds momentum and ensures you have a clear timescale for your actions.
5. One step at a time - breaking down a problem into small parts makes problems easier to tackle.

You can expect complete confidentiality, choice about how you want to be coached, active listening, support and encouragement for your actions and full commitment to you and your success. You should also expect to be challenged (gently!) so that you can fully explore the issues, your options for taking action and to encourage you to think beyond the obvious.

Coaching can be either face to face, by phone or a mixture of the two. Face to face sessions would usually take place at my home office in Weybridge/Walton-on-Thames. Telephone coaching allows you to be coached at work or home, subject to finding a quiet space. Sessions can take place during the day, evening (subject to agreement) or at the weekend (Saturdays only).

I trained with the Coaching Academy, the UK's leading coach training organisation, whose courses are accredited by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC) and the National Open College Network (NOCN). I completed my course over 12 months and achieved a Merit/Distinction. Training for the Diploma in Personal Performance Coaching involves study of the the GROW model, values and beliefs, coaching skills and practice management. The course includes 36 practice sessions plus three assessed sessions, and an extensive home study course.

I also have an MA (Hons) in Geography (Cantab) and am a trained user, since 1995, of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Payment for sessions needs to be settled in advance and can be by electronic transfer, cheque (subject to being cleared) or cash. Fees can vary according to the number of sessions booked so please contact me direct for more information.

All sessions are completely confidential in line with The Coaching Academy's 'Code of Professional Conduct', copies of which can be requested from me. The only exception would be where I had a strong suspicion that the client might do harm to themselves or to another person.