Business and Executive Coaching

Coaching is a powerful medium through which to assist people to learn and develop and achieve greater self-awareness. The beauty of coaching is that it is a truly bespoke process providing a safe and supportive environment in which to develop and where the results can be long-lasting and transformational.

What type of coaching do you provide and how can it benefit me or my organisation?

Performance Coaching – we work with individuals to understand current levels of performance and identify desired future perofmance. The coach faciliates this process and supports individuals to overcome ‘blocks’ to performance. This helps to realise potential leading to greater operational effectiveness and personal impact within the workplace.

Career Coaching – Many of us reach a point in our careers where we are unsure as to what the next step is – we just know that something needs to be different – this could be about how to progress your current career, considering alternative careers or working out what is really important to you in your career and being able to balance your time more effectively doing more of what you really enjoy. This type of coaching often requires an exploration of personal values and beliefs systems.

Coaching for Stress Management and Building Resiliance – Sometimes we experience too much pressure which can tip over into stress. When we are under stress we can also experience related symptoms such as irritation, difficulty sleeping, mood swings to name a few, all of which has the effect of reducing our performance and productivity at work as well as impacting on our health.

We use the MTQ48 (Mental Toughness Questionnaire) which measures mental toughness and assesses the areas that you need to work on to better manage your stressors and develop greater resilience. You will learn tools and techniques to overcome negative thinking patterns and encourage healthy self management.

What do people tend to work on in coaching?

In our experience, most organisations tend to experience similar issues with the main difference being around business context and level of complexity. Here are some of the areas that people tend to work on:

How does coaching work?

The Coaching Contract
The coaching relationship is usually between two or three people i.e the coach, coachee and organisation or the coach and coachee only. Depending on the context, initial meetings are about scoping out the requirements of the contract such as understanding goals, expectations, cost and duration.

The Coaching Relationship
The relationship between the coach and coachee is fundamentsal to the success of any coaching programme. If the relationship does not ‘feel’ right, then the effectiveness of the coaching will be hampered. Part of the early contracting is checking that there is sufficient rapport to develop an open and trusting coaching relationship. if this does not exist after the first few sessions, then it is best to look for another coach.

Number and Length of Sessions
It is really down to the coachee as to how many sessions they would like to have, however, depending on the context for the coaching, the coach would recommend and offer in options around how coaching sessions could work. An example is 4-6 sessions over 4-6 months of 1.5 hours each. Some sessions last longer in time and duration i.e up to two or three hours at a time and over several months.

Who Can Have Coaching?
Anyone can benefit from coaching. Generally we work with executives, middle managers, supervisors and business owners.

How Much Does Coaching Cost?
We operate different rates depending on your size of business and we can discuss these rates once we fully understand what your requirements are.

What is the Difference between Coaching, Mentoring, Counselling and Training?

Coaching
Coaching is generally structured in nature, it has a set duration and meeting take place on a regular baisis. The focus is generally on developmental/issues relating to work. In addition, coaching is generally not performed on the basis that the coach needs to have direct experience of their client’s formal occupational role, unless the coaching is a specific and skills-focused intervention.

Mentoring
Mentoring tends to be more informal, the relationship can last for a long period of time and focuses mainly on personal and career development. The mentor is often an ‘expert’ in their field who can pass of the benefit of their skills, knowledge and experience and act as a support and guide.

Counselling/therapy
The issues discussed tend to be broader and more indepth and seeks to address underlying psychological problems. There is usually no other stakeholder involvement other than the counsellor and the individual.

Training
Training is about teaching particular skills and it is often a fixed process; for example, a certain number of employees are required to learn a specific set of skills.

Code of Ethics

We adhere to the Association for Coaching (AFC) ‘Code of Ethics’ and work with a strong commitment to coaching confidentiality. For further information on the AFC code of ethics, follow the link www.associationforcoaching.com