Sharing Practice – My Coaching

A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post in sharing my professional practice. I described my approach to Coaching Chemistry Sessions which are often the start of the client experience when working with a coach.

Essentially, I believe that Coaching Chemistry Sessions must reflect time well spent focussed on seeing what value can be created together. We always have the time to get to know each other in this initial session – who we are and what we do – we just spend more time finding out how we are together. It’s also where the client gets a really good opportunity to understand what coaching means to the coach.

In my practice, I define coaching as “a safe and trusted thinking environment that helps create sustainable change“. There is so much behind those eleven words but by breaking it down you get a very good sense of the critical components:

This goes a long way to sharing my philosophy to the coaching work that I do with clients. Behind that sits skill, technique, training, learning, experience… Using my judgement, attention and focus well, in service to the client… Bringing challenge, held gently, when it is needed, to help create a shift… Maintaining and showing my honesty, integrity and values throughout… Engaging well and appropriately with the organisation… There’s lots going on behind that one word “coaching”!

Perhaps most significantly of is intent. For me it’s my positive intent towards the client and their agenda that allows all of the above to work well together. It’s what helps me access all of the above even when I don’t know where we’re heading in our conversation. It’s the foundation of trust in the coaching relationship. It’s how we can work together successfully.

That’s my coaching. If you’d like to talk further about any aspect of what I do or how I do it, just let me know.