Coaching

Coaching is for everyone, but it’s not one-size-fits-all.   It’s an individual journey that results in rapid growth and sustainable change, and it starts with working on key areas to boost self-awareness, change behaviors, and unlock your full potential.

Your personal coach will be your accountability partner and guide to develop skills that matter to you, improve communication, navigate challenges, and build more purpose and clarity in work and life.

What is coaching?

It’s a relationship that exists to help the best people be even better.
It’s a safe space for questions, answers, and exploring both the questions and the answers.
“Executive coaching is an efficient, high-impact process that helps high-performing people in leadership roles improve results in ways that are sustained over time.” (Andrew Neitlich)
Coaching is a structure to help you get stronger and clearer in your roles, talents, and contributions.
Through coaching, your capacity for making the best choices is enhanced.
Coaching is a supportive mechanism for often-significant change, growth, movement, and sustainable practices.
Coaching is an opening to insights that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Coaching is driven by you and your goals!

Here are some ideas of how a coach can help:

Identify intentions that you’d like to set for growth, in all areas of your life
Expand your impact through open communication, feedback, listening, and driving influence
Become more self-aware, and create a work-life balance that helps you feel more balanced
Build resilience while learning how to navigate challenges.

What topics, challenges, adventures, &/or questions can my coach and I work on?

Here are some areas to consider, particularly if you have never worked with a coach and are wondering, ‘What will we talk about?’

• Prioritizing, e.g., people, tasks, projects, requests, etc.

• Job offers, i.e., accepting, pursuing, negotiating, refusing, timing, etc.

• Leadership in a new role (in your current organization, nationally, internationally, outward-facing, inward-facing, etc.)

• Writing, e.g., doing, not doing, collaborators, changing directions, etc.

• Giving voice to your value

• Boundaries

• Filters to use in making decisions

• Personal and life management

• What does your “team” look like?

• Family, including being present, boundaries, priorities, etc

• Overwhelm – of all kinds

• Outsourcing (tasks, responsibilities, etc.)

• Delegating

• Imposter syndrome (e.g., “who am I to…?”)

• What does it take to operate at this level and at the next level?

• Mindfulness

• Shifts in perspective/reframing

• Energy management

• Navigating political situations

• Challenging staff...now what?

• Collaborations that work/aren’t working

So... If you are ever wondering whether a topic is worth bringing up with your coach, bring it up, and your coach will let you know if, for any reason, it’s outside the realm of the coaching.

Making the most of your coaching journey:

Our suggestions:

Schedule recurring coaching sessions to ensure you are holding space for your development.
Hold yourself accountable by completing action items and activities.
Ask your coach if they see something you could do to maximize your work together.
Make sure you’re showing up for the coaching. That means being present, which is much more than being on time. It means being present for what’s happening during the coaching.
Prepare for your coaching call in whatever way is best.
Give yourself processing time soon after the session.
Keep a notebook (physical or digital) where you record what you’re learning and considering as part of coaching.
5 ways to prepare for your coaching sessions:
- Think about what’s on your schedule this week: A big meeting or presentation? Difficult conversation? Are personal obstacles coming up?
- Revisit your goals: How much progress have you made? What do you want to hit next?
- Reflect on what’s worked well (and what hasn’t) since your last session.
- Review any exercises or tools you were given.
- Identify what outcomes you want from your session: What would help you feel more confident about what’s ahead?

With coaching, you get what you put into it!

Some content adapted from Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. & BetterUp Coaching

COACHING vs THERAPY vs MENTORING

Coaching, therapy, and mentoring are distinct forms of support and development, each with specific purposes, methods, and outcomes.

Coaching

Goal-Oriented: Coaching is typically focused on achieving specific personal, professional, or skill-based goals.
Short to Medium Term: Coaching engagements are generally shorter and more structured than therapy, often focusing on defined goals over weeks or months.
Client-Driven: Coaches assist clients in identifying their goals and devising strategies to achieve them, often unlocking potential and enhancing performance.
Future-Focused: Coaching is forward-looking, concentrating on overcoming present challenges and setting future objectives.
Non-Therapeutic: Coaches do not address psychological issues; they work with functional clients who want to improve their performance or achieve specific outcomes.

Therapy

Problem- and Healing-Oriented: Therapy focuses on healing psychological, emotional, or mental health issues and enhancing personal understanding.
Longer Term: Therapy can be more extended, helping clients explore and resolve deeper personal issues, often over a longer duration.
Therapist-Driven Framework: Although clients bring their issues, therapists use specific psychological approaches to guide the healing process.
Past and Present-Focused: Therapy often explores past experiences and their impacts on present behavior, emotions, and relationships.
Licensed Practice: Therapists are typically credentialed professionals with specific certifications and are trained to handle mental health issues.

Mentoring

Developmental and Guidance-Oriented: Mentorship involves providing guidance, advice, and support to foster the personal or professional growth of the mentee.
Long-Term Relationship: Mentoring relationships are often long-term and less formally structured than coaching.
Experience-Based: Mentors draw on their own experiences to support and advise mentees, often in the same field or area of interest.
Holistic: Mentoring can cover wide areas beyond career goals, including personal development and life skills.
Two-Way Learning: While mentors provide guidance, both parties may learn and grow, making it a reciprocal relationship.

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