FAQs

What is coaching?

The International Coach Federation defines coaching as ... "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential."

For me it is a powerful personal and professional development tool for anyone who wants to live to their full potential as a human being and harness the innate wisdom, self-knowing, resilience and peace that lies within all of us.

 

How is coaching effective?

For coaching to be effective, you need to:

- have a gap between where you are now in your life/career/relationships and where you want to be

- have a desire to fill that gap by committing to your own learning and growth

In other words you have to want to be or do something differently. You want to want change!

 

Coaching has been found to be effective as a self development tool because: 

• it focuses on YOU as the client and provides a safe, non-judgemental sounding board for you to hear your own thinking and become more aware of how you operate in the world and the choices you make

• it creates a safe space for you to share thoughts, ideas, fears and hopes that you might otherwise not share with your nearest and dearest or your boss or work colleagues, allowing time for you to consider before taking action

• a coach can pick up what is getting in the way and help reduce or bust self-limiting beliefs or fears that are holding you back

• a coach can provide structures for holding you accountable to achieve specific goals enabling you to commit to more actions and follow-through than you might on your own

• the coach supports you in thinking bigger about what is possible 
   

As your coach my job is to create the space for you to have new insights into who you are, what's going on and how you operate in the world that bring change and transformation. Having our own insights is the only way that brings true transformation as being told what to do by others doesn't have the same enduring impact.

Your job is to be open, committed, curious and kind to yourself as we work on seeing the possibilities for your life or work.

Successful clients know the value of sharing ideas with someone who understands them and can be non-judgemental, open, and honest, while challenging them to be their best, from a position of focus on your needs not their own. Sometimes, just being able to talk through ideas, options and possibilities with someone who is focused on what you want to achieve can be enough to bring clarity to your thinking.

You can expect to learn, grow, be inspired, improve performance, achieve rewarding goals, and find your path in life with more ease, peace and passion as you have insights that release you from past beliefs and limitations and open you up to who you really are.

 

Where do you start with a coach?

Usually through a pre-coaching conversation either virtually or face-to-face. I call these 'Clarity Sessions.'  This will be to clarify what you want from coaching, discuss how the coaching will work in terms of structure and logistics, and allow both coach and client to get to know each other and decide if they can work together effectively.

How do the coaching sessions work?

An on-going schedule of sessions of a certain number or over a set period is agreed. These are often conducted virtually (Skype, Zoom, etc) allowing for greater flexibility, especially for busy professionals who are already time-challenged, as calls can be made from their office, home, car or hotel.

A common schedule for coaching might be two hours a month, in either 4 x 30 minute sessions, 3 x 40 minute sessions or 2 x 1hour sessions, although this can be arranged differently if required. It is usual to begin with more regular frequency to establish the coaching ‘habit’ which can then be modified to reflect your goals, as and when suitable.

The focus of each call is determined by you.  I will ask powerful questions to help you explore issues and make the most of opportunities, noticing beliefs, principles and distinctions and how they work for you. When taking on a large goal, we will convert it into manageable chunks and I will provide support and structure to you, if needed, to make sure you live to the commitments you choose to make. I will always work to bring out the best in you by seeing you as bigger than you might see yourself, and providing a safe and courageous space for you to explore what is most important to you, while also remembering to  celebrate the wins and successes as you make progress. There is often ‘fieldwork’ to complete to build and establish new awareness and habits, adopt new perspectives, try out new learning, collect data etc, all designed to forward action and deepen your learning.

What happens when you begin a contract with a coach?

You are given the opportunity to look at who you are and what you do in a way that opens up awareness and understanding so you can make better choices about how you live your life.

Benefits often enjoyed by clients include:

- Taking yourself and what you want more seriously
- Taking more effective and focused actions immediately
- No longer putting up with stuff that gets in your way
- Creating momentum to achieve more, be more balanced and develop more powerful management skills
- Setting personal goals that are clear and meet your needs
- Identifying and eliminating the barriers that get in the way of the achievement of your goals
- Communicating about what you need and want from others in a more responsible way

Does the coach need to be an expert in my field? 

Coaches are experts in the coaching process and may not have specific knowledge of a given subject area or industry. My job is to draw out your own expertise rather than to act as an adviser or consultant. Where I do have specific knowledge or experience that might be of benefit, I would ask your permission to share if I feel it is in service of your goals and facilitate the coaching process.

My coaching expertise that I share is around helping you understand how we create our experience of life, seeing things from different perspectives, making better decisions, setting goals, developing new skills for communicating and accesing the innate intelligence within us. 

 

How can a Leader / Executive use a coach?

Coaching creates an environment where there is freedom from judgment and freedom from expectations that executives behave according to typical corporate mandates.  In this environment it is safe to question, to appear vulnerable, to observe, to explore, experiment, to learn and change. This allows you to use your coach to ...

... become more productive
... get clarity in your decision-making
... understand your leadership style and how to get the most from your people 
... find that nebulous work/life balance you so desire 
... prioritise actions and projects 
... train, develop and manage staff 
... turn around a difficult situation
... handle business or personal problems
... support you through major life/work transitions like redundancy
... find yourself again (you'll know what I mean by this if it applies)

 

What is in the area called Client's Only Area?

In this area you can:

• Update various forms (such as Client Profile, Goals, Discovery, Evaluations) that are used in the coaching
• Access various documents and materials supporting your coaching
• Keep track of progress by adding comments to your Client Log
  
• Upload documents for your coach to review
  
• Prepare for your calls by completing the Call Strategy Form 

 How do I access the Client's Only Area?

Click on my website: Clients Area and click on LOGIN in the upper centre of the Welcome Page.

You will know you have successfully logged into this area when the webpage displays:
                       Welcome (your name) in the upper left corner.

How secure are my personal records?

The confidentiality and security of personal data are of prime concern and are taken very seriously.  Protection levels include: 

- each user having their own unique Username and Password. This allows individuals to only access their own data. The only other person who has access to this data is the Coach. The password issued to you when you first register can be changed by you at any time once you are logged in.
- The web pages are secure and will show the added 's' in the URL address, as in https://
- The site is covered by a Security Certificate that protects the site and database and which you can view at any time.
- The connection and pages are encrypted with a high-level encryption (the technical term is RC4 128 Bit) 

What do I do if I have to re-schedule an appointment?

If more than 48 hours in advance, simply:

 1. Access the "Clients Only Area" by logging in with your username and password

 2. Access "my on-line calendar" to re-schedule. Make sure you select an open coaching time within a slot marked "AVAILABLE"

3. Once you have determined the time you would like to reschedule for, simply click on the "title" of your current coaching appointment, click on the "EDIT" button and change the start time, stop time and date to reflect the new desired appointment time. We will both receive instant emails confirming the changes.

If you need to change less than 48 hours before the scheduled time, please email me directly.

What happens if I miss a call due to an emergency?

We all know emergencies can happen.  If you can reschedule at least 24 hours beforehand then there shouldn't be a problem.  If you miss a booked session time completely then I reserve the right to charge for that session as it is 'lost time.'  A true last minute emergency, on either side, will always be treated with compassion. 

What if I lose my password?

Not a problem!

When you go to the home page of my private clients area and click on the LOGIN link at the top centre, you will be able to enter your username and then click on the 'I FORGOT MY PASSWORD' button. The system will automatically send you an email with your password included. Should you misplace your username, simply contact me via email and I will re-send it to you.