Why should I work with a Coach?
Have you ever thought about working with a coach but not sure if it’s right for you or how it works? You may also be wondering what sort of coach you need - an Executive Coach, a Business Coach, a Leadership Coach, or a Life Coach.
10 Reasons to work with a coach:
Achieve more
The short answer is that a coach will support you to achieve your goals whether those are business objectives, personal development plans or making changes to your life such as a career change.
Coaching empowers you to reach your full potential. A coach will partner with you to identify where you want to be and how to get there, helping you to identify a plan and actions to make it happen and holding you accountable to take those steps forward.
2. You set the agenda
A coach comes with no set agenda - that is down to you. Working with a coach usually begins with an exploratory chat to identify the topics or themes you want to work on over a number of sessions.
The coach will guide you through a series of conversations to dig deep into those topics. Of course, if other things come up you are welcome to bring those to the table The coach’s job is to make the discussions as constructive as possible/
3. Space for you
When business and life are so busy, it’s often impossible to step back and see things with perspective. Time with a coach encourages you to stop, step back, and gain perspective. It encourages you to make time to ’work on’ the business or yourself.
Your time with a coach is space for you alone - it’s entirely non-judgemental, private, and confidential.
4. Feel heard
When was the last time you felt someone was entirely focussed on listening to you and had the time and space to focus on you? A coach is there to listen and support. Coaches are experienced in deep listening. You are free to talk about anything you need including things, that you feel you can’t talk about with your manager, your colleagues, your family or friends. A coach won’t judge or criticise.
5. Support and champion
A coach is there to support you and is always on your side. They will help you celebrate what you have achieved and hold you accountable for achieving more.
A coach will act like a sounding board to help you think through and clarify your thoughts or challenges. A coach will provide the structure of the conversation and will ask powerful and sometimes challenging questions to help you shift perspective, explore alternative scenarios and to see things in a different way so that you can work through and beyond any challenges or barriers.
6. Find clarity, shift your perspective and overcome obstacles
Unlike counselling or therapy which tends to unpack the past, coaching is about the future. It’s about growth and development. Although it may sometimes involve exploring self-sabotaging thoughts or blocks that have held you back in the past, so you can move around them.
7. Focus on the future
A coach will help you to identify and achieve goals. A business coach may work with you to identify business objectives, while an executive or leadership coach with work with you on the so called soft-skills you may want to develop such as boosting confidence, improving time-management, building better relationships or becoming a better leader.
8. Set goals and make decisions
9. Motivation and Stimulation
Finally coaching can be fun and rewarding. A coach should inspire and motivate you. It will stimulate you to explore new options and motivate you to move forward. Importantly a good coach will provide a relaxed, empathetic environment where you feel safe and can smile.
10. From Acorn to Oak Tree
Coaching will help you to achieve your full potential. One of the forefathers of modern coaching Sir John Whitemore or Performance Coaching writes:
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. We are more like an acorn, which contains within it all the potential to be a magnificent oak tree. We need nourishment, encouragement and the light to reach towards, but the oaktreeness is already within.”
What sort of coach do I need?
When deciding what sort of coach to work with ask yourself what areas of your life, career or business you want to work on.
Executive Coach
Develop your leadership skills to be a better manager, improve relationships and improve employee retention
Improve time-management, confidence, and motivation,
Enhance employee performance and engagement and improve their skills
Reduce stress, build confidence, deal with imposter syndrome and build emotional intelligence
Business Coach
Grow your business - e.g. increase turnover, profit or gain, recruit ad retain more staff and competitive advantage
Be more strategic - develop and implement plans and objectives
Increase productivity and efficiency
Be more innovative
Improve customer satisfaction and increase profit
Career Coach
Considering a career change
Preparing for a new job or promotion
Preparing for an interview
Life Coach
Dealing with difficult situations - changes and challenges at work or in your personal lif
Changing your work / life balance or focus more on your wellbeing
How to choose a coach
If you are thinking about working with a coach it is important to find one that you like and can connect with and build rapport. You can get a good sense of a coach from their website but you should request an initial chat to find out more about them and establish if there is a good fit.
Coaches come from diverse business and educational backgrounds so will bring different skills to the table. There is no single coaching qualification or accreditation and it can be confusing to understand a coaches credentials but do ask a potential coach what training they have had and look for someone with an industry-standard qualification such as the ILM Executive Coaching and Mentoring certificate, or a coach who is accredited by one of the industry bodies such as the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC); International Coaching Federation (ICF) or Association for Coaching (ACF).
A business coach will be well versed in business strategy and models. You don’t necessarily need a business coach who has experience of your industry or sector, in fact, if you want industry-specific experience you are possibly better off looking for a mentor than a coach.
An executive coach will have a deeper understanding of the psychological factors that both empower and inhibit people.
How does coaching work in practice
Executive coaching takes place across a number of sessions over a period of time, typically 9–12 sessions across 6–9 months. The space in between sessions is important so the leader can test out new approaches and behaviours they have committed to in their previous session, then debrief and build on it in the next session. Executive coaching sessions can be delivered either face-to-face or virtually. A mixture of both can be used over time.
About Polly Robinson Executive Coach / Leadership Coach
I am a qualified Executive Coach and Mentor (ILM Level 7) based in Bristol and coaching people across the South West, London, Wales and all over the UK. I work with coachees face-to-face or online via Zoom or other video platforms.
I work with business leaders and senior management in all sectors.
I will become a supportive friend, a listening ear, and a shoulder to lean on.
We will build a strong and trusting relationship, where I will support and challenge you to focus on your values and what is important for your business and your life to inform your decisions and choices. You will identify objectives and remove the barriers that may be getting in the way of continued growth and success.
We will create space for a series of constructive conversations where you are able to be open and honest and sometimes tackle difficult topics. I will support and sometimes challenge your perspective - helping you to understand yourself better.