EVERYTHING YOU
NEED TO KNOW

There are lots of different reasons to work with a coach. Some people feel stuck or want more from their life or work. Some feel overwhelmed or need support navigating a tricky situation. Others want to find a sense of purpose, keep motivated or work towards specific goals.

Whatever the reason, coaching can help people discover what’s getting in their way, develop deeper self-awareness and take action that moves them forwards.

Life is busy. Something I regularly hear from coaching clients is: “Wow, it feels good to spend a little bit of time thinking about myself”.

I believe everyone can benefit from creating time to explore their true needs, so they can live a life where they feel connected to their personal values, to other people and to what matters most in their world.

By creating space for self-discovery and exploring ourselves as a human ‘being’ as well as a task-oriented human ‘doing’, we can shift towards leading our lives authentically and become better leaders for those around us too.

Being open with a coach takes courage, but it can also be a lot of fun. It’s an opportunity to sit in a safe space and share life’s challenges with someone who will actively listen, support and encourage you without judgment.

Sometimes a coach will hold up a mirror, to help you see something they’re seeing. Whether that’s guiding you to notice self-sabotage, see a different perspective, or recognise something incredible about yourself.

Sessions are via Zoom, last 45 – 60 mins depending on your package, and take place every 2-3 weeks. This allows time for reflection and taking action in between.

Coaching is confidential and the relationship is founded on open, honest communication. If sessions are sponsored by a line manager, any 3-way conversations are led by the client, who can choose to share as much as they wish.

Coaching is very much grounded in the present moment, with one eye on the future. Like other one-to-one support, it involves exploring your feelings or mindset, but we don’t actively seek to explore your past, as you might do with a counsellor or therapist. Sometimes experiences from the past come up in sessions, but rather than talking about what happened, we aim to stay focused on how you relate to your experience now. Because often, how we feel about our past can hold us back in the present.

Coaching is also progress and action-oriented. In every session we look to find a way forward. This might mean doing a challenge, trying a new behaviour, changing something or reflecting on something that’s come up.

No - in fact, coaching can complement therapy or counselling well. Ideally we’d have a conversation together, before kicking off your coaching, to set clear boundaries and to make sure everyone is happy and feels safe in the dynamic.

I undertook my core training and coaching certification (over 100 hours coaching and 200 hours training) with the Co-Active Institute, the largest and most established professional coach training organisation in the world.

I am also an accredited ACC and member of the International Coaching Federation, which means I adhere to strict ethical standards and a globally recognised code of conduct.

As the client, you set the agenda for each session by bringing a topic. For example, it might be a situation that’s troubling you, or something about yourself that you know you need to work on. As the coach, I facilitate the conversation, prompting and challenging as needed, depending on your wishes. My role is to be an ally, to listen and to be non-judgemental as I support you to unpick the topic and work out the way forward. I will challenge you and encourage you, give you an action or question to take away with you, and hold you accountable, but at no point will I tell you what you must do.

We can explore all sorts of areas through coaching. For example, setting your vision for the future, defining a life purpose, processing deep emotions, or connecting to your inner leader when you need to make big decisions. 

If you’re unsure where to start, we can use a ‘wheel of life’, which maps different areas such as career, relationships, physical environment and so on, to help you figure out where you want to focus your attention.

Every session should lead to further self-inquiry or action, but meaningful transformation takes time. If a client is really committed to seeing change, they can often see progress from session one.