Positive Psychology Coaching: Introducing the ©Aipc Coach Approach to Finding Solutions and Achieving Goals.

By Dr. Susanne Knowles

Coaching is an emerging profession across all walks of life. Coaches work in communities, businesses, governments, private and not-for-profit settings to assist people to grow personally and professionally. More people are engaging their own life, business, career transition, leadership, or executive coaches to help them solve their life or work problems and reach their goals more quickly and easily. Coaches are sounding boards to clients, putting their agenda front and center and the clients back in control of their life. The coach works nonjudgmentally with clients to understand their situation and needs, help them become more self-aware and resourceful, uncover insights into themselves and what they need to do, and stand side by side with them as they take the actions they need to take.

Why positive psychology coaching? Because before people can change their behavior, they often need to change their mind-set. A client’s mind-set may be positive and supportive of change or negative and is holding them back. Coaching from a positive psychology perspective means that the coach and client are always focusing on what’s right in life rather than what’s wrong. The coach works with the client to identify their limiting beliefs and reframe them into positives. Together, they identify solutions or goals and develop action plans to achieve these outcomes. Change can happen very quickly once beliefs and actions are aligned and supported by positive affirmations that boost self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Every day, we try to find meaning in life, and when we don’t, we become confused and search for answers. We can look back and despair, or we can look forward into a compelling future. Many people neither want nor need to see a therapist or counselor, and they choose to see a professional coach instead to help them resolve their situation and find greater happiness in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Oct 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984501936

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Dr. Susanne Knowles.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 12/03/2020

Xlibris

AU TFN: 1 800 844 927 (Toll Free inside Australia)

AU Local: 0283 108 187 ([phone] from outside Australia)

www.Xlibris.com.au

778278

ENDORSEMENTS FOR COACHING

‘I now understand how to use my strengths and work around my weaknesses to both grow in them and learn away from them. I have learnt how to think through problems extensively. I have learnt how to ask questions that allow self-awareness, tools to improve my leadership qualities, and being positive again about my career.’

‘I realised I was spending too much time doing. I wasn’t spending anywhere near enough time with the people in my team. I feel I now have a better understanding of leadership and giving direction to my team. I am now having regular catch-ups with my team. It is improving my confidence and theirs as well.’

‘My coach has made a big difference. He has opened up my mind to different ways of handling things. I am able to express myself better. I am passing on to my team there are other ways to think about things. I don’t have enough words to thank you. Everything we have done has helped me a lot. I can now take a step back and think about it for a while. It has given me more confidence.’

‘I don’t think I would have changed without a coach. I have made changes to my lifestyle both at work and personally. He kept me honest. I was struggling at the start. I was able to check in and discover when I was off track.’

‘My coach was challenging in a brilliant way, making me think deeply about a way to approach issues. I was prompted towards an answer but never given a full one until I figured it out alone, making me go through the thought processes.’

WHY THIS BOOK?

There comes a time in life when everything you’ve done starts to come together and mean something. This book is the result of my desire to share some of my life and work experiences with others, and particularly with my team at the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches (AIPC). Writing the book started out as a way of passing on my knowledge and understanding of the content included in the coaching courses delivered by the AIPC to the team so that they could better help potential students understand what coaching is and whether they would make a good coach. It ended as an abridged version of the content of each course, plus some more. As I wrote, my aim became to transfer to team members and others in the general community an understanding of how coaching skills can be so beneficial to everyone in all walks of life, and that once practised and ingrained, these skills will never be forgotten.

This book has three main purposes. First, it is my attempt to put structure around the many work and life experiences that I have had and learnt from, in the hope that these thoughts may resonate with others and help them take their next steps. Life is a journey, and if this book helps you to navigate who you are, what you stand for, where you are going, and how to get there, then my intention has been achieved.

Second, it is about how individuals navigate changes in their lives—how they cope with changes (or don’t) and how a coach can help people through the tough times as well as the good times. A coach is someone who is by your side, every step of the way. A coach guides, accepts, encourages, and motivates you to keep going, particularly when the journey gets long and hard. A coach is your best supporter no matter what your issue or concern. Most people just need someone external to their situation to be their eyes and ears to the world because their own thoughts are so internally focused that they keep running around in their head, leading back to where they started. This is where a coach can serve as a paraprofessional for ordinary, everyday people who just need a helping hand from a trained coach who is not involved in their story.

Third, it explores some of the technical aspects of coaching such as what coaching is, how it is conducted, with whom, and by whom. It outlines the benefits of coaching for individuals, teams, and organisations, as well as the various purposes for which coaching can be used to bring about self-awareness and insight; behavioural change; personal growth; performance improvement; career transition; business and strategic leadership; and innovation and change.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My gratitude and thanks go to the team at the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches during the development of this book. Particular thanks go to Joel Hudson, who stewarded the team throughout this important time, and to Glenda Waring for her proofreading and editing of the draft text and her tireless support in bringing questions, ideas, and suggestions for improvement to my attention. Readers will reap the benefits of your efforts.

Special thanks also go to Grant Herbert and the support team of People Builders and especially to Iva Naramol, who coordinated the prompt production of the graphics included in this book.

Some of the images in this book were purchased from Shutterstock.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book has been designed as an informational text for the general public to gain an understanding of coaching and how coaching can be used to benefit individuals, teams, and organisations. A second purpose for the book is as a supplementary text for students studying the various coaching courses delivered by the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches.

Each chapter is designed to provide a window of information into a particular area of coaching concern starting with how coaches help individuals gain self-awareness and insight, teams become more interpersonally effective, and organisations more successful especially during cultural and transformational change.

TAKING YOUR LEARNING FURTHER

If you are interested in learning more about coaching and how to become a professional coach, contact the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches on ([phone] or email [e-mail].

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO COACHING

Historical perspective

Definitions of coaching

How coaching works

Coaching in the workplace

Difference between coaching and mentoring

Difference between coaching and other interventions

Types of coaching

Identifying your niche market

Find your passion

Visualisation

CHAPTER 2: PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF COACHING

What is psychology?

The emergence of coaching

Using psychological theories in coaching

Behavioural Theories

Cognitive theories

Developmental theories

Humanistic theories

Personality theories

Social psychology theories

Positive psychology theories

Optimal development

Appendix 2.1: Perceptual filters

CHAPTER 3: BENEFITS OF COACHING

Benefits to individuals

Benefits to teams

Benefits to organisations

Research on the Return on Investment (ROI)

Earlier research on Return on Investment (ROI)

How to measure ROI

CHAPTER 4: PURPOSE OF COACHING

CHAPTER 5: COACHING SKILLS

Listen and observe

Active listening

Reflective listening

Ask and affirm

Open questions

Closed questions

Powerful questions

Use language to summarise

CHAPTER 6: COACHING PREPARATION

Coaching Toolkit

Your coaching approach

Coaching philosophy

Coaching principles

Coaching styles

Coaching methods

How your coaching practice will operate

Coaching biography

Coaching contract

Coaching forms

How you will relate to your clients

Your responsibilities as a coach

Your expectations of the client

The coaching relationship

Ethical coaching

Chapter 7: Coaching Process

Change is a constant

©AIPC COACH Model

Engaging a new client

First meeting with the client

Conducting the first coaching session

Second and subsequent coaching sessions

Evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching program

Group coaching programs

CHAPTER 8: COACHING IN AN ORGANISATIONAL SETTING

Executive Coaching

Who is the client?

©AIPC Executive Coaching Model

Part 1: Assessment and Feedback

Part 2: Coaching for Performance

Part 3: Coaching for Development

Conducting the coaching program in an organisational setting

Step 1: Negotiating the coaching program

Step 2: Meeting with the client and the client’s manager together

Step 3: Meeting with the client to begin the coaching program

Coaching for Performance

Coaching for Development

Table 8.1: Self-Report of actions taken towards developing soft skills

Table 8.2: Other-Report of actions the client has taken towards developing soft skills

Table 8.3: Self-Report on actions taken towards agreed goals

CHAPTER 9: COACHING FOR SELF-AWARENESS AND INSIGHT

Individual differences

Personality profiling

360° feedback instruments

Coaching needs

Coaching motivations

Coaching incentives

Silencing the inner critic

CHAPTER 10: COACHING FOR BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

Believing you can change

Getting ready to change

Stages of readiness to change

CHAPTER 11: COACHING FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Communicating effectively

Assertive communication

Aggressive communication

Passive communication

Building trusting relationships

Maintaining a healthy self-esteem

Managing stressful situations

Causes of stress

Reactions to stress

Techniques to manage stress

Managing conflictual situations

CHAPTER 12: COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

Motivating an individual employee at work

AMO model

Primary and secondary work drives

Work/organisational factors

Contemporary perspectives on motivation

Factors affecting performance at work

Consequences of job dissatisfaction

Stressors in the workplace

Coaching individuals for performance improvement

Goal setting

Action planning

Accountability

Coaching teams for performance improvement

Goal setting in a team environment

Team coaching

Positive work environment

Coaching conversations

Feedback conversations

Corridor conversations

CHAPTER 13: COACHING FOR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

Profitability

Financial planning

Business processes and systems

Customer growth and retention

Customer segments

Customer needs/preferences

Customer service

Business improvement and growth

Operational planning

Business monitoring

Business review

Appendix 13.1: Financial projections

CHAPTER 14: COACHING FOR CAREER TRANSITION

Career transition

Career transition stages

Psychological transition stages

Workplaces of the future

Global trends

Global disruptors

Changing consumer expectations

Changing workforce demographics

Employment options

Changing employment practices

Regaining employment

Employability

Marketability

Personal adaptability

Work readiness

Career

Life stages

Career stages

Career theories

Modern views on career

Career identity

Strategies to develop a new career identity

Career ambiguity

Career plan

Personal assessment

Career choices and decisions

Job search

Managing a multiple career transition assignment

CHAPTER 15: COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leadership behaviour and styles

Managerial grid

Situational leadership

Path-Goal theory

Leader-Member Exchange Leadership

Transactional leadership

Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership in an organisational setting

Emotional intelligence

Leadership styles

CHAPTER 16: COACHING FOR INNOVATION

Theoretical foundations

Two types of innovation

The innovation process

Factors supporting innovation

CHAPTER 17: COACHING FOR STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

Strategy

Competitive strategy

Strategic planning, thinking and management

Strategic leadership

Responsibilities of a strategic leader

Core competencies of a strategic leader

Strategic decisions

Decision tree

Participative decision-making

Power, politics, and influence

Power types

Organisational politics

Influence in organisations

CHAPTER 18: COACHING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

Stages in the growth of an organisation

Organisational culture

Transformational change

Communicating the changes

Operationalising the changes

Monitoring and reviewing the changes

Managing the risks

The place of coaching within a transformational change process

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO COACHING

This chapter looks at definitions of coaching and how coaching works. Coaches call themselves by different titles according to the setting in which they work and the needs of their clients—life coaching, business coaching, career transition coaching, leadership coaching, or executive coaching. Each of these terms is explained. The reader is encouraged to find his or her passion and decide if he or she would make a good coach.

Historical perspective

The beginnings of coaching as we know it today originated in the 1950s, within the sporting arena. It was not until the 1970s that coaching began to find a voice within the management and human resource fields as a developmental master–apprentice relationship, more akin to mentoring than coaching. In 2004 coaching was identified as an area of skilled expertise by the American Society for Training and Development, alongside workplace learning and performance. Over the past four decades, coaching has been viewed as a special form of intervention that helps people clarify their goals, overcome perceived or real barriers, improve their performance, and help them achieve their goals. Hence, coaching is now regarded as a valid personal and professional intervention, delivered by coaches within community, business, and corporate settings.

Coaching organisations have been established in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States since 1992. The prominent global associations are the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). The EMCC is the premier coaching association in countries such as Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. The ICF is renowned worldwide, with an estimated 97,000 members. Both the ICF and the EMCC are concerned with raising the standards of coaching and ensuring that coaching practices are conducted ethically, legally, and responsibly. These organisations accredit coaches who have received coach training through approved companies. They specify standards pertaining to quality, continuing professional development, governance, and regulatory affairs.

Because of the twenty-five-year history of coaching in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, coaching practice is now an acknowledged organisational intervention in these regions. However in other parts of the world, e.g. Australia, it is still an emerging growth industry. The main reason for the rapid uptake of coaching into organisations in the northern hemisphere is due to the increasing engagement of external coaches to coach senior executives and emerging talent. The 2016 ICF Global Coaching Survey found that individual coaches either recognised themselves as coach practitioners (internal or external to an organisation) or as managers/leaders using coaching skills within their role. In 2013, worldwide revenues from coaching were estimated at $1.5 billion USD. In 2015 this estimate increased to $2.356 billion USD, representing a 19% increase over the 2011 estimate. These figures give an indication of the prevalence of coaching interventions being delivered in corporate settings in some parts of the world.

Definitions of coaching

Within the academic literature, there is no clear definition of coaching or of when, how, and by whom it can be delivered to benefit individuals, teams, and organisations. Thirty-seven definitions of coaching exist based on the various types of coaching, the different purposes for coaching, and the different audiences (e.g. individuals or teams). Most references to coaching note that both formal or informal coaching occurs in organisations to facilitate individual learning and behavioural change.

Two definitions of coaching are utilised in the practitioner arena. According to the ICF:

‘Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative.’

This definition represents the purist form of coaching in which the coach uses coaching skills to help the client explore their issues or concerns or achieve their goals. Without any prior knowledge of the client or the situation, the coach can conduct content-free coaching with a client and still achieve amazing outcomes. Generalist issues of concern where the coach can use this purist form of coaching include situations where clients are:

• lacking in direction

• unmotivated to make the changes they know they need to make

• feeling that there’s more to life (but what is it?)

• unable to achieve their goals by themselves

• insecure about where they are headed

• experiencing problems within the family, work, or local community.

The definition put forward by the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches (AIPC) incorporates and expands on the ICF definition by positioning coaching within a solution-focused and goal-oriented framework. According to the APIC:

Australian_Institute.jpg

‘Coaching is the process of working with individuals to help them achieve their life goals and create a more positive future. This involves facilitating self-awareness of issues and problems concerning them in their work and/or personal life, or goals to be achieved. It is a supportive and encouraging process that utilises clients’ existing knowledge and strengths to help them understand their current situation, broaden their horizon, be open to other possibilities and lead them towards effective, often creative, solutions to their problems.’

This definition clearly signals that coaching is not only behaviourally based but is also aligned with performance improvement and/or goal achievement. From this perspective, coaching may assist clients who are:

• lacking in motivation and job satisfaction

• feeling unsupported at work

• experiencing communication or relationship issues with colleagues or their manager

• having difficulties managing their workload

• feeling uncertain about their future and how to safeguard their employment prospects

• seeking promotion but unsure how to go about this

• aiming to achieve work–life balance.

How coaching works

Coaching is focused on helping clients find solutions to problems or issues they are currently facing or helping them achieve their goals. Coaching assists clients in finding ways to overcome immediate problems that are holding them back from being the person they want to be and living the life they want to live. Coaches put clients back into the driver’s seat. The coach works with clients to bring about their desired change. Clients who seek coaching are usually well-functioning in their daily life, and they just want to do or achieve even more. There are no major dramas or traumas impacting on the individual at that point in time. However, if it becomes evident to the coach that there are bigger issues affecting the client’s ability to change, then referral to another professional is required. If there is a particular professional that the coach knows and trusts, who does good work as reported by a number of clients and professionals, then the coach may refer the client to that person to resolve the particular issue before the client returns to continue the coaching. However, the safest approach from the coach’s point of view is often to refer the client to their local general practitioner, who will make the most appropriate referral. Issues that need to be referred include domestic violence, threats of self-harm, bullying, and abuse of any kind.

Coaches work with individuals in their personal and professional lives as well as within intact teams in the workplace. They help people develop their effectiveness by making the changes they want to make but have had difficulty achieving by themselves in the past. To do this, coaches use a variety of communication skills which shift clients’ perspectives, thereby allowing them to discover different solutions to achieve their goals. Since coaching skills are applicable to working with clients in any field of business endeavour, coaching is a form of metaprofession which assists people across a wide range of perspectives, including personal, professional, sporting, social, family, political, and/or spiritual domains. Many clients have big plans about what they want to do, who they want to be, and what they want to become. However, they never actually do anything about it. Even though some people do appear to be successful in every sense of the word, sometimes they often feel a kind of shallowness or emptiness inside since their personal needs are not being satisfied. The coach assists clients to find out what is important to them and what helps them to create a purposeful life—a life which supports and promotes their values and ideals. Coaching helps clients identify how to use their skills to foster and live a fuller and richer life.

Coaching in the workplace

Coaching in the workplace addresses issues such as interpersonal and communication difficulties, relationship issues with the manager or colleagues, and any other issues causing employees stress or anxiety. Coaching helps clients develop skills and abilities to forge effective relationships in both their personal and professional lives. It identifies the importance of teamwork and paves the way for more effective collaboration and decision-making. Coaching is a collaborative relationship in which both coach and employee are jointly accountable for achieving the outcomes the employee and/or manager has set for them. Coaches bring essential coaching skills of rapport building, active listening, and powerful questioning to the process; employees bring knowledge of their own situation and needs. Coach and employee work together to achieve an outcome that promotes performance improvement or goal achievement, plus increases the employee’s satisfaction and happiness with work and life in general. Coaching is used to develop self-awareness and insight, and bring about behavioural change. Coaches work with employees to expand their horizons, change their perspectives, and open up their minds to other possibilities. Coaching conversations encourage discovery leading to insight, thereafter establishing goals and taking actions for which the employee is responsible and accountable. Coaches explore with employees the what-if scenarios—the world of possibilities—during which process employees discover their true selves, what motivates them, and what causes them conflict and concern. They discover their own solutions and become motivated to achieve their goals.

Difference between coaching and mentoring

Coach%20-%20Mentor.jpg

Many people use the terms coaching and mentoring interchangeably. However, whilst there are points of similarity, coaching is different from mentoring in many ways. Both promote personal as well as professional growth; however, the relationship between coach and client is different from that between mentor and mentee. Mentoring usually involves an ongoing professional relationship between a more senior manager and a talented junior employee (usually, but not always) within the same organisation, focused on assisting the employee grow and develop so as to increase his or her chance of promotion within the organisation. Mentors are often role models, and the mentoring relationship is based on the sharing of knowledge and professional experience to deepen understanding and improve effectiveness. The relationship is hierarchical rather than collaborative. The mentor has extensive skills and experience to share with the mentee, who is the recipient of this wisdom. There is a power distance between them. On the other hand, the relationship between coach and client is that of equals, in which both bring something to the table to achieve a specific outcome, e.g. performance improvement, role clarification, conflict resolution. Coaching may be conducted by coaches either internal or external to the organisation. Mentors can coach, but coaches do not usually mentor the same person.

Difference between coaching and other interventions

At times, coaching can be confused with counselling. The major difference is that counsellors focus on the past to help clients resolve deep-seated issues or traumatic incidents that occurred in childhood, or when they were teenagers or young adults. Therapy to resolve these issues is conducted by trained counsellors or psychologists and typically occurs in a community or family relations centre. The counsellor or psychologist utilises therapeutic techniques to resolve prolonged and/or difficult situations of a severe nature. Such situations usually relate to family dysfunction, domestic violence, various forms of abuse, drug and alcohol dependency, etc. When the issue is resolved, the counsellor provides ongoing assistance and support to the individual and/or family to rebuild a better future.

Within the workplace, coaching can also be confused with training and supervision. Training is the provision of knowledge and instruction so that a new skill or technique is acquired to assist people do their jobs better or faster or more efficiently or effectively. The outcomes of training programs are significantly enhanced when the training is paired with or informed by coaching. Research has found that only 20% of training outcomes are maintained in the long term; however, when coaching is conducted immediately following the training to reinforce the new skills back in the workplace, an 80% transfer rate is achieved (Joyce & Showers, 1988). Supervision is the process of observing another person for the purpose of providing feedback on the work that is performed. Supervisors provide opportunities for an individual to reflect on their performance and receive constructive feedback from a more experienced person, with the aim of advancing their knowledge and skills. Ideally, performance feedback takes place at regular intervals via coaching conversations.

Types of coaching

The model of coaching presented in this book can apply to any one of the following types of coaching—life, business, leadership, career transition, or executive coaching. Coaches combine their coaching skills with their pre-existing knowledge, skills, and experience in a particular area to work with targeted clients to achieve their desired coaching outcomes. For those people aspiring to become a coach, the type of coach training that would best suit your needs depends on three things:

• your expertise—background, work experience and specific skill set

• your target market—the clients you wish to work with

• the title you wish to work under or be known by—the title which will give you greatest credibility within your target group (aligned with your knowledge, skills, and experience).

Australian_Institute.jpg

The Diploma of Professional Coaching offered by the Australian Institute of Professional Coaches is the base course that prepares people to become excellent coaches no matter what field they work in. Becoming a professional coach can be personally and professionally challenging, as you learn more about yourself as well as how to help others succeed in life. The five most common types of coaching are Life Coaching, Business Coaching, Career Transition Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and Executive Coaching.

Life

Life Coaching is typically conducted in a community setting with individuals and groups of all ages and stages in life, e.g. mothers returning to work, social workers wanting to develop better communication and assertiveness skills, professionals wanting to rapidly build rapport with clients. Life coaches typically establish their own business and transition into it full-time as their income from coaching grows. Alternatively, life coaching is an ideal skill set for individuals wanting to offer coaching as an additional service to their current clients, e.g. personal trainer, hairdresser, family day-care operator. Life coaches explore various issues with clients relating to communication, relationships, motivation, assertiveness, stress, conflict resolution, and negotiation. They learn how to support clients through problem identification and exploration of possible solutions into action planning and accountability, all the while providing support and motivation to assist them accomplish their ideal end result. In addition, life coaches help clients achieve their most desired future, helping them to clearly identify their goals and ways to get there.

Business

Business Coaching is typically conducted in a small business environment with the owner or manager of the business. Issues may relate to business profitability, viability or growth, client retention, and staff management. The coach works with the client to understand the client’s situation, identify the best possible future and help the client gain insight into the solutions that are within them. The coaching sessions identify the business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, develop strategies based on market research into customer needs and trends, determine business performance measures, and compare business results with industry standards, using business data to build growth and wealth. Setting clear goals is the first step to action planning and measuring the results. At times, education or training may be needed as an additional intervention.

Career Transition

Career Transition Coaching may be conducted in either community or corporate settings with individuals who wish to make a career change voluntarily (e.g. seeking promotion, retiring) or with those who have had a career change forced upon them involuntarily (e.g. being let go or redunded). Both groups need or want to find a new job. First, the coach works with the client to explore the emotions that surround their circumstances and develop a desired future moving forward. Next the coach focuses on two important aspects which are critical to securing the client’s next position—their employability and marketability. These two factors, together with the client’s readiness to take up a new position, de-identify with their current organisation and re-identify with a new organisation, are explored.

Leadership

Leadership Coaching is typically conducted in a corporate setting with middle managers and emerging leaders. The coach works with leaders to help them become more inspiring and motivational with their teams and others, manage change projects more effectively keeping the people aspects in mind, and navigate organisational communications more successfully, including their own visibility and influence within the organisation across all levels. Leaders then go on to coach their direct reports by having scheduled coaching, feedback, and corridor conversations on a regular basis to improve employee performance, increase employee engagement, and retain talent.

Executive

Executive Coaching is typically conducted with the CEO and senior executives in organisations, and at times, with members of the Board. The executive coach acts as a sounding board, helping busy and time-poor executives isolate their issues or concerns and gain clarity on a specific goal, before undertaking action planning with them. Issues may relate to the performance of the organisation, strategic direction, relationships with colleagues, communication issues, assertiveness, etc. Executive Coaches typically operate their own business.

Identifying your niche market

The coach may start out focusing on enhancing the lives of people in a particular section of the population (e.g. women, teenagers, child care workers, personal trainers, employees) and/or working on one particular aspect of the client’s life (e.g. personal goals, communication skills, career). However as time goes by, the coaching sessions typically explore many aspects of the client’s work and family situations, the coach partnering with clients to help them gain insight, become open to other possibilities and discover the solutions that lie within, thereby maximizing their personal and professional potential. Coaching is a highly effective form of personal and professional development in which the client and coach create an alliance that promotes and sustains the client’s personal growth and development. This powerful relationship enables the client to give up who they are now for who they want to become.

Find your passion

64364.png

As a coach, you will be helping many others solve their problems or achieve their goals. How about you?

• What are your goals?

• What are