Coaching

Coaching to Succeed: Venus's coaching specialist Sarah Smith explains the benefits of effective coaching.

Think of coaching and, depending on what life stage you’re at, you are likely to think about the tennis instructor at your local David Lloyd who has promised to turn you into the next Amelie Mauresmo, or alternatively whether you remembered to book the extra maths tuition for your son this week. However while its background evolved from sports coaching in the US, management coaching has become a mainstream development tool for many UK businesses and business professionals.

What is coaching?

It is a one to one relationship with a skilled and experienced coach whose aim is to support you and challenge you to reach the goals you set yourself. A coach formalises the idea of having a sounding board – a great coach will ask questions, listen and probe, helping you to look at issues in a different way that can unblock any obstructions to achieving your goals.

Most importantly, a coach will help you come to your own decisions. It is not about giving advice, or telling someone what they should do. It works on the premise that everyone has their own answers inside – they just need to be unlocked. A coach will ask the questions that help to find the key to each lock.

I sometimes think that coaching is like standing with your client in a house with many windows facing many different aspects. Some of the windows look out onto beautiful views like mountains or seascapes, others onto the mundane like washing lines or dustbins. As a coach, my job is to encourage my clients to look out of as many different windows as possible, and explore the views from outside. Some clients have even sold up and moved!

Coaching is more than just a talking shop though, It’s about getting into action so that you can reach your goals. At the end of sessions clients produce an action list or some ideas to consider before the next session. If they want me to, I’ll hold them accountable for these actions when I next see them.

There has been a strong movement in the last 10 years to formalise the training of coaches and their accreditation because the term ‘coach’ has become used in a loose way by people who are consultants, mentors or trainers. Organisations like the Association of Coaching and the International Coaching Federation exist to promote standards and give credibility to management coaches.

When do you need coaching?

The Benefits?

As a coach I always have the person I am coaching’s best interests at heart. Coaches want you to succeed and don’t have any axe to grind. You may know yourself, that there are some issues that you wouldn’t want to raise with your boss or a colleagues. The neutrality of a coach give you a safe space to open up and benefit from what is pure ‘me time’. One busy senior executive told me that her sessions felt like a ‘massage’ because she feels so supported. Whilst others have said that being in coaching session feels like a challenging ‘workout’.

Why do I need coaching when I have a friend to confide in?

In future issues I shall be writing a coaching column which looks at a different aspect of coaching and also providing a coaching clinic for any specific issues. If you have a coaching dilemma or would like to hear more about a particular aspect of coaching do email me at sks@btconnect.com

Before you start – finding the right coach and laying the foundations?

•Choose a coach whose chemistry fits both the company and the person being coached. It is a very personal relationship and needs to be the right experience.

•Look at what the coach has done in the past, his or her track record. Ask for references from previous clients and also check that he or she has the required qualifications (two of the main accreditors are The International Coaches Federation and The Association for Coaching).

•Be clear with the coach about the outcome you are looking for

•Agree with the coach how you are going to review the coaching. Coaching is confidential, but clients often find it useful to review what they have learnt from coaching with their manager.

Case Study – Gillian Gibbons (founder of Wychwood Communications)

Sarah Smith AIPD

As an experienced management coach and trainer, Sarah Smith delivers one-to-one coaching to senior managers and directors. Her coaching sessions provide senior executives with the means to enhance their leadership skills and redefine their relationship with their staff to bring about greater motivation, enhanced skills and improved performance. Working in parallel with the business needs, Sarah is also able to help her clients define their personal objectives and goals, gain greater clarity about their values and find satisfying ways of working that align with business needs and result in improved job satisfaction, commitment and productivity.

Areas of focus include:

oPerformance Improvement

oPersonal Development

oTeam Effectiveness

Sarah has worked previously with a wide range of clients in both private and public sectors, from blue-chip financial services organisations to local government offices. Clients have included Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Royal and Sun Alliance, Standard Life Healthcare, various Government Departments, Cohn Wolfe PR, RBS Insurance

As a Master Practitioner of NLP, Sarah has trained in transactional analysis and

re-evaluation co-counselling, and is skilled in designing and facilitating leadership and team development programmes. She is a member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and holds a BA Honours degree.

Sarah is co-founder of Indigo Spirit, a coaching partnership that provides coaching and leadership development.