Well the short answer is…. in lots of ways.
What is coaching?
Coaching is defined by Whitmore (2002) as…“unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” The coach empowers the client to achieve this aim through deep listening plus purposeful questioning that both supports and challenges thinking. Coaches often employ practical and psychological tools to encourage multiple perspectives and personal reflection.
How can it help me at work?
To give you a flavour of how coaching can help you, here are a few typical questions that clients might bring to coaching and the kind of areas that might be explored.
- Am I in the right job?
Exploring might start with what is “right” for you. This would involve a holistic look at what is important to you regarding your job – this would include examining practical considerations like location, flexibility, travel, income etc and more psychological elements like status, self-worth, ambition, motivators and value-alignment.
- How do I become a better employee/ manager/ director?
This often starts with a look perceptions – what does better mean to you? Your coach might guide you to an area of focus by asking what actual outcome you are seeking? Once identified then a specific area of skills or behaviour may be explored. This may involve looking at skillsets and strengths you hold compared to the skills of a particular role, then looking at steps to close any gaps. This could also involve looking at some behaviours – what is it you want to change and why? Observations, feedback or videos might help identify exactly current behaviour and what change you are seeking.
- How do I get the confidence to do “x” at work?
There are many reasons someone lacks confidence so getting to understand what is causing the client to feel this way would be a starting point. Maybe practice is helpful for your client so the coach may role play conversations, interviews or presentations. Maybe reframing is necessary to minimize client fears. However, sometimes confidence issues relate to childhood experiences – this is where counselling can play an important part so your coach may refer you to a counsellor if the issue has a deeper origin.
- How do I decide on which career path to take?
Coaching is very helpful for decision-making. It offers an opportunity for the client to stand back and observe all their options more objectively. The coach can often help them devise even more options and offer new perspectives on the choices tabled. The coach can challenge you on your decision-making assessment criteria and using a variety of tools and techniques help you to assess the options in a way that works well for you.
- How do I manage this tricky situation at work?
Situations at work can be complicated especially if multiple people are involved. Coaches can help you to map out your network and understand its interconnectedness. It may be useful to look at each member of the network and to explore their position, opinion or perspective and what outcome they would want to achieve.
These are just examples of approaches that can be used to provide some insight into what coaches can offer. Every client and every issue is unique and coaches will adapt to meet the needs of their clients and their particular topics.
What does it involve?
Coaching would usually start with a short chemistry call to discuss your topic and the ways of working e.g. confidentiality, format, number of sessions, cost etc. Typically at the first coaching session the outcome or objective is explored and the client articulates what success would look like for them. The full coaching programme will typically consist of 6-8 one hour coaching sessions
Want to find out more?
If you’re interested in learning more about workplace coaching and how it can benefit your business or career, be sure to visit the Counsellor Hub on our website. Our platform offers a range of resources, including articles, webinars, and training courses, all designed to help you develop your coaching skills and achieve your professional goals.
Whether you’re an experienced coach looking to expand your knowledge or a business owner seeking to implement coaching programs in your workplace, our team of experts is here to support you every step of the way. So why wait? Visit the our Counsellor Hub today and start unlocking your full potential!