15 May Considering getting a coach? Top tips to help you get the most out of coaching
It’s International Coaching Week this week and to mark the occasion this is the second coaching related blog I’ve written and it’s for anyone considering getting a coach.
The reasons why people consider getting a coach vary greatly and tend to largely depend on their situation however, it tends to boil down to one overarching reason: someone wanting to change something. It may be that they have a lack of confidence and self-esteem and are looking to become more confident. They may be in some form of transition and looking for help transitioning from one role to another e.g from a non-manager to manager. It could be that someone isn’t performing as well as they could and therefore need some support to get improve their performance. It could also be that someone has a challenging relationship that they want to be able to manage better. Coaching can cover all of these areas and much more.
If you are considering getting a coach here are my top tips to help you get the most out of your coaching sessions:
What are you looking for coaching to help you with?
To get the most from coaching it’s helpful to be clear on what it is specifically you are looking to get coached on. As already mentioned it usually comes down to wanting to change something that is currently having an impact on your life, but it might be work related, it might be personal, it may be both. So before engaging with a coach think about what you would like to change as you may want to choose a coach who has specific experience and has helped other people with similar challenges to yours.
We’ve all heard of SMART objectives and whether you like them or loathe them, it does provide a helpful structure to prepare for coaching. As the more specific you can be on what you want to get from the coaching the better. Are you able to measure it so you will know if you are making progress in the right direction? Is what you are looking for help with achievable? Is it realistic? What’s the timeframe? These are all helpful starter questions to get you into the right headspace for coaching and I would recommend doing this before you meet with your coach.
In my experience people want and use coaching for different reasons and I include myself in this. It might be something in the here and now, it might be something in the future, it might be both but be prepared to share what it is. Basically the more thinking you can do beforehand the better. Having said that some people aren’t 100% sure what they want to focus on when they come to the first coaching session and that’s ok, as a skillful coach will be able to help you with this.
Do your homework and research
Not all coaches are made equal. With the explosion of coaches in the UK alone there are lots of people out there calling themselves “coaches” who don’t have the necessary experience, training, qualifications or accreditation. This is the reality of an unregulated profession which is why you need to do your homework before choosing a coach to work with.
Good coaches should be able to provide you with a biography about themselves outlining the type of coaching they do, their experience and what sorts of things they have helped other coaching clients with in the past. Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials and feedback from their past coaching clients as well as evidence of their coaching training and qualifications or accreditations if they have them.
Good coaches should also offer a free chemistry session so you can meet them and get a feel for them, their coaching style and approach before committing. This is your opportunity to check them out and see if they are someone you can and want to work with. The chemistry has to be there and you should feel comfortable enough to be able to share personal information with them.
Talk to friends, family and colleagues to find out if they have had any experience of coaching and how they found it. This will give you a good idea to know what to expect and the process. Good coaches come highly recommended so you might be given some names of coaches that people have used in the past or be directed to find reputable coaches. For example there are Coach Directories out there that the professional bodies publish which is a list of coaches who have trained with them or are accredited through them. However, word of mouth like with all things is always the best place to start.
Be prepared to change and put the work in
You get out what you put in – never a truer phrase could describe coaching. Coaching is a commitment and often people don’t make sufficient time for it and therefore when they haven’t progressed as quickly or as much as they would have liked they get disappointed and potentially de-motivated.
Coaching is not something that is done to you, it is a highly engaging, cognitive, participative and experiential activity that should feel like a mental workout not just in the coaching sessions but outside of them as well. Good coaching should carry on outside of the coaching sessions and there should always be things for you to think about, action, try out and practice in between your coaching sessions.
Coaching is about wanting to do something differently or better so it involves change and as we know, human beings find it hard to change. I often use the analogy of exercising a muscle that doesn’t get used that often to described the coaching process. It’s like going to the gym or taking up a sport again after some time out. It will feel uncomfortable maybe painful at first, but the more you exercise the easier and less painful it becomes.
To give you an idea as to the types of things I have helped coach individuals on and what to expect from coaching, here are some snippets from coaching testimonials I’ve received from individuals I have coached:
Senior Project Lead from a FMCG organisation
“Katherine helped me to think through and come to a decision with regards to a career move. She gives enough space for you to think things through but also prompts with new ways of thinking at the right time. She is very non-judgmental and impartial and builds trust very quickly and easily. She asks you to be clear upfront what it is you are looking to get from the coaching session which allows you to get the best of her time. The end result being that I had the confidence to take the role that was out of my comfort zone”.
Head of Marketing from a FinTech organisation
“Katherine most effectively coached me on:
- How to be an authentic leader of people
- How to demonstrate executive presence
- Techniques for managing up and down
- How to improve my self-awareness and challenge negative triggers
- Challenging my confidence issues
- How to challenge my judgement / assumptions of others and improve my acceptance of others
- How to use habits such as journaling to monitor my behaviours – positive and negative
- How to connect with my core values to lead with integrity and trust
She also set me challenging yet realistic tasks after each session. These were often difficult and out of my comfort zone and helped me find my own answers to my own challenges”.
Head of Shared Services from an online gaming organisation
“Over the last 6 years I have taken on 6 roles across 3 different companies and industries. Prior to be coached by Katherine I had been in the same company for over 4 years. The movements within my career have allowed me to gain invaluable experiences to develop and become an expert in my field which has recently led to a promotion to a Head of level position”.
As you can see from these coaching testimonials, coaching can help people in a variety of different ways and is a very individual experience. I personally think that coaching is one of the best personal development activities you can invest in for yourself, but if you want to truly develop you have to be prepared to commit and put the work in. If you do that you will have a truly transformative experience and end up wishing you had had some coaching sooner.
I am often asked by people whether they would benefit from having a coach and my answer is simple – yes you would. Everyone can benefit from having a coach. Well of course we would say that right, but having personally benefitted from coaching throughout my career to date, I can speak personally and authentically about the value and impact it can have as well as the value and impact I see that it has on all the individuals I have coached over the years.
Katherine is an experienced and accredited professional coach-mentor who is passionate about all things coaching, having seen coaching work successfully in a number of organisations and having coached many people at all different levels in her career to date.
Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @talentologyltd
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