What is coaching?
Coaching gives you time to step away from the day-to-day demands of your business and think properly about what’s going on. It’s a confidential conversation where you can speak openly, explore your options and decide what you want to do next.
You don’t need to arrive with a neatly defined goal. You might be weighing up a decision, feeling stretched too thin, wondering what needs to change, or finding that you keep putting off something important. We start with what matters to you.
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as:
"partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership."
What happens in a session?
I’ll listen, ask questions and help you look at things from different angles. We might explore what you want from your business, what’s getting in the way, and whether the assumptions behind a decision still hold true. From there, you can work out a next step that feels right for you.
The focus is on helping you think more clearly and make your own decisions. Coaching can lead to practical actions, but there’s space to examine the bigger picture too, including how you want your business to fit into your life.
"We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfilment." International Coaching Federation.
Coaching or consultancy?
Sometimes you need room to think. Sometimes you need advice or hands-on help. Coaching offers the first; through business consultancy, I can also offer practical input based on my experience in marketing and working with small businesses.
We can agree which approach would be most useful for the issue you’re facing. I’ll be clear when I’m working as a coach and when I’m offering advice.
What can we work on?
Most of the people I work with run small businesses, but the things they bring to coaching rarely fit into one tidy category. A decision about the business might also involve confidence, a difficult working relationship, a career change or the amount of time they have for life outside work.
You might want to talk through a new direction, feel more confident making decisions, find a better way to manage your workload, or work out why something you care about keeps getting pushed aside. We’ll focus on what matters most to you, whether that starts with a business question or something more personal.
I also have experience coaching people outside business, including within professional sport. If your situation is different, you’re welcome to get in touch and we can see whether I’m the right person to help.