Life & Executive Coaching: How We Work Together

Coaching is a process that takes place in a conversational relationship between you and your coach and during the work you do between sessions. You will set the agenda (that is, you choose what you want to work on) and the coach manages the process. Coaching begins with your identifying what it is you want from the coaching process. Sometimes you may not even be quite sure; you just know you want things to change. Or you may come wanting one change and realize as we progress that in fact isn't really what the issue is. An important purpose of the initial coaching sessions is to help you gain clarity and focus on what you really want.

A common map for coaching involves increasing clarity around the issue you want to work on, conversations to deepen your awareness and insight around the issue(s), exploration and identification of your intentions, expanding your choices by generating options and possibilities, choosing, committing, defining the outcome and the actions you will take and ongoing accountability checks.

I will work with you to help you become clear on what you want to change or make happen in your life, then assist you to set goals, develop an action plan, and to begin to put that plan in place and start creating what you want. It is important that we communicate honestly. I will listen, question, challenge, and provide clear feedback in a firm and compassionate manner. A foundational component of effective coaching is powerful evocative questioning. Coaching builds on client's strengths, and helps clients anticipate and plan for how to proceed when they encounter barriers or get stuck.

Some things you can expect from me as your coach are:

• A collaborating partner working for your career success and personal happiness.
• Someone whose focus is you and helping you get what you want. No hidden agendas or conflicting relationship, friendship or professional colleague issues.
• Someone to help you create a vision of the future you want and hold that vision for you.
• A sounding board for your ideas and someone to brainstorm with.
• Objective feedback backed by experience and coach training. I will be frank with you about what I see and hear. If I sense you are on the wrong track I let you know it. I will ask powerful direct questions.
• Support when the going gets tough.
• Someone to encourage you, acknowledge your efforts and successes and celebrate your victories with you.
• Someone who holds you accountable to your commitments to yourself and keeps you on track to reach your goals.
• A strategist to work with you on the nuts and bolts of your career and life plan. To help you decide what to do, and when and how to do it.
• Someone who believes in you, helps you learn to trust yourself and "raise the bar" to reach for changes in your career and personal life that you may have not thought possible.