Coach Development

I never cease to be amazed how many lessons I can draw from my yoga practice that inform my coaching practice... Last week I was in a class and found myself in a particularly challenging pose and felt a really big stretch on some tight ligaments in my right hip. It was uncomfortable and my mind immediately started complaining and thinking about ways to avoid the discomfort. What if I wriggle a bit? What if I shift the weight across to the other side a bit? What if I lift myself up a bit? As though by magic or psychic ...

Let's explore the importance of ‘checking in’ with our clients during a coaching conversation. What I notice is that most often it happens towards the end of the conversation only and yet, if done more frequently, can often lead to more and deeper learning and awareness for clients. It can also support us as coaches to remain curious and present with our clients and keep out of their way as they process and learn and helps us to avoid deciding what needs to be worked on. Here, we will explore: The purpose of checking in with our clients. How often ...

As an executive coach, I’ve had the privilege to work with clients from a variety of industries and backgrounds. Each of my clients has their own unique challenges and expectations of what coaching can do for them. However, one common theme I’ve observed and validated with client feedback is that coaching has helped them explore their potential in a deeper way than they could have done on their own. One of the tools coaches use to 'go deeper' is a 360. Receiving feedback from peers, managers, subordinates, and even clients can shine a light not just on the 'gap areas' ...

French composer Claude Debussy said, 'Music is the space between the notes.' I like to think that the transformation in coaching happens in the silence between the words. A few years ago, I was working with the academic leader of a large pharmaceutical company. Although the coachee was based in the USA, he was originally from the Asia Pacific region, and English was not his first language. Given that I have extensive experience working across different cultures, I felt we would be a good fit to work together. However, as we started working, I quickly began to wonder whether I ...

A Beginning to an Ending And then I remember, the tree is shedding her wondrous cloak of many colours So she can conserve her energy, go inwards for some quiet contemplation To then come back and say ‘hello’ later through tiny buds with much potential and growth And joy to come again - new leaves, new buds, pretty blossoms and juicy fruits Yes, indeed, as the leaves fall, it is truly bittersweet An extract from the poem ‘As the Leaves Fall’ by Gillian Gabriel, 2022 As I walked by I called out, 'Good morning Cherry!' Reader, meet Cherry… Cherry, meet ...

I have had clients stuck in their limiting beliefs and assumptions that they and their situations are a certain way, impossible to change. Those beliefs have affected their potential to achieve what they want in life. But coaching has helped them to question whether their beliefs are valid and true. Through coaching sessions, the client often realises that these beliefs and assumptions aren’t true and don’t serve them. Helpful questions include: What evidence do you have that this belief about yourself is true? What evidence do you have that the belief is not true? What is possible when you use ...

We are relatively new to the exciting world of coaching. That is, we are relatively new to why and how it should be done. Most businesses these days will talk about having a positive, people-first culture and probably think they are already providing coaching for their employees. But the reality is that to be a proper coach, training is needed. Coaching is becoming a required skill among managers and senior leaders; because of that, employees are feeling that they are supported at the workplace. We have found this ourselves as we promote a supportive environment at Law At Work and ...

Just like Lewis Carroll’s Alice, curiosity has been my constant companion as I move deeper into the ‘wonderland’ of transformational coaching. Curiosity is a fundamental cornerstone of coaching others. More than a state of mind, it manifests as a behaviour demonstrated in our use of powerful questions — how we listen, respond, reframe and then listen again — all core elements of the ICF competency framework. It keeps us humble, allows us to explore and stay open to new possibilities, minimising the possibility of falling prey to assumptions. As Elizabeth Smith noted in her article on curiosity as a superpower, ...

One of the great premises in professional coaching lies in trusting in the client's potential of achieving new and greater results for themselves. Whether that potential is known or unknown to the client, the coach stands as a true partner in helping that potential come to life. To that end, professional coaches have several tools at their disposal. One of the most important ones is the ability to ask powerful and insightful questions under the assumption that there are no right or wrong, true or false answers where curiosity and intuition pave the way. It is in this exercise to ...