What are the key benefits from using a Coach?
Anny Bodenstein, Coaching Psychologist and Executive Coach
Key benefits of using a coach include developing psychological flexibility by encouraging clients to explore different perspectives on their challenges and opportunities. An expanded perspective-taking ability allows clients to respond more adaptively to life’s demands.
Through coaching, clients can build resilience and confidence by leveraging their strengths and reframing limiting beliefs. This adaptability and self-confidence are key to psychological wellbeing and have a positive impact on an individual’s ability to create consistent habits over time that are linked to increased performance.
Coaching is valuable in a wide range of situations, not just when clients are struggling, but also when they want to improve their performance, much like an athlete works with a coach to enhance their game. Coaching can be particularly useful during significant life transitions, such as taking on new career roles or transitioning from one leadership level to the next, where the complexity of work increases and individuals may not feel fully prepared. It can help when feeling stuck, experiencing misalignment, or working towards a new role.
Coaching is also beneficial for those looking to grow in their leadership capacity, fulfil their true potential, or ensure their growth trajectory continues even when things are going well.
In what circumstances would you use a coach?
Dr Julie Luscombe – Professional Coach
Coaching is invaluable when someone is experiencing a specific problem or challenge at work or outside work that they want to overcome. Examples include:
- Individuals or teams who find they have too much to do and not enough time and as a result feel like they are doing nothing particularly well at home or work.
- New or current leaders who want to explore how to fulfil their role to the best of their ability.
- Individuals who want to build their confidence in order to take a next step – at work or home.
- Individuals who are interested in exploring a change in career or direction and wish to explore their options.
The list is endless in terms of what someone may want to bring to a coaching partnership and there are local coaches who specialise in these different areas, offering confidential thinking space to explore how best to move forward.
However, coaching is not just there for when there are problems. A growing number of people are turning to professional coaching for support in identifying and living out their vision and purpose so that they can live their lives in a meaningful way for them.
Partnering with a professional coach can unlock your hidden or forgotten potential and set you on the path to thriving both personally and professionally.
We only have one life – although I’m reminded of a Chinese proverb that states ‘we have two lives: the second one only begins when we realise, we only have one.’
How can career coaching contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and businesses?
Clare Humpleby – Career Coach
When businesses invest in career coaching support for their colleagues, it’s typically because they understand how effective pro-active career management is in enhancing organisational culture and performance. Beneficial in a variety of circumstances, career coaching can help individuals navigate change (either professional or personal), achieve their personal development objectives, overcome challenges (for example, confidence, resilience, work-related stress, or work-life balance issues), and create and action plans to support their future career goals.
Personalised professional coaching acts as a powerful tool for enhancing wellbeing in the workplace. It boosts employee engagement by providing opportunities for colleagues to take ownership of their career advancement and personal growth and, in an increasingly competitive job market, it positively impacts employee retention levels by ensuring talented colleagues are developing and thriving within an organisation that demonstrates that it values them and their unique career needs and aspirations
How does coaching support the coachee?
Lesley Mourant – Leadership Coach
Coaching can be used in all areas of life whether it’s overcoming a particular challenge, planning for the future, or navigating the day to day. If you’ve never experienced coaching before there can sometimes be confusion in understanding what makes a coaching conversation different to other conversations, you might have such as mentoring or therapy.
“We must take our responsibility and help others to do the same, we do not have all the answers, but we can help others to find theirs.” ~ Sir John Whitmore
In mentoring the mentor is the other side of a similar journey and is ready to impart knowledge and support their mentee. In coaching the coach creates a partnership with their coachee promising to journey alongside them. Therapy puts the past under a microscope and attempts to heal the individual.
A coaching conversation is concerned with moving forward, building possibilities, and taking action.
Final words from Sue:
The coaching industry is rapidly increasing – according to the reports, it is the second fastest growing industry behind IT with a 62% increase in revenue. The value of coaching and the support that it provides alongside counselling and therapy is impressive. Professional standards of integrity and ethical coaching are in high demand and large institutes are changing their orientation toward coaching and coaching management styles. Not only are large corporates using the skills of coaching and embedding a coaching culture, smaller organisations and individuals are leading the charge by employing coaches for both individual and team purposes.
We have seen an increase in qualified, accredited coaches, where people have embarked on their own personal journey of discovery. The principles of coaching are becoming more widely recognised and are paramount to personal growth and effectiveness and we as coaches have a responsibility to uphold the highest levels of integrity whilst educating all on the merits of this wonderful practice.
