A rediscovery of inner self and personal meaning should come from coaching sessions
Personal coaches see executives as humans first. With a broader mandate than “executive coaches” who focus on career and workplace interactions, personal coaches (PCs) take a holistic approach, supporting the concept that happier people make better employees.
While coaching can be used for all levels of employment, from entry-level to CEOs, the higher the position, the greater the challenge. Corporate executives have a myriad of expectations to meet, in both their careers and personal lives, and often have a hard time fitting these pieces together in harmony and balance. A PC can help solve the puzzle.
So what does a CEO want that’s different from another person? Possibilities include: the company gaining a competitive edge, a promotion, the feeling of reaching peak performance, financial reward or recognition.
On the personal side, a CEO may want to feel less overwhelmed, spend more time with family or desire something as simple as having more free time to play golf. Clarity around how to get what one wants and needs — professionally and personally — draws executives and others to a PC.
Just as athletes employ coaches to maximize their potential, executives hire PCs to help achieve their “personal best” in a variety of life situations — including career change, advancement, job satisfaction, financial reward and work-life balance. Accessing untapped potential within themselves and their associates unlocks new and creative solutions to old challenges.
PCs are trained professionals who work with clients as partners, helping clarify objectives in order to achieve goals and explore new perspectives and opportunities — that’s the formal definition which explains the practical side of coaching.
But a PC also helps a client rediscover inner self, finding passion, energy and meaning in one’s life — that’s the “heart” version. Coaching brings head and heart together in a powerful alliance, creating an enviable work-life balance.
This relationship between client and coach is an alliance between two equals to create fertile ground for meeting the needs of the client. The coach maintains the client is creative, resourceful and whole — not in need of fixing, directing or programming.
In a coaching alliance, client and coach form a relationship of trust, challenge, and curiosity that encourages the exploration of different possibilities. By using thought-provoking questions, coaches help people discover their own answers and assist in developing plans, previewing outcomes and moving forward toward their goals.
PCs advise business leaders on the competencies needed to succeed. Having leaders who are aware of their own abilities — as well as those of co-workers — brings a sense of unity and purpose to the workplace culture that spells out bottom-line success.
Personal coaching enables executives to integrate personal and professional goals with their own values. It’s difficult to reach peak performance and enjoy the achievement if a person’s values don’t align with those of the company. Staying true to personal values is priceless.
Working with a PC can help executives identify their own needs, as well as those of the organization. Coaches listen to, acknowledge and champion clients. They support, encourage and hold them accountable, moving towards effective time management, organization, team building, problem solving, planning and budgeting.
Accountability is key in this process. PCs help clients create plans of action and break them down into distinct steps with deadlines. The coach and client establish what is to be done, when it’s to be done and how the coach will know it’s done. It’s not therapy or counselling. One astute observation states that, “If a therapist is a shrink, then a coach is a stretch.”
This kind of coaching often takes place during four half-hour sessions per month, by phone or in person. On-site or telephone group coaching is also an option. Not every coach suits every client, so it is beneficial to request a sample session before coming to a coaching-term agreement.
Many coaches offer and encourage unlimited e-mail between sessions for clients to vent, celebrate or just feel like someone cares about what’s going on with them. A lot of the real process happens between the sessions while the client is working on the homework — exercises designed to get the client into action, as well as deepen the learning about who they are and how they want to design their world.
Fees generally range from $200 to $500 per month for individuals and corporate group arrangements are made with mutually agreeable terms. The first place to go for those interested in finding a coach is the Internet. There are vast amounts of information on coaching and coaching associations including the International Coach Federation at www.coachfederation.com. Contact ICF or any other coaching institute and ask for a referral. ICF is a good starting point since it has set uniform standards of competency for coaches.
Currently, there are no laws in place requiring coaches to be licenced, however, many coaches have graduated from comprehensive courses offered by institutions such as The Coaches Training Institute (www.thecoaches.com), Coach U (www.coachu.com) or the Adler school (www.adlerontario.com).
Sharon Kerpan is a personal, career and creativity coach for Coaching Insight Out. She is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute’s Co-Active Coaching Training course. She can be reached at (519) 925-5942 or [email protected].
While coaching can be used for all levels of employment, from entry-level to CEOs, the higher the position, the greater the challenge. Corporate executives have a myriad of expectations to meet, in both their careers and personal lives, and often have a hard time fitting these pieces together in harmony and balance. A PC can help solve the puzzle.
So what does a CEO want that’s different from another person? Possibilities include: the company gaining a competitive edge, a promotion, the feeling of reaching peak performance, financial reward or recognition.
On the personal side, a CEO may want to feel less overwhelmed, spend more time with family or desire something as simple as having more free time to play golf. Clarity around how to get what one wants and needs — professionally and personally — draws executives and others to a PC.
Just as athletes employ coaches to maximize their potential, executives hire PCs to help achieve their “personal best” in a variety of life situations — including career change, advancement, job satisfaction, financial reward and work-life balance. Accessing untapped potential within themselves and their associates unlocks new and creative solutions to old challenges.
PCs are trained professionals who work with clients as partners, helping clarify objectives in order to achieve goals and explore new perspectives and opportunities — that’s the formal definition which explains the practical side of coaching.
But a PC also helps a client rediscover inner self, finding passion, energy and meaning in one’s life — that’s the “heart” version. Coaching brings head and heart together in a powerful alliance, creating an enviable work-life balance.
This relationship between client and coach is an alliance between two equals to create fertile ground for meeting the needs of the client. The coach maintains the client is creative, resourceful and whole — not in need of fixing, directing or programming.
In a coaching alliance, client and coach form a relationship of trust, challenge, and curiosity that encourages the exploration of different possibilities. By using thought-provoking questions, coaches help people discover their own answers and assist in developing plans, previewing outcomes and moving forward toward their goals.
PCs advise business leaders on the competencies needed to succeed. Having leaders who are aware of their own abilities — as well as those of co-workers — brings a sense of unity and purpose to the workplace culture that spells out bottom-line success.
Personal coaching enables executives to integrate personal and professional goals with their own values. It’s difficult to reach peak performance and enjoy the achievement if a person’s values don’t align with those of the company. Staying true to personal values is priceless.
Working with a PC can help executives identify their own needs, as well as those of the organization. Coaches listen to, acknowledge and champion clients. They support, encourage and hold them accountable, moving towards effective time management, organization, team building, problem solving, planning and budgeting.
Accountability is key in this process. PCs help clients create plans of action and break them down into distinct steps with deadlines. The coach and client establish what is to be done, when it’s to be done and how the coach will know it’s done. It’s not therapy or counselling. One astute observation states that, “If a therapist is a shrink, then a coach is a stretch.”
This kind of coaching often takes place during four half-hour sessions per month, by phone or in person. On-site or telephone group coaching is also an option. Not every coach suits every client, so it is beneficial to request a sample session before coming to a coaching-term agreement.
Many coaches offer and encourage unlimited e-mail between sessions for clients to vent, celebrate or just feel like someone cares about what’s going on with them. A lot of the real process happens between the sessions while the client is working on the homework — exercises designed to get the client into action, as well as deepen the learning about who they are and how they want to design their world.
Fees generally range from $200 to $500 per month for individuals and corporate group arrangements are made with mutually agreeable terms. The first place to go for those interested in finding a coach is the Internet. There are vast amounts of information on coaching and coaching associations including the International Coach Federation at www.coachfederation.com. Contact ICF or any other coaching institute and ask for a referral. ICF is a good starting point since it has set uniform standards of competency for coaches.
Currently, there are no laws in place requiring coaches to be licenced, however, many coaches have graduated from comprehensive courses offered by institutions such as The Coaches Training Institute (www.thecoaches.com), Coach U (www.coachu.com) or the Adler school (www.adlerontario.com).
Sharon Kerpan is a personal, career and creativity coach for Coaching Insight Out. She is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute’s Co-Active Coaching Training course. She can be reached at (519) 925-5942 or [email protected].
