Coaching for Individuals
What is Coaching?
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” (ICF, 2023). For me, coaching is a courageous conversation where I partner with the client to explore the different aspects of their lives, where they would like to make change, and which empowers individuals to take steps to reach their full potential.
The coaching space can be used for many different things: exploration in a non-judgmental space, clarification of goals or aspirations, or supporting you towards a new opportunity or self-development. I can support you to develop your self-awareness, understand what is holding you back and consider how you can move towards your full potential.
Coaching can support you to reflect and recharge, consider your boundaries, make better decisions and gain perspective. Perhaps most importantly, it can give you time and space to slow down, help you focus on what is most important to you, and to reconnect with your motivation, your inner “why”.
Coaching is not about me providing you with answers, rather it is about me asking powerful questions to support you to identify your own solutions and increase your self-awareness. Whereas therapy may be a better fit if you’re struggling with your mental health, coaching can support if you feel as though you’re just not living or working at your best. And if you feel like you’re thriving, coaching may support you to identify and take steps to stay there!
We all have struggles to overcome, and goals which we want to reach. Coaching can instil a sense of accountability and motivation, enabling you to overcome obstacles ad break through any limiting beliefs.
What’s it Like to be Coached By Me
I genuinely love working with people and supporting them to better understand themselves. I’m quick to build rapport and enjoy creating the best possible thinking environment for you to show up as your authentic self and to get open and honest about what’s going on for you. That’s not to say I’m super serious – my clients will tell you I love nothing more than a shared joke, or a metaphor taken from a film or TV reference to illustrate my point!
My clients would describe me as friendly, approachable and very intuitive – if you want to push the boundaries of your self-awareness, I’m more than happy to support this and also work with you for how you can apply new insights into your daily life.
As a practicing counsellor/psychotherapist alongside coaching, I have many years of experience working with people to manage challenges and move towards their goals. This means that I bring the theories and knowledge from many disciplines of therapy with me, and will support you to consider your assumptions, patterns of behaviour and underlying beliefs which may be driving your thinking and actions. Where a therapeutic model or tool can support you in developing a greater understanding, I may share these with you to enable you to reflect.
All relationships start with a chat – an opportunity to see if you feel like we ‘click’ and are a good fit.
I truly believe that the coaching relationship is the most vital piece of the puzzle, so finding the right coach for you is super important. For this reason, I offer a free initial call for you to find out more about coaching and see if you would like to work together.
Feel free to get in touch and we can find a time that works!
Is Coaching for you?
Coaching is for everyone! You might be:- Looking for personal growth and more self-awareness
- Going through a significant life transition or career change
- Feeling imposter syndrome or like you’re not good enough
- Wanting to improve your performance
- Seeking an insight or to develop your leadership, either through a period of challenge or on an ongoing basis
- Looking to consider your wellbeing in a more holistic way.
Coaching can equip you with the tools, insights and a thinking partner to support you towards showing up in the world as the person you want to be!
Rather than working with a specific client group or topic, I work emergently with what my clients bring. For me, it’s more important that we are a good fit and that we can develop a positive working relationship. One where you feel comfortable being open and honest about what’s going on for you, and where you feel able to show up as your authentic self. Only through this can you work towards the growth you desire.
Clients I work with include, but are not limited to: executives, education staff and leaders, management teams and individuals who want to work towards being their best self!
What to Expect
I will invite you to book in a free introductory call to see if we both feel that we’re a good fit to work together.
If following this you’d like to go ahead, I will ask you to book an initial session. Whilst the initial session isn’t a true coaching session, it will give you a good sense of what working with me will be like. It provides an opportunity to ask questions, think about what you want to get from coaching, and for us to go over contracting. Contracting sounds like a really formal process, but it’s us collaborating on an agreement of how we will work together over the coming months. I’ll ask you things like “what do you need from me as a coach for you to get the best out of our sessions?” and “what might get in the way of you getting what you want from our sessions?”.
Individual sessions can last from 60-90 minutes depending on your preference, and I usually suggest longer for the initial session to allow us to cover the formalities and begin to come up with a plan together.
I recommend booking a minimum of 4-6 sessions for us to be able to work towards any goals that you identify. If following this, you would like to continue working together we can discuss this further as required. If you would like to access fewer sessions, maybe for more intensive support, then please get in touch to discuss your needs.
Coaching sessions will usually take place monthly, however if you’re working towards something specific in terms of time there may be flexibility for this.
I offer sessions online via MS Teams, voice only coaching or in-person either at my therapy room in Saddleworth or another agreed venue (prices for travel time/mileage will be agreed in advance). If, like me, you find you think better when moving, I also offer walk and talk coaching either in-person or over the phone.
I offer both face-to-face and remote sessions depending on your preference. My therapy room is on a quiet residential street with parking available, in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester. It is on a bus route and both rail and Metrolink stations are within reasonable proximity. For consultation and coaching I can travel nationwide.
At all times, I subscribe to the International Coaching Federation’s Code of Ethics.
If you are an organisation looking for a coaching package, please contact me to discuss your needs and the associated investment for this.
Whether you’re an individual or an organisation, get in touch to arrange a free conversation to see how we could work together.