Does coaching work?

To anyone else it would seem she had it all. But something was missing. She had a sinking feeling that meant she just didn’t feel right. Sound familiar? Now don’t get her wrong she isn’t greedy and certainly not ungrateful for what she had she just wanted something else.  After some failed soul searching, navel gazing and general sulking, she turned to the ear of a coach, someone who’d been recommended to her. This coach helped her realise that by breaking her life down into segments, and considering what was happening in each one, she could work out what was missing.

On doing this she realised it was her own personal development that was causing the frustrations.  She embarked on a post graduate course in business and personal coaching and went back to her coach to figure out how to make that her job as well.  Finally, they worked through a succession of small steps that would lead her there. By breaking things down like that, the ultimate goal of a new career was somehow much more achievable.

Six years later she has a PGCert in business and personal coaching, her own business, and overcome a million hurdles, with many more still to come which, as my business partner, we will work through together using her coaching techniques!

Working as a coach and trainer within our business she helps people within many client businesses work through similar scenarios to hers, but all with different solutions. She helps them recognise what the important thing is for them and for the business.

According to the CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development) nine out of ten organisations use coaching, two out of three organisations use external coaches and 92 per cent judge coaching by external practitioners to be effective.  With coaching, you are provided with the means to work out your own answers to your own issues and a means by which to then achieve your dreams. How?

Here’s how:

Coaching changes in pattern in behaviour – with professional coaching you work towards changing or interrupting your unconscious ways, to deliberately look at what is happening and perhaps choose differently.

Focusing on a goal – By actually focusing on a goal and making that commitment to write it down research has shown you are already more likely to achieve it.

Clarity and definition is achieved – Coaching helps you to define what you want and how you are going to get there. Then once you have that clarity coaching can help keep your momentum.

Bite Size pieces – you can define what you want to do, then what you need to do and what will help you do it.  The coach is there to keep you on track along the way.

Accountability – the coach becomes your conscience as it becomes something that you have committed to doing to them.

Real-time feedback. The ongoing conversation and action plan allows for immediate feedback. New ideas or concerns can be quickly addressed and appropriate changes adopted to keep the momentum going.

Questioning – you will be challenged to think proactively. You will be asked ‘what do you want?’, ‘what stands in your way?’, and ‘how are you’re going to get there?’ for instance.

So have you that niggling desire to change? – Here is a quick coaching tool on how to start to explore some solutions:

  1. Make a list of eight areas of your life which are currently, or have previously been important to you. For example: family, friends, career, finances, self-development, physical surroundings, social life, love life, health, holidays, me time.
  2. For each area score your level of satisfaction out of 10 with 10 being perfect. Try not to worry about what you think you ought to be doing and concentrate on what you want. Be honest with yourself – which ones really matter?
  3. Have a look at each score and articulate what that represents. Work out what 10 would be and work out what plus one would be. So, if you score four for career what would five be? Write them down, describe it in detail.
  4. Now consider what you would need to do to achieve plus one. Remember small steps! You won’t get from a three to a 10 in one go.
  5. Go and do it – plan the detail and set a date (soon) by which you will do it.
  6. Go back and do your next step.

It’s often the small step that is hardest but with a great coach supporting you, you can make changes.

So are you serious about making a change but need some help with it? Contact us at www.threedomsolutions.co.uk or follow us on twitter @3domSolutions


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Cat Macdonald

Cat Macdonald has worked across a broad range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering and media at senior management level in Human Resources. Now with Threedom Solutions she works with large plcs & smaller local concerns specialising in HR service provision, Team Coaching and Training solutions. As a working parent she is passionate about supporting parents in the workplace and also developing employee's Resilience in the workplace.
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http://www.threedomsolutions.co.uk

Cat Macdonald has worked across a broad range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering and media at senior management level in Human Resources. Now with Threedom Solutions she works with large plcs & smaller local concerns specialising in HR service provision, Team Coaching and Training solutions. As a working parent she is passionate about supporting parents in the workplace and also developing employee's Resilience in the workplace.