What are the outcomes of personal coaching?
Are you about to embark on a coaching relationship for the first time? If you are, you might be wondering what to expect. Perhaps there’s a little trepidation around how that first session will pan out, what you will talk about, and how you will think and feel afterwards.
Every individual’s experience of coaching is different. That’s because we each enter into it for very unique and personal reasons. Unexpected things can happen. Conversations often trigger thoughts of past experiences, raise old emotions to the surface or create fantastic lightbulb moments. Those are my favourite! Coaching is a real a privilege to be involved in.
A coaching story
I met a coaching client who is very successful and has a fabulous track record of delivering excellent results.
“What coaching can this person possibly need?”, I hear you ask.
Brilliant as they were, this leader wanted to step away from being involved in the delivery of team objectives. Their personal goal was become take a more strategic approach to their leadership role.
This is a common scenario. Leaders often work their way on a career path to a management position, and when they get there they struggle to extract themselves from the detail of daily tasks.
At our first coaching session, we discussed the actions my client needed to take to achieve their goal. They decided that in order to take a step back they needed to pause before responding or jumping in to get involved. By taking time to breathe, they would create space for their team to think things through for themselves.
It’s that famous proverb in action:
‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’
After the first of our three coaching sessions, my client realised the power of talking things through. They had an outcome they were satisfied with. They left with simple, achievable actions they could see would make a marked difference to the team dynamic and their role within it. The client told me they were really looking forward to our next sessions together and had appreciated being able to open up to an independent person in a safe place.
Outcomes I notice when coaching people
While each person’s coaching aim, goal or ambition is unique to them, there are a couple of more general outcomes, which I see in almost everyone I coach.
People are more likely to stop and think before reacting to a situation. Taking a moment to pause and reflect leads to them reacting in a way that’s true to themselves.
They leave the room with a clear focus on how to move forward and make greater progress as a result.
A renewed feeling of energy and vigour for their role, and dare I say it, fresh Zest for Life!
Seeing this kind of transformation in people gives me a renewed love for coaching and puts a spring in my step too. The coach and coachee relationship is a win-win situation!
Reasons to engage with a coach
If you are seeking to improve a situation, achieve a goal, gain clarity, or become more effective in your work, engaging with a personal coach could help you to make the transformation you desire.
When you have a personal coach you:
Become more effective, i.e. you know where to focus your efforts
Build trust with people in your team, especially those tricky ones!
Overcome organisational challenges, such as time management or business change.
The skills you will develop through coaching are applicable in both life and work. Renewed resilience and resourcefulness can come in very handy when managing conflict at home! Remember, the outcomes of coaching are whatever you want to achieve.
If you are open to the potential of coaching and are ready to commit to your personal development, there’s more information on how I can help on the Coaching page. Book a free, no-obligation chat to find out if we’re a good fit.
What are your own experiences of coaching?
Have you ever worked with a personal or business coach? I’d love to hear about your experiences and how coaching has helped you in your life or career.