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My thoughts on executive coaching

4 March 2024







COACHING MULTIPLE CLIENTS IN PARALLEL IN ONE TEAM OR ORGANISATION

The issues, opportunities and realities

I often get asked, “Is it OK to coach multiple clients in parallel from the same team or organisation?” The answer is yes...READ MORE







LEADERSHIP TEAM OFFSITES

What they are and why they are useful

Throughout my career, I have designed and delivered many leadership offsites or awaydays (call them what you will)...READ MORE

Plus, also read:








MY COACHING TOPICS FOR 2024

What I plan to focus on this year

In my last blog post, I reflected on the passing year and encouraged you to do the same. This month, I am looking forward...READ MORE








LOOKING BACK ON 2023

And the topics I have examined during the year

This is the third year I have been writing for my blog and reflecting on the past year (which is worth reflecting on in itself!)...READ MORE





BUILDING PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN YOUR TEAM

A guide for leaders on how to support and encourage

Have you ever worked in a team where you didn’t feel you belonged, that you were uncomfortable asking questions, or possibly...READ MORE






HOW TO SPOT AND MANAGE MENTAL ILL HEALTH AT WORK

Techniques to support a colleague who may be struggling

Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day and the theme this year is "Mental Health is a universal human right". So, I thought it would be...READ MORE







MANAGING BOUNDARIES AT WORK AND DELEGATION

Focus on what matters, avoid what doesn't

Last month I looked at managing work-life balance and suggested that managing boundaries and delegating could help...READ MORE







WORK-LIFE BALANCE

One does not have to dominate the other


The issue of work-life balance is a common topic for many coaching clients and it is, in my experience, rarely that their personal life is...READ MORE







THE MANAGER AS COACH

How the former can become the latter


Our appetite for coaching as an approach to developing our people is growing exponentially. Where once it was restricted to private...READ MORE






EXPLORING THE CLIENT/COACH RELATIONSHIP

What makes it a success?


When describing what to expect from coaching to a client, I often use the support/challenge matrix to help the client visualise the relationship between supporting and challenging them...READ MORE






EXPLORING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN COACHING

And how coaching can help leaders to "know thyself"


If IQ (intelligence quotient) is a measure of intelligence, reason and logic, then EQ (emotional quotient) is a measure of emotional understanding...READ MORE






MANAGING INTERGENERATIONAL TEAMS

How to best encourage and value a diverse team?



The topic of managing intergenerational teams has been raised with me by clients quite regularly since the pandemic, and yet I don’t recall it being raised...READ MORE






USING STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK IN COACHING

Because such feedback is beneficial for all parties involved





In my blog post Reflecting on working as an internal and external business coach one of the key differences I saw between the two approaches, in my experience, was that stakeholder (360) feedback was less used in external coaching than internal coaching...READ MORE






MANAGING IN A DOWNTURN

How best to prepare for the worst?





I recently ran a coaching session for an management team to explore managing in a downturn. The session encouraged the managers to step back...READ MORE








MY COACHING TOPICS
FOR 2023

Exploring upcoming themes in plain English

In December I looked back at my highlights and key learning points from 2022 and now, in January I’m looking at the coaching topics I want to explore and share in 2023...READ MORE








REFLECTING ON 2022

My thoughts on the topics I covered this year

As a coach, you spend a lot of time encouraging clients to reflect. This is because this is a great way to develop self-awareness, identify strengths and development areas...READ MORE








INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL COACHING

What is the difference between the two?

In March 2021, I got the opportunity to work for Robert Walters as part of their global talent development team. The role entails coaching Robert Walters global leaders...READ MORE



HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS

How do teams work to their best ability?







This month I am exploring High Performing Teams in more detail and using two examples to help bring the theory to life...READ MORE





COLLABORATION AND
MANAGING CONFLICT

Both are crucial to leadership success

Whether working with teams or individuals, how to encourage greater collaboration and manage conflict are two regular coaching topics...READ MORE





SELF-AWARENESS
AND SELF-REFLECTION

Improve your self-awareness and know yourself better

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that I recently said I would be looking at self-awareness, self-reflection and emotional intelligence...READ MORE





SELF-BELIEF
AND CONFIDENCE

How coaching can help build both

Self-belief can be defined as confidence in oneself and one’s ability, while Confidence when referring to oneself is feeling sure...READ MORE





RETURNING FROM MATERNITY COACHING

How coaching can benefit women returning to the workplace

The last time I was directly involved in a pregnancy was when I was born. So, I am holding my hand up to having no life experience of pregnancy...READ MORE





DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

How can leadership coaching improve both?

This month, as I thought about Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and its relationship with coaching, I realised I have yet to...READ MORE





SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS AND IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Getting to grips with holding yourself back

I recall someone once telling me there are four perspectives in a relationship between two people...READ MORE





COMMON HABITS THAT HOLD PEOPLE BACK

What are they and how can we best tackle them?

Habits are often described as second nature: “That which has been turned into a habitual practice will be done with little or no conscious effort”...READ MORE





HYBRID
WORKING

To be or not to be (in the office), that is the question

I remember working with UK local authorities a few years ago, which were faced with budget challenges and the need to make savings...READ MORE





MY COACHING
TOPICS FOR 2022

What will yours be?


Last month I looked back at 2021 and this month I am looking forward to 2022 and thinking about what hot coaching topics I want to explore...READ MORE




REFLECTING
ON 2021

It's been quite a year


One of the things I like about writing my blogs is that they prompt me, in January, to think about which topics I plan to cover in the year ahead...READ MORE 




DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE

Authentic leadership matters






If you think of the most inspirational leader you have ever worked for or known, what was it that they did that drew you to them...READ MORE 




WHAT IS
RESILIENCE?

And how to build it






The definition of resilience is that it is:

  1. The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
  2. The ability of a substance or object to spring back...READ MORE




PREPARING FOR
SUCCESS IN
A NEW ROLE

Because preparation is everything






Congratulations, you just landed that big new role that you always wanted! Now, what are you going to do to make a success of it...READ MORE



TINKER,
TAILOR,
SOLDIER,
SPY

Career planning






Whilst I haven’t worked any of the roles in this blog’s title (except for Spy, which I’m not allowed to talk about), I have been a lifeguard...READ MORE




FINDING
YOUR
PURPOSE

The challenges and
benefits of doing so






This month, I’m moving back to more classic coaching territory, with one of the coaching challenges that often comes up for clients, which is...READ MORE


TEAM
COACHING

How to make the whole
greater than the sum
of its parts












In my blogs to date, I have focused mainly on 1 to 1 coaching, but this month I am looking at team coaching. Many of the core coaching skills...READ MORE


£200 IN A
BROWN
ENVELOPE:
YES OR NO?

Why business ethics matter









This month I am looking at another of my 2021 hot coaching topics, which is business ethics. The Institute of Business Ethics, IBE, describes business ethics as...READ MORE






MOVING FROM
OPERATIONAL
TO STRATEGIC
THINKING

How to make the move

This month, I am looking at the third of my predicted hot coaching objectives for 2021, with which we are back on more familiar territory, looking at the...READ MORE

ONE FOR
THE PLANET

The Climate Change challenge









I remember as a child having a 'Stop the bloody Whaling' poster on my bedroom wall and avidly watching anything that featured one of the two...READ MORE


CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
AND
SUSTAINABILITY

What have we learnt from living through the pandemic?









This month I’m looking forward and thinking about one of my hot coaching topic predictions for 2021, which is Corporate responsibility and sustainability...READ MORE







MY GUESS AS TO 2021'S HOT COACHING CONVERSATIONS

It's going to be an interesting year

I finished 2020 with a look back over the year that had passed, as well as reflecting on the issue of trust and how it had fared during the Covid-19 pandemic...READ MORE


DO YOU STILL
TRUST ME?
DO I STILL
TRUST YOU?

2020 has been a challenge









December is a good month to consider the year that has passed, so I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on my first blog post...READ MORE






FROM COWS TO COACHING

What you learn in life shapes you






This month I am looking at how my career influences my coaching. To start with, my professional journey has been quite varied. I started working for Unilever...READ MORE





QUESTIONING

Because the right questions matter








This month I am looking at the use of Questioning in coaching, the fifth and final skill that the Academy of Executive Coaches identified as the five hottest skills...READ MORE








MEASURING SUCCESS

What I do and why I do it

According to Peter Drucker (pictured), a key player in modern business management, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”...READ MORE




PRESENCE

Focus on the client











This month I examine the fourth of the five skills that the Academy of Executive Coaching see as the key coaching skills, which is the importance of Coach...READ MORE


CREATIVE
TECHNIQUES

Imagine & solve











In previous blog posts, I have looked at two of the five skills that the Academy of Executive Coaching see as key to good coaching (listening and facilitation)...READ MORE




FACILITATION

It's background and value today



In my April blog, I looked at the key coaching skill of Listening and this month I am looking at another key coaching skill, which is Facilitation...READ MORE



CHOOSING
THE RIGHT
EXECUTIVE
COACH

How to achieve
a successful relationship



If you have never engaged the services of a business or executive coach before, it can be a little bewildering knowing what to look for or to ask of...READ MORE



ACTIVE
LISTENING

And why it matters




In my blog posts to date, I have looked at what executive coaching is, how my life experiences shaped me as a coach and the benefits you can expect...READ MORE


HOW COACHING CAN HELP US THROUGH COVID-19

Navigating and supporting others through the 'new normal'



I recently took part in a webinar hosted by WBECs, with David Peterson and David Goldsmith, on how coaching can help through the COVID-19 crisis...READ MORE


WHAT DO
CLIENTS
GET FROM
COACHING?

Five skills & examples




In this month’s blog, I focus on what the client gets from the coaching experience and, in doing so, I hope to be able to help you visualise what a coaching...READ MORE


MY JOURNEY

Experiences & lessons




As an Executive Coach, I am often asked about by my background and values, and why I got into coaching in the first place. So, I thought it would be...READ MORE


JUST WHAT IS
EXECUTIVE COACHING?

An introduction to this professional discipline


As I consider my developing coaching practice and the conversations I have had with people about executive coaching, I recognise that there are...READ MORE


THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST

My reflections as an Executive Coach on this vital topic


Whilst reflecting on my developing coaching practice, I started to think of the key principles that belong to all client/coach relationships. One of the most...READ MORE

From the author:

As coaching is not an advice-giving service, these blogs are not written with the intention of proposing solutions to common leadership challenges. Instead, they are thought pieces with the aim of prompting the reader to think more deeply about the topic and reflect on whether it warrants further exploration, with or without a coach.

If you would like to hear more about coaching and how to make it work for you, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and to share this blog with anyone that might be interested in learning about executive coaching, how it works and whether it could be of benefit to them.