What is Coaching?

Think back to a conversation with a trusted colleague or friend. Maybe you were sitting down to coffee, an adult beverage, lunch, or meeting for whatever reason. You began to have a really engaging conversation about all things – life, career, relationship. It was a great conversation, and you left that conversation feeling lighter, and maybe with some energy about what you wanted to do next. Left with some knowledge that you didn’t have before, and a desire to rework something to change, improve, alter the rest of the day. That process is similar to what coaching is (and it’s taken up a notch).

Coaching is a form of conversation, where a coach asks timely, open-ended questions of their clients. This process allows a client to navigate and walk-through the daily events in their career and life, focusing on the present moment and creating forward movement. Coaching allows a person to identify what they’re desiring, and design their own path for success. Coaching is not a form of psychotherapy. A coach does not provide personal advice or offer solutions. As with most things – the more a client puts in, the more will be revealed.

How is coaching different from counseling?

Coaching is not counseling or psychotherapy. Many coaches are not trained mental health professionals. Coaches and their clients focus on the current events in career and life. The process does briefly acknowledge and touch on a client’s past experiences. This is done to notice repeated behaviors that might be a reason that growth is stunted. It’s a coach’s responsibility to refer a client to a mental health professional, or other outside help, whenever noticed.

Why might a person benefit from coaching?

  • Regulate emotions

  • Deeper connection with children/youth

  • Learn to wholly listen first, and respond appropriately

  • Separate past experiences from present reactions

  • Create focused goals

  • Brainstorm in a safe, effective, and non-judgmental environment

  • Determine the true root of any roadblocks and move toward success

  • Team building

  • Increase morale

  • Increase confidence

  • Understand personality traits

  • Identify common threads in relationships

  • Deepen understanding of self

What does the typical engagement look like?

  • Consult call (15 minutes) – Are we a good fit?

  • Q&A Assessment session (60-75 minutes) – I ask a lot of questions during this time to get to know you.

  • Professional Development Plan – I design a plan to use as the foundation of the coaching agreement

  • Coaching: Recurring 2-3 times/month

    • You bring the topic to discuss and lead the discussion, I ask thought provoking questions, and our discussion continues in this way.
    • I provide additional exercises, readings, and content to enhance your learning

  • Coaching is typically a 6-month commitment

    • You can opt out at any time for whatever reason.

  • Continuation past 6-months for check-in is available.

Types of Coaching

Administrators

Enhance communication skills and strategies to help connect with educators, students, guardians, and school boards:

  • Communication skills and strategies to help connect with educators, students, guardians, and school boards
  • Emotional de-escalation in times of high conflict
  • Incorporate Social Emotional Learning into professional and personal relationships
  • Learn and apply Positive Intelligence to daily interactions
  • Identity solution orientated steps for reaching goals and objectives
  • Develop strategies for increased soft skills and Emotional Intelligence

Professional Coaching

Through the coaching engagement and building on the professional’s foundation:

  • Identity solution orientated steps for reaching goals and objectives
  • Develop strategies for increased soft skills and Emotional Intelligence
  • Assist in mental and emotional preparation for promotions, career changes, and retirement
  • Gain understanding of communication styles
  • Recognize limiting mindsets and enhance growth opportunities
  • Develop potential leaders
  • Continue connection with personal relationships that may need attention

Family Life & Relationship Coaching

By engaging in the coaching engagement, you can:

  • All ages
  • Understand how your past is impacting your current relationships
  • Learn presence strategies
  • Improve emotional regulation Foster quality relationships with children, significant others and loved ones
  • Identify ways to connect with different personalities
  • Recognize daily interactions that can be altered for more positive outcomes

Personal Life Coaching

By embracing the coaching engagement, you will:

  • Have more clarity on your wants, needs, and desires
  • Deepen your understanding of yourself, and those around you
  • Live a more fulfilled, purpose driven life
  • Successfully hit the curve balls that life throws you
  • Be still and present to enjoy what life is offering you
  • Notice the daily blessings and bring awareness to those
  • Other items as applicable:
    • Foster quality relationships to spouse, children, and loved ones

Emotions Coaching

Through acceptance of a coaching engagement you can:

  • Increase your awareness and understanding of Emotional Intelligence
  • Gain SEL (social-emotional learning), acceptance, tolerance of self and others
  • Recover quicker when emotions become too much
  • Move from overwhelm to regroup and action
  • Ask for what you need from others who support you
  • Develop language and connection skills
  • Reframe your personal flight, flight, or freeze response

Coaching Philosophy

How do you want to present yourself to the world?

How do you want to show up at your job?

What do you want others to say about you behind your back?

It is the client’s responsibility to desire growth, and follow their instinct. This is, at times, uncomfortable. It is in the uncomfortable that movement and progress occurs. Growth, and inevitably change, will not occur without a person’s willingness and follow-through. Learning to trust your gut – and align the head and heart – is a value that coaching can bring.

Emotions, relationships, and past experiences/triggers shape the way a person reacts to a situation. A large amount of our coach-client relationship is determining how daily emotions are impacting daily life.

Entering into a coaching engagement is investing in yourself, investing in the person, and investing in their current and future success. Through awareness of self and others, a person can create progress and movement to expand opportunity.

It is a coach’s responsibility to create a safe and awareness building environment. At the end of each coaching engagement a client has self-identified, tangible and practiced tools, strategies, and techniques to further meet their goals.

Small shifts can make a huge impact, uncovering roadblocks leads to success, and effective communication leads to healthier relationships..

As a ICF ACC level coach, I operate under the ICF Code of Ethics and complete necessary CEUs to keep my credentials up to date.