What is coaching?

Coaching is focused on the specific person or team. It’s a confidential space to think through goals, challenges and opportunities. Common scenarios for coaching are:

-            Current leaders wanting to strengthen certain aspects of their leadership.

-            Newly appointed leaders or those about to be promoted, keen to explore that transition.

-            Current or emerging leaders wanting to identify next steps or think through uncertainty or change.

Common outcomes are more effective relationships with colleagues, increased ability to inspire and develop others, better understanding of how to communicate and work with those with different styles or greater impact and influence.

The process has various underlying principles and I collaborated with the wonderful architects McCloy Muchemwa to illustrate some of those.

1. Understand where you are and explore where or how you want to be.

A cartoon drawing depicts two people in clouds with a sun and sky in the background. One person, wearing glasses and a red outfit, is speaking to the other, wearing a blue sweater, and says, 'Tell me more about where you are now.'
A cartoon drawing of a person with glasses and a blue knit hat, peeking over a brick wall labeled with words like 'habit', 'admin', 'fear', 'money', 'time', and 'hard'. The person is asking, 'Why can't I get over this?'
A person with blue curly hair and glasses in a red shirt is drawing or writing on a large sheet of paper with a red crayon, while a woman with straight blue hair and a blue shirt observes. The person in red is asking, 'Tell me about where you want to get to...' in a speech bubble.

2. Use tools, techniques, powerful questions, challenge and support to raise self-awareness and create new thinking.

Sketch of a stage with beige curtains, a large red light bulb in the center, two people on either side, and the words "New Perspectives" written at the bottom.
A drawing of a girl holding a mirror, looking at herself, with a speech bubble saying "Maybe there is more to me!" and a caption "Holling up a mirror" around her. The girl is wearing a red jacket, white pants, and red shoes, and has blue hair tied in a bun. The mirror reflects her image.
Two cartoon women standing at the border between a cold zone and a warm zone. One woman is helping the other step onto the warm zone, with the foot only touching a pool of water, symbolizing crossing the climate boundary.

3. New thinking enables removal of blockers and increases clarity, momentum and motivation.

Two women standing on a winding path made of blue tiles with red tiles featuring question marks. One woman, wearing a blue sweater and striped skirt, says, 'OK, let's think about next steps...' The other woman, in a red coat and glasses, is walking along the path.
Two women stand in front of a large blue airplane with clouds, a sun, and a rainbow in the background. One woman, wearing glasses and a blue sweater, says, 'I'm confident, this is the way!'
A cartoon illustration of a woman with blue hair in a red coat standing on a wall of blue bricks labeled with words like 'HARD,' 'TIME,' 'MONEY,' 'CAN'T,' 'ADMIN,' and 'HABIT.' She looks surprised or thoughtful, holding a phone in one hand and pointing at the bricks with the other.