Introducing Coaching
Hello, I’m Peter Russell-‐Wilson Owner at FREE Life Coach. I’ve written this introduction to coaching for two types of reader; those thinking about engaging FREE Life Coach to provide them with coaching; and those thinking about coaching but are unsure about:-‐ What it is? Is it for them? Will it work? What do I look for in a coach? Coaching is an expensive personal development tool therefore you should take your time and think carefully before you buy. You need to be very aware of a number of issues before you agree to part with your hard earned cash. That said, it is a great investment in you and your future and the return on investment is high! So lets look at some frequently asked questions by prospective coachees.
What is coaching?
There is no agreed upon definition of coaching. Spend a couple of minutes browsing the internet for definitions and you will see just what we mean. Part of a Master’s course in coaching psychology is to come up with your own definition of coaching so here is FREE Life Coach’s:-‐ “A purposeful conversation which encourages, supports and challenges you to; exceed your expectations of yourself; change your thinking, feeling and behaving; overcome the barriers which hinder your achievement of personally meaningful goals.”
What is coaching psychology?
Much simpler to answer. The application of psychological knowledge and techniques to the coaching process? However, the must widely used definitions which incorporate a definition of coaching are those by Professor Stephen Palmer and Dr Anthony Grant:-‐ “…. for enhancing performance in work and personal life domains with normal, non-clinical populations, underpinned by models of coaching, grounded in established therapeutic approaches.” © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
“…. for enhancing well-being and performance in personal life and work domains, underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult learning or psychological approaches.”
What is the coaching process?
Imaging a coin. It has two sides, heads and tails. Your perception of the coin is dependant on which face you look at. The same is true of the coaching process. If you look at the external behaviour of the coach and coachee you’ll see one side of the coaching process. If you try to imaging looking inside the head of the coach or coachee you’ll see another side of the process. • Creating, clarifying and aligning goals • Exploring options to surpass those goals • Choosing the action to take to surpass those goals • Doing the action to surpass the goals • Reviewing the progress to the goals • Changing the actions to surpass the goals in light of the review Looking the other way:-‐ • Increasing the coachee’s awareness of their situation and goal to generate energy for change • Increasing the coachee’s sense of personal responsibility for surpassing the goal by taking action; to generate energy for change • Discover the resources, strengths, knowledge, and skills available to the coachee to surpass their goals • Aid the coachee’s learning from past experiences or acquiring new knowledge or skills to surpass the goal • Changing the coachee’s thinking and feeling about their situation and goal • Changing the coachee’s behaviour in a more permanent way; greater focus and discipline P. S.. A coachee is what coaches call their client. Mentors call them mentees or protégés.
What are the benefits of coaching?
This is a very long list and often a very personal one. Here’s a sample of what you can expect to get from coaching besides achieve your personal goals:-‐ • A more fulfilling and rewarding life • Increased zest for life • Clearer focus on what really matters to you • Improved relationships • Increased ability to communicate • Increased well-‐being • Improved resilience to life’s downturns © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
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Increase sense of who you are Improved ability to respond effectively to challenges Better at problem solving Improved decision making Better at understanding others and there needs
Coaching is focused on what positive psychology calls flourishing. Less than 2% of the UK population assess themselves as being in this category. Flourishers are in comparison to matched contemporaries:-‐ • Happier and have Greater Life Satisfaction (GLS) • Richer in terms of total asset value • Have higher levels of income (controlling for the next factor) • Have higher status profession or positions within a company • Perceived as being more successful by others • Seen as more friendly and approachable; people want to know them • Greater emotional intelligence • Have better quality relationships in their personal and work lives • Have better work/life balance • Greater psychological capital • Report less illness and are not so effected by minor illness • Most strikingly live at least 11 years longer In short coaching is the difference between being ‘just good or successful’ and being ‘great’. Jack Canfield author of Chicken Soup for the souls says:-‐ “Of all the things successful people do to accelerate their trip down the path to success, participating in some kind of coaching program is at the top of the list.”
What happens in coaching?
This is another tuff one to answer since coachee’s come to coaching for allsorts of reasons and there are many different models of coaching. I have tried to focus on what I think are the common elements. First Session Subsequent Sessions • Getting to know each other and • Review of what been going on in building rapport your life since last we spoke • Exploring reasons and • Focusing in on the goals for the requirements for undertaking session and how these move coaching you to your meta-‐goals • Explaining confidentiality and • Exploring the situation and doing some necessary options paperwork • Learning new knowledge or • Creating, clarifying and aligning skills to take action goals • Deciding on a option and • Working on and agreeing a making a plan to enact it © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
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outline plan for the coaching Identifying and agreeing to one small step towards surpassing your goals
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Gaining motivation for action Reviewing learning and development
Another way to look at it is ‘you do the talking and I do the listening’. I’ll challenge you on your thinking and if I think your trying to dodge the issue or what really needs to be tackled I’ll be on your case. I’ll likely tell you stories to make a point or inspire you. I’ll be looking for a clear commitment from you to act in a planned way. I’ll give you encouragement and support. I’ll often refer you to reading material or give you information which might help between sessions. If needed I’ll pop up every now and then between sessions to remind you what you are suppose to be doing.
What models of coaching do you use?
FREE Life Coach provides proven evidence based best practice coaching. I draw heavily on scientific research findings from positive psychology and other more traditional branches of psychology. My approach would be described best as being philosophical existential humanistic client centred with integration of tools from other approaches has necessary to support your achievement of your goals. Other approaches I draw from include motivational interviewing, solution focus, instructional, personal construct, gestalt, appreciative inquiry, cognitive and behavioural. You may come across various acronyms and mnemonics such as GROW, FAST, OSKAR, ARROW and so on. These aren’t really approaches to coaching but ways for coaches to organise a session most at their heart are behavioural which is okay if you just want to change a particular behaviour but if you want to change a life you will need an approach that balances all the domains and your needs. This is likely to be essentially a client centre approach which teaches you the use of tools drawn from other approaches. So when choosing a coach make sure they have a good breadth of knowledge about different coaching approaches and techniques.
What is positive psychology?
It is psychological research techniques focused on the positive aspects of living rather than the negative aspects such as illness and criminality. Its about what makes us good or better than we can be. It has developed a number of ideas which coaches in particular find very useful when working with coachees. Search the internet for these terms and learn some more:-‐ • Strengths • Psychological capital • Emotional intelligence • Mental Toughness • Hope • Gratitude © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
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Resilience Optimism Mindfulness Self-‐efficacy Broaden and build Flow Flourishing Well-‐being Positive emotions PERMA (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Positive Relationships, Meaning Achievement and Accomplishment) Positive Mental Attitude Positive Organisational Studies
What types of coaching do you provide?
I can provide the full range of coaching arenas life or personal, wellbeing or health, career or employment, enterprise or business, executive & leadership, or instructional. I specialise in work/business related wellbeing, career and enterprise coaching. I also have a wealth of experience in working with people with disabilities and health issues to achieve outstanding results. If we can’t help I probably know someone who can and will make recommendations to you.
What is enterprise coaching?
Again there is no agreed upon definition but my definition is:-‐ “Coaching aimed at helping a potential entrepreneur to decide if going into business is right for them, planning how to start a business, being supported in the initial start-up phase, and helping to grow the business in the first 100 days to 12 months.” Typical focus of sessions are:-‐ • Will the business idea work • Will my reason for wanting to go into business sustain me and keep me motivated when things get tuff as they will • Do I have the knowledge and skills to make the business work and if not how do I get them • Creating a business plan not just a nice looking piece of paper but a really plan for success • Looking at all aspects of setting up a business and solving problems and issues, making decisions, planning actions, getting costs, etc. • Looking at marketing, sales, how to get finance, practicalities of business such as tax, record keeping, legal form • Sorting out your time, trying to juggle everything at once, focusing on priorities, what makes the money • How do I get more customers; improving selling techniques, customer services © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
Clients often say to me that there are two glaringly obvious objections to enterprise coaching 1) it costs and new starts don’t have much money; and 2) it takes time and new starts have that in short supply too. My answer, see it as an investment to learn to prioritise activity more effectively and efficiently to create more time and that will lead to making more money which will off set the cost of enterprise coaching.
What is career coaching?
Career coaching can be divided into three areas:-‐ • Career choice and decision making – what should I be and how should I go about it • Career transitions – for example, choosing GCSE, A level, or Degree options, first job to pursue after leaving school, college or university, how to cope with redundancy, what should I do now I’m pregnant, what should I do with my retirement, settling in to a new job, how do I get that promotion • Career practicalities – finding job leads, researching companies, writing CV’s, completing application forms, doing presentations, being interviewed, assessment centres and psychometric testing, making telephone calls, etc. Most career coaching programmes will cover all three areas at some point but some times coachee’s just come for a specific practicality. The goal of career coaching is to improve your understanding of the world of work and how careers are affected by various things and how you can steer a course around career difficulties that we all face at one time or another and still succeed and reach your full potential of success.
What is wellbeing coaching?
Wellbeing coaching can be divided into three area:-‐ • Increasing your physical and/or psychological wellbeing through leading a healthy style of living and following good ‘mental discipline’. • Adhering to medical advice or treatment or care plans to reduce symptoms or prevent conditions becoming worse or occurring. • Treatment of certain conditions for example; stress, general anxiety and life worries, low mood and lack of motivation, shyness, unfulfilling relationships, dealing with anger, also some addictive behaviours. I focus on improving your psychological wellbeing (happiness) and mental discipline (wisdom) through helping you to identify and use your strengths, increasing your psychological capital, emotional intelligence, mental toughness, mindfulness, and improving your goal focussed behaviour.
© FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
You will be encouraged to set goals which improve your physical functioning such has, healthy eating, exercise, sleep, weight, and stress. Or your social functioning such has assertiveness, intimacy, compassion, and legacy. You will also identify major life goals which will improve your wellbeing these might be educational, career or business related. There is a co-‐beneficial relationship between wellbeing and success. You can’t have one without the other.
How long do sessions last?
First sessions last a bit longer than subsequent sessions but include a free portion to get to know each other and decide if coaching is right for you. Also to take care of the small amount of necessary paperwork and discuss confidentiality, price, terms and conditions. Initial coaching sessions called ‘chemistry sessions’ are normally 2 to 21/2 hours long. Typically for enterprise coaching, sessions are fortnightly to begin with then go down to monthly and normally last until the enterprise is established or growing again successfully. Typically career coaching is weekly at first but quickly moves to fortnightly then monthly with a annual check-‐up. Wellbeing coaching is normally weekly for some while then fortnightly then monthly then quarterly then half yearly. Personal coaching is often as and when required with a very open ended commitment but can be a short period of intense work to resolve a situation and finish. Research shows that the most effective number of sessions is 4 to 6, the average number of sessions is 7 to 9.
What does it cost?
Before we tell you FREE Life Coach’s prices I want to say a few things. Firstly, don’t see it as a cost see it as an investment in your success. Secondly, here is an analysis of average coaching prices carried out by Noomii the leading coaching referral business. • up to $50 per hour: Coach in training • $50 to $125 per hour: Beginning coach; 1 to 5 years of experience • $125 to $250 per hour: Experienced coach; 5-10 years of experience • over $250 per hour: Highly experienced coach; 10+ years of experience
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We don’t have a comparison site to Noomii in the UK but you will see 37 UK coaches listed including me. In the UK you could look on the life coach directory or browse the internet to compare prices. Often UK coaches don’t state their prices this is because they are trying to suss out if you can afford them or what they think they can get from you. Also be careful about sales tricks and gimmicks to suck you in. Because I’m a professional psychologist regulated by the British Psychological Society FREE Life Coach has to do two things:-‐ • Openly state our hourly rate and ensure you fully understand the costs in purchasing our services before you begin • And ensure that price does not bar people from accessing our services by having various payment options available I have been working as a career and enterprise coach for over 10 years now and hold a MSc in Coaching Psychology from UEL, ILM Level 7 Professional Diploma in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring, NCFE Level 3 Diploma in Performance Coaching as well as government approved qualifications in careers. As well as being a member of the British Psychological Society, I am also a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. I charge a one off administration fee of £35. It can be paid by instalments of three (3) £10 and one (1) £5 this can not be varied because of credit licensing regulations. You can pay in cash or by cheque or by internet banking.
What is confidentiality?
Basically its keeping to yourself what somebody else tells you. In coaching the coach keeps what you talk about to themselves. They don’t gossip about you to others. It is often the first rule in codes of ethics. There are some limits to confidentiality that you need to know about:-‐ • Coaches have to have supervision from another coach this means that they may talk about you and your coaching to the other coach. This is to help you by making sure the coach is doing all they can do to help you. • Coaches may talk about you and your coaching at CPD or training events or as part of their assessment for qualifications but must do so in a way that does not identify you. In both of the above cases the coach should ensure that they only reveal necessary and sufficient information for the purpose and that they should maintain reasonable anonymity. • They may need to make others aware of the coaching or some requirements to ensure your health and safety and theirs. • They may need to inform their professional indemnity insurance carrier of some aspects of the coaching to remain covered.
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If the coach has reception staff or is working from home with others around they will obviously know you are being coached but they should not be told any details but may know the basic reason for you seeking coaching.
Again here the watch word is reasonable necessary and sufficient disclosure to allow the coaching to continue or the provision of coaching to be made. Other limits are legal requirements placed on coaches. • If you intend to harm yourself • If you intend to harm somebody else • If you know of a child or vulnerable adult at risk of abuse, or neglect • If you know about a terrorist incident or serious crime • Where an order of the court requires disclosure Be careful here some coaches promise ‘absolute confidentiality’ they can not the law prevents absolute confidentiality and our social world can throw up challenges. Coaches should be able to discuss limits to confidentiality openly. If they can’t they are not likely to be members of recognised professional bodies. Also if your coaching is being sponsored by your employer it may be that the coach as to make a regular report about your progress. You should clarify with the coach what information they intend to give the sponsor before you undertake the coaching. A more tricky situation is social disclosure this can occur in a number of ways:-‐ • You tell a friend about your coaching experience and they contact the coach give your name saying that they want a similar service, the coach here will not discuss details of your case but would probably have to confirm that they can provide a similar service to your friend which would technically indicate to them what you received coaching for. • The other is that you end up at a party with your coach. It does happen a lot. You should agree with your coach at the first session how you want to play social encounters. Should they just acknowledge you as a friend or is it okay to say that they coach you. Of course if they are asked their profession people might put two and two together. • Coaches have to be aware of fishing expeditions by partners, work colleagues or employers. Professional coaches are well trained in dealing with such enquires. They should adhere to the Data Protection Act.
What is Data Protection?
Data Protection is about the storage, use and destruction of personal information kept on paper (or other physical mediums) or computer systems whether in text, drawing, audio, or video formats. Its also about sharing information with others. All coaches have to be registered with the ICO, get their registration number and check them out on the ICO website. Don’t be fobbed off by reason they give for
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not having to register. Everyone does who holds personal data about people which they have obtained in the course of providing a service whether paid for or not ; NOW. It applies to sole traders as much as limited companies. FREE Life Coach is registered with the ICO () and adheres to the eight principles of Data Protection. Physical material that is paper or CD/DVD are kept under lock and key in a fire and water proof box. The house is alarmed. Computer stored material is kept on a password protected computer, in a secondary password protected file which is also encrypted. The computer as the latest state of art software to prevent viruses and hacking. All data is physically shredded and/or electronically shred to DOD52 standard and disposed of in sealed bags to licensed disposal sites.
What is a Code of Ethics?
A set of rules laid down by a professional body which its members most follow to remain a member. They operate a complaints service which can investigate breeches and if found in breech members can be sanctioned in various ways including being removed from official registers of practitioners. They also regulate acceptable levels of training and experience to practice, set minimum standards of care, set levels of supervision, and continuing professional development requirements. I am a member of the British Psychological Society and can supply copies of the Codes of Ethics on request.
What qualifications should a coach have?
There are so many I can not list them all here. But what you should look out for is the following: • Was the training completed at a university • Was the training backed by an awarding body (Institute of Leadership and Management or Chartered Institute of Management) or one of the key professional bodies listed below • Was it to at least level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework and preferably to level 7 • Was it at least 1 year in length and preferably 2 years You should also be extra vigilant if the course meets the above standards but was done via distance learning. Don’t cake the coaches word for it see the certificates but to be really sure check them out with the issuing body. I’m always willing to do a few checks for you if your not sure.
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What professional memberships should a coach hold?
In the UK there are really only seven coaching bodies that ensure that their members meet high professional standards. • The British Psychological Society (Special Interest Group in Coaching Psychology) • International Society of Coaching Psychologists • Association for Coaching • British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (Division of Coaching) • International Coaching Federation • European Mentoring and Coaching Council • Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision Additionally career coaches should belong to one of the professional career organisations • Institute of Career Guidance • The Association for Careers Education and Guidance • National Association for Educational Guidance for Adults • Association for Career Professionals International Please note there are many other coaching bodies but these are often run by small groups of coaches to gain credibility in the market place and drive sales to themselves. You have to ask yourself why aren’t they professional members of one of the above bodies. Also don’t take the coaches word for it. Phone the professional body and check them out! Coaches who are members of professional bodies have to adhere to a code of ethics, are subject to investigation and sanction on being found in breech of the code which could include removal from professional registers; undertake supervision on a regular basis; and have to undertake at least 40 hours a year of Continuing Professional Development. The professional bodies provide a lot of support to coaches in the form of journals, libraries, conferences, training events, peer support and so on.
What do I look for in a coach?
Just one final word. After you’ve done all the checking out of the above issues and the coach ticks all or most of the boxes the key thing is CAN YOU GET ON WITH YOUR COACH. FREE Life Coach offers a free consultation by telephone and your initial session includes a free hour (chemistry session) for you to check out if you can work with me. © FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
A Final Word
I do hope to see you in my consulting rooms. Whatever the reason for you seeking coaching I am sure you will find it worthwhile and rewarding. You’ll develop and achieve so much more than you expected too. Why not give it a try, remember your first hour is free with out obligation. Peter Russell-Wilson FInstLM, MBPsS, MSc.. Coaching Psychologist
www.free-life-coach.co.uk peter@free-life-coach.co.uk 01642 896981 07773 719635
© FREE Life Coach 2015 : WWW.free-‐life-‐coach.co.uk : 01642 896981
