My 1:1 coaching client, Rachel, who works in a big not-for-profit organisation, was feeling defeated and frustrated with so much change happening in her organisation. Not sure how coaching would help, this was the first time Rachel had sought support.
Rachel works in a national organisation we’ve all heard of! It does amazing work and can be brilliant and utterly frustrating all at the same time (sound familiar?) Rachel already had so much talent when it comes to creating productive, focused teams. But when we first discussed coached, she was feeling defeated. So much change, so much frustration and she wasn’t sure how coaching would help. She says:
’I was looking for specific and dedicated investment in me as a manager at work, group training courses and development activities were too generic. Jen was recommended to me by a colleague and from the very first session I felt at ease and knew I would get what I had been seeking from our coaching sessions.’
In coaching we create a safe, non-judgemental space for you to just blurt it all out, think it all through, express the emotion you don’t want to express in the workplace, and…… once we’ve done that, we can work out what you really want, and create a plan for how you’re going to get it. That might be big bold moves or small steps that have a big impact.
Rachel and I worked together over 6 months – we worked through performance management challenges, how to handle difficult situations with peers which arise because of competing priorities, different communication styles all compounded by the pressure everyone is under. We also looked at practical tools to support Rachel to build the team she wanted to build.
At the end of our coaching programme, she said:
“I now feel better equipped to deal with the pressures of being a manager, I often pause and consider ‘what would Jen say’ to help me gain perspective, time and space before I act. I would thoroughly recommend Jen as a coach in any situation. Thank you Jen!”
