When I opened The Guardian this morning, I was greeted by the headline: Jeremy Clarkson joins Guardian drive for fossil fuel divestment. Of course – it’s April 1st today! The hammed-up, amusing piece brought back to mind a conversation about humour I had a few days ago. Earlier this week I had an impromptu coaching session […]
Asking questions is an art form. As a coach it’s one you cannot afford not to master to an above average degree: a successful coaching process depends on it. If you have ever picked up a how-to book about coaching, you will undoubtedly have been presented with at least a chapter on types of questions, […]
As a coach I get asked all kinds of questions about what I do (not so much what I don’t do, which is in fact a really good question to ask a coach) and how I do it. Here are some of them: How did you become a coach? Well, I guess you could say […]
Emotions colour the world as we perceive it, driving our behaviour and shaping decisions we make – we are human, after all. Advertisers and marketers know this, and tap into it to increase sales. Everybody knows it, and we knowingly buy into it: it’s part of the deal, as it were. Emotions at work in advertising […]
Team coaching and facilitation are closely related disciplines. Are there any real differences between the two, and if so, what is helpful to bear in mind when deciding on one or the other? A question of definition The meaning of the term facilitation is often assumed to be understood. A look on the Association of Facilitators site […]
It appears that the terms coach and mentor are becoming increasingly interchangeable. Attend any business network and you’ll meet a business coach, who on closer inspection turns out to be a mentor instead. They define their practice by their business experience and work with clients who are specifically interested in benefiting from their industry expertise. Let me clarify […]
Early this morning I found myself in Shotover Park just outside Oxford to be interviewed about wildlife and wellbeing. My interviewer, radio presenter Stuart Mabbutt, invited me onto his radio show Going Wild With Wildlife to chat about how the seasons affect my work and business. Seasons influencing my coaching and mentoring business you might ask. Really? […]
Coaching clients sometimes ask me to recommend books or articles for them to deepen their learning and exploration triggered by our coaching sessions. Books and other good reads for coaching clients Here are some of the reads I’ve recently recommended to coaching clients. Counselling for Toads, by Robert de Board (1998) The title of this book always […]
You have decided you’d like to start working with a coach, and it’s all new to you. It is not at all strange to wonder about the ‘etiquette’ of working with your coach. Here are some client questions. What ‘coaching etiquette’ should I observe? Coaching etiquette for clients and coaches is all about trust. Keep your appointments Your coach […]
Much is being said and written about the benefits of a healthy work-life balance. The UK saw the recent extension of the right to request flexible working hours. So how is it that in my coaching practice it seems that almost every single client brings it as a theme to improve? Caveat: the biased view from […]