The Coaching Revelation

DCA would be delighted to support your team through coaching as part of the learning experience. Get in touch [email protected]

Coaching as a concept has been around for many years. Initially it is seen as a fad and often was dismissed as slightly crazy and ultimately a waste of time and money. Fast forward to 10 years ago and it was seen as widely acceptable and indeed an exclusive experience for the most senior leaders in the business. Executive coaching or lifestyle coaching became something for the privileged few. Widely unregulated, almost anyone could become an Executive Coach. In the last 5 years, Coaching has gone through another evolution. No longer just for those at the top of the organisation, coaching has now been recognised as a different way of learning available for anyone at any level. It is somewhat regulated, though not fully, however it is recognised internationally as a valid element of the training toolkit for any established business that values the development of its people.

But before we delve into the realms of coaching, it might be worth clarifying what?it is?and what?it is not.

Coaching is a partnership between a coach and their client. The Coach supports the client to identify what they want achieve and agree tangible next steps that produce the results they want in their personal and professional lives. Coaching is aspirational, motivating, and encourages individuals to learn and develop in the way they want. Coaching is not a cosy chat on the sofa with no agenda in sight – it is powerful, with focused attention on outcomes that benefit the client. While there are similarities to therapy such as listening, non-judgement, asking questions, and exploring past events and behaviours, coaching is future-focused with goals and milestones to steer action.

In April 2023, BBC released a programme called A Very British Cult, which showed the darker side of coaching. As coaching is not completely regulated, this means that anyone can be a life coach if they believe they have the necessary skills to help people and this can cause problems for the industry and for those who follow ethical guidelines.

Thankfully, with three leading professional associations for coaching in the UK, Association for Coaching (AC) , EMCC Global (European Mentoring & Coaching Council) and International Coaching Federation (ICF) they share a mission to drive the highest standards and encourage new coaches to become accredited with one of these professional bodies.

As the perception of coaching has evolved over the past decade, so too has the approach to a coaching conversation. Historically, a coaching session was conducted much like therapy; one to one, hosted in a quiet, comfortable room or office, with a focus on a recipient’s performance. Now, coaching covers the length and breadth of a client’s life, taking a more holistic approach to personal development for example through wellness coaching, relationship coaching and financial coaching. Coaching can also take the form of a assessment profile whereby a client or team completes a questionnaire to identify their own strengths and works with a coach to understand how to better apply these to both their personal and professional life. At Dorchester Collection , we work with Strengths Profile, developed by Cappfinity .

Additionally, the environment in which a coach and client occupy continues to evolve; given the focus on wellness and wellbeing, taking a conversation outside into nature has wonderful benefits for an individual and is a rising niche for coaches starting their careers.

Our Lead Executive Coach, Scott Robson takes his coaching outdoors; walking through London’s beautiful Hyde Park where he often includes elements of Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing) to help connect his clients with the environment, and in-turn improve their level of thinking. Scott jokes that his USP should be, “walk and talk with me for 90-minutes and you will walk 10,000 steps!”

While being in nature is a relatively new approach for coaching sessions, online meeting spaces have quickly become the ‘norm’ due to their versatility, which was evident during the pandemic as this helped many coaches broaden their reach further to clients around the world. New ways continue to be explored by coaches, and one that is current and inspiring many is virtual reality. Investing into new technologies, coaches are able to create limitless worlds/spaces that transport clients into a new way of thinking.

During my first coaching session with Scott, I was fearful of initiating my attempt to break out of my fears. What I soon realized was that I was fully in tuned with each session with Scott. Scott asked questions that I received with openness...and with that openness I felt a freedom, a peace, self-confidence in the purest way! I have immense gratitude for Scott's coaching style and his passion to help others!

– Sales Professional

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I found Scott session's to be extremely useful. They were always full of content, well-structured and were kept at a pace I was comfortable with. He really helped me achieve the goal I wanted to, whilst exploring other topics that would help me to grow within my position.

– Executive

Submitted by: Beth Aarons , Global Executive Director and Scott Robson , Lead Executive Coach and Facilitator, Dorchester Collection Academy