The Power of Coaching in a Noisy World

Why Coaching?

?The world has become a noisy place. There is information overload and complex nexus of events which confuses the traditional methods of decision-making. The noise can be measured and recognised, without knowing its target or bias, according to Daniel Kahneman (2021). Coaches can help leaders to tune out the noise and tune in to what is important. Coaching is a learning experience, which is personal, focused and result-oriented.?

During change, the level of uncertainty is high, the deadlines are demanding and decision-making is crucial. Therefore, coaching can provide headspace for senior executives to deal with anxieties, and stress and achieve clarity on the new direction. Coaching can increase humility among senior leadership, whose impact is vastly influential across the entire organisation, through the fabric of its culture and employee engagement.

?Based on my experience, managing change is often the most common coaching theme among senior executives. Everyone assumes that they have figured it out. However, mid to senior leaders and founders often need a trusting and thinking partner, namely a coach.

What is coaching?

Effective coaching increases performance. It is an engaging process in which you are supported by your coach to reflect, challenge your thinking and change your behaviour in a safe space, thanks to the confidentiality of the coaching process. It can also prompt you to take action and keep you accountable due to the commitments you have made to yourself.

??????????? Coaching is focused on the person rather than the problem.

????????? ?Coaching is not done to you rather it is a voluntary process on you.

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Impact from coaching

?Coaching leads to behaviour changes. It brings clarity to thinking. It is also a personalised learning process. Some described it as a ‘Light-bulb moment’ others as an ‘Aha moment’. The enlightenment one can achieve through coaching is liberating and joyful. Therefore it is preferred by senior leaders, founders and managers stepping into senior roles, as they can benefit from the person-based approach, which other learning programmes come short in providing. For instance, the coach can challenge your thinking without judging you. By taking you out of your comfort zone, the coaching process can provoke ideas and thoughts, which can ultimately lead to better decision-making, and solutions and provide clarity amid uncertainty. Senior executives can experience the attention during coaching sessions, much longer than they have been accustomed to (Kline, 1999). This can redirect their attention to their thinking and enable better outcomes through reflective enquiry.

?Behaviours and changes are often associated with emotions. Therefore, coaching can be an emotional experience as well. It can allow you to increase emotional awareness and help develop emotional regulation. For instance, Brene Brown’s research suggests that mental health can improve by increasing the vocabulary describing your emotional state (2021).

?Coaching is an investment in yourself. It can serve you in the long run.

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Coaching Process

?Coaching has originated from sport, therefore, it is naturally focused on performance Whitmore (2009) and Grant (1999). With the development of neuroscience and psychology, it now incorporates techniques from all those fields. Coaching is not a one-time event but a process. The process is not linear but described as a cycle.

By coaching the person, rather than the problem, the coaching approach leads to behaviour changes. Coaching impacts personal behaviour through enhanced self-awareness. Coaching has a proven ability to stimulate a growth mindset, a term coined by Carol Dweck. People with a growth mindset believe that the future presents an opportunity to grow, even during challenging times. Mindset also determines leadership qualities. Human beings can be taught how to react in new ways, how to face challenges and think differently. With prior knowledge of those concepts, coaches can approach their clients with curiosity and reflect together with them on the learning progress.

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Psychometric tests

?Psychometric tests are essential tools in the coaching process. They offer an effective way to open up discussions on locked deep inside thoughts, feelings and experiences which either have been consciously avoided or their impact on your behaviour has been ignored. Often those tests may make you feel exposed and this is normal. If you are not feeling uncomfortable, there is no learning. The tests can also enable you to discover blind spots and unleash a different perspective on reality. This is conducted in a psychologically safe environment, where trust, no judgment and confidentiality are upheld at the high standards.

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Financial Resources

On average 15% of the L&D budget is allocated to coaching (Coachhub, 2023). Other surveys suggest that small businesses are consistently focused on L&D and their investment per employee can match the one of the large companies (Coassembe, 2020). A large number of surveys across HR and training indicate that the cost of hiring new people due to high employee turnover, especially at the mid to senior level far outpaces the investment in coaching.

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The majority of the organisations are in ‘crisis management’ mode almost permanently and applying a systemic approach to upskilling their mid to senior executives is not on their radar. However, supporting leaders in navigating the complexity of today’s world with the backdrop of ample uncertainty and frequent crises is paramount for building their resilience, unblocking tunnel vision and navigating change.

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Effectiveness of coaching

?The effectiveness of the coaching is largely dependent on the clarity of the goal.

There are several methods of measuring coaching success such as 360 feedback, feedback on coaching programmes, interviews with executives and line managers and peer observations of changed behaviour and skills improvement

?There are a variety of tools used in executive coaching, which stem from different disciplines such as psychotherapy and counselling research, leadership development, and adult learning. Therefore an evaluation model of measuring impact of the executive coaching is likely to combine various disciplines and have a reference to both quantitative and qualitative factors.

?The Kirkpatrick Model is designed to evaluate both formal and informal training methods and rate them against four levels of criteria: Reaction/engagement, Learning, Behaviour and Results.

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My value proposition to you

?I am known for my person-based coaching approach. I have a deep understanding of what is like to work in a high-stakes environment, where humanity, trust and care are at a minimum.

?I specialise in transformational leadership, change management and career empowerment.

?My clients have curious minds and for them, coaching is a solution to their problems such as a lack of time to think, struggle to replicate critical success, giving up on dreams, avoiding difficult conversations and being overwhelmed by crisis management.

Check my bespoke coaching programmes:

·? Breaking through stagnation - especially designed for high achievers to rediscover their passions

·? Seeing through the fog - created for leaders to identify blind spots and gain clarity

·? EmpowerHER - exclusively for women to charge their careers unapologetically

·? WealthWise Women – designed for women to navigate wealth with confidence and security

Check my ‘7 tips to reignite your passion’ - email me to receive a copy.

Book a call with me to explore how you can reignite your passion your passion for success let’s work together!

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References:

Brown B, 2021, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, Vermilion

CoachingHub, 2023, Business Trends in Coaching 2023

Coassemble, 2020, A review of L&D budget allocations in 2020 (coassemble.com)

Dweck C., 2017, Mindset - Updated Edition: Changing The Way You Think To Fulfil Your Potential, Robinson; 6th edition

Grant, A. M., 1999, Enhancing Performance Through Coaching: The Process of CBT, Paper Presented at the First State Conference of the Australian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (NSW), Sydney

?Klein N., 1999, Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind, Cassell

Kahneman D., O. Sibony, S.R. Sustein, 2021, Noise: A flow in Human Judgement, William Collins

Withmore J., 2009, Coaching for Performance, 4th Edition, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London

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