How I Coach You

I believe coaching is for high performers who want to fine-tune the way they work and "see over the hill".

I will help you move ahead in your work.  Coaching will help you find out where to go next. It will save you time, by helping you focus and think through decisions, and make them sooner.  It will reduce the time you may waste not doing something because of a mental barrier. It will allow you to explore.

When I coach you, I give you the time and space to imagine the ideal future and the steps to take you there. It may help you see something you didn't see before, and simplify the way you think.

Every (work) dilemma is made of pain and dreaming. I will help you talk through both until you know what to do, what works for you - what is right for you.

My clients say that after I coach them, they get things done, that they wouldn't have otherwise. They see what gets in their way. They find words for things unsaid before.

My coaching style is to listen deeply and without judgement, to allow you to be who you are, and to trust you to find your own way.

My experience with techniques from mindful meditation, creative arts, cognitive behaviour therapy, NLP, assertiveness training and Gestalt brings depth to the way I coach.  I am qualifying for the Practitioner Diploma with the Academy of Executive Coaching in London.

My business experience of fifteen years in the financial and software sectors give me an understanding of the corporate world that some of my clients work in. I coach people who work in a wide variety of sectors: banking, arts management, software, healthcare, languages, publishing, international affairs, accounting, music, sports, education, travel, creative arts, marketing.

I coach internationally, with clients in London, New York, Switzerland and Europe. I meet clients face to face, or I also coach over the phone or Skype.

Your Questions

I often get asked these questions about the way I do Executive Coaching:

1. I am sceptical. Is this like psychotherapy?
2. How is this different to talking to friends and family, or to someone at work?
3. Does having coaching mean "I have a problem", "I am stuck"?

1. Is this like psychotherapy?

Not quite. This is about talking about your work, the present and the future. It is about planning the ideal future and making it happen. There is the part of releasing fears, which may be similar, but in executive coaching we don't delve in the past a lot, or on your family history. You have the choice at any point if you wish to talk about something or not. Executive coaching gets you to look over the hill, to how your working life will be like when you move to the next level.

2. How is this different to talking to friends and family, or to someone at work?

Friends, family, or work colleagues or managers tend to offer advice, from their own experience, and that of others. When I coach you, I will get you to take your own advice. I will ask you questions to guide you to what works best for you, not for someone else. I will give you the time to talk through what preoccupies you and your vision for the future, with minimal interruptions, so you can reach the natural conclusion of your thoughts.

3. Does this mean "I have a problem", "I am stuck"?

If you are being coached, it doesn't mean "you have a problem". It means you are already doing well, and you want to move to the next level up. In my experience, the people who are most willing to be coached are already high achievers, who want to see what's next for them.