Coaching FAQs

Q11 Will I always have to have coaching forever and ever and ever?
A11 No you won’t have to have coaching for ever and ever and ever. In fact if you were in coaching that length of time the coaching would probably have turned in to a dependency relationship– and that’s bad for everyone. Coaching normally helps to get you over a particularly problematic time or period in your life. It could be that you’re having relationships problems, so you have Couple Coaching; and then maybe some time later you have a promotion at work and need some coaching to help you focus more on your new position.

Q12 Can’t I just do my own coaching from all those books out there?
A 12 Of course you can. However, you’ll probably have to read a mountain of books and learn a myriad of techniques to help yourself which would take oodles of time – and you’ll presumably have to work, sleep and socialise too, so you’re probably looking at a good 3-6months before you even get your head around what you want to do and where you want to go. And, if you’d have been having professional coaching during that time – you’d be where you want to go by that time. To put it simply, if you didn’t know anything about cars, and your car needed to have new brakes, new clutch and a new gear box fairly rapidly, would you get out the manual and start reading and learning or would you contact a garage? Think about it … the choice – as always – is YOURS!

Q13 What are coaching types and what do you offer?
A13 Have a look at COACHING TYPES

Q14 What coaching formats do you offer?
A14 Have a look at COACHING TYPES

Q15 How do I know which coaching types or format I need?
A15 You’ll know because we’ll discuss your situation and I’ll suggest which I feel is the best for you, and if you disagree we can re-negotiate.

Q16 Do you give guarantees with coaching?
A16 What I can and will guarantee is that if you are open and frank with me about what you want to achieve, where you want to go and any problems that arise and follow through with your homework and objectives THEN you’ll move towards your goals. What I can and will also guarantee is that IF you DON’T DO anything, you’ll stay exactly where you are now and be how you are now. And I can also guarantee that the coaching will not be ’easy-peasy lemon-squeezy’, in fact it’s meant to be and it IS challenging. It’ll make you stretch to use your abilities and achieve those goals AND it’s meant to be a meaningful learning experience for you and that is EXACTLY what it will be.

Q17 So what else do you offer besides coaching?
A17 Have a look at OTHER SERVICES

Q18 You mentioned about goals a few times, so are they personal ones or business ones?
A18 They can be both. What I find is that quite often nowadays our personal goals are intertwined with our business ones. However, if you want to focus solely on your personal goals then we can. The choice - again - is YOURS!

Q19 Can I hire you for a short-term project, say I’ve got an important presentation coming up shortly and feel I need some extra input?
A19 Yes – I am often asked to work with clients for may be 2 or 3 sessions to get them through a particular project. Whilst it is preferable to work with a client over a 3-month period (normally the minimum recommended time) it is recognised that there are occasions when 3-months is not necessary.

Q20 What is group coaching?
A20 Group coaching is ideal if an organisation wishes to have a group or team of managers (or indeed a project team) coached. That group or team can then benefit from having weekly or fortnightly one-hour coaching sessions. As a group they benefit because they become more focussed on their goals, and their combined energy is raised – synergy is achieved, as well as wonderful team building.

Q1 What is coaching?
A1 Have a look at ABOUT COACHING

Q2 Isn’t it only sports people who have coaches?
A2 Well, I have coached many sports enthusiasts however I do not play golf, or American basketball, or weight lift, or play darts or ride a motorbike, so I can’t really say that I am an expert in any of those fields to be able to ‘sports coach’ them. What I have done is helped them with their concentration, motivation and goal setting, just as I have also helped executives, and teachers, and 45yr+ housewives (empty nest syndrome = "Who Am I?") and young mums. So the answer is “No”.

Q3 Isn’t coaching only for Senior Executives and CEOs?
A3 You know, that’s what used to happen back in the 50s and 60s and 70s however NOW it’s recognised how good coaching is for absolutely EVERYONE. Which is why you can NOW be coached for relationships and parenting and solo-preneurs. And there are even coaches for the XYZ generation – the 12-18year olds! Coaching can produce such brilliant results and in such a reduced amount of time too because it is intensive.

Q4 Is coaching different from counselling?
A4 Yes it is. Counselling tends to deal with emotional and psychological issues from the past, some of which can be fairly deep-rooted whereas coaching helps you to move forwards to ‘uncover and go for your goals’.

Q5 What happens if I realise I need to be counselled?
A5 We can accommodate that eventuality, you see if you need a counsellor - guess what? I am a qualified counsellor! What we will do is to schedule a whole session on counselling – no mixing coaching and counselling in the same session, they are kept as totally discrete sessions.

Q6 Is coaching different from mentoring?
A6 Yes it is. With Mentoring the Mentor is someone who takes you under his or her wing, they will be more skilled or more experienced than you, will serve as your role model. Mentors teach, encourage, counsel and befriend a less skilled or less experienced person for the purpose of promoting the mentee’s professional and/or personal development. This type of relationship can last over many years.

Q7 Will I get any 'homework' - or as I prefer to call it 'Own Work'?
A7 Yes there will be some homework for you to do in between your sessions. This homework will be relevant to the goals that I set you and sometimes will be in the form of objectives, at other times will be in the form of self analysis/assessment work, and at other times it could be to keep journals or do some self development work.

Q8 I hated 'homework' at school, so what happens if I don’t do my 'homework'?
A8 That’s simple, if you don’t do your 'Own Work' either you won’t improve as quickly as planned or you’ll feel coaching’s not working for you – YOU have the choice to do it or not, this is not school and unlike school - the choice is all YOURS

Q9 What’s the minimum number of sessions that I have to have?
A9 It’s recommended to have at least 3 months worth of coaching to help you with the changes that you’ll be making. However, in some situations it is possible to have fewer than this, eg presentation coaching or interview coaching, where you may only need 2 or 3 sessions

Q10 How often will I have to have sessions?
A10 For coaching, it is recommended for sessions to be weekly, however flexibility is the name of the game, and having sessions fortnightly, or even monthly will suffice some situations eg Parent Coaching – to get you over a particularly uncomfortable period in your child’s life such as exams or leaving home