Personal and corporate coaching
Ela Pękalska, PhD
The secret of change is to focus all your energy,
not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
Socrates
Are you now at a point in your life where you are saying
to yourself "Now, it's the time to move forward"?
Are you fed up with the lack of measurable progress in your
life?
Are you looking for some help and the knowledge on how to
stay focused, positive and on track towards your goals?
Just imagine for a moment that you had clarity, confidence, courage and
the skills to make it a reality. It would be great, wouldn't it?
Guess what...it is all possible through coaching!!!
Coaching is ...
Coaching is a process of personal development in which you will achieve
clarity
and confidence to work through issues that hold you back from enjoying
the life
you would love to have. It aims at both personal and professional life.
Through coaching, you will discover how to stay focussed, positive and
on track. You will learn new skills, improve performance and enhance
the overall quality of life.
Successful coaching is based on a creative
collaboration,
a partnership between you and the coach. It facilitates the insight of
who you are, and it will challenge you to examine your habitual outlook
at life.
The miracle of coaching relies on the solution-focus,
instead
of the common focus on problems and what it not working. Coaching looks
for the way forward.
On the practical side, you and the coach will examine a particular
situation or issue, develop strategies and action plans for you to
bring the change or achieve the goals you want. Together you will
evolve
and modify the plans to best suit your needs. The coach will then
monitor progress towards implementation of these plans.
Note that the coach does not have to be an expert in your issues or
area.
You are the expert. The coach cooperates
with you to
create a solution using your knowledge and answers. This is a unique
solution created via an integrated approach based on thinking, feeling,
intuition and perception. It is truly an empowerment!
Coaches do not have the answers. Instead, they have the
questions
that will make you find your own answers.
Coaching...what?
Coaching can address any area of either personal or professional life,
or both.
Example themes include: confidence building, going through change,
carrier change,
improving relationships, task/project completion, spiritual
development,
business running, book writing, getting fit, learning new skills, etc.
Coaching helps you to become both
effective and
efficient
in
reaching goals and improving performance.
Coaching offers solutions when ...
- you are stuck
- you are on a crossroad and wonder which path to go
- you want to increase your confidence and impact in life
- you want to get clarity, organise and achieve
- there are issues in your life that you want to work on or
you addressed in the past, but without significant success
- you are about to undertake a completely new initiative /
project / profession, etc
- you want to become a goal-orientated person
- you want take a full responsibility of your life and make
the best of it
- you want to become authentic and live your life fully
In addition, coaching is beneficial when you have a managerial /
supervision role
either at work or home. You can experience the value of coaching and
learn how
to apply it to your particular situation.
Benefits of Coaching:
There are numerous benefits of coaching. Examples include:
- getting organised and stoping procrastination
- getting on the track of achievements
- better goal setting
- increased project completion
- better performance
- clarity and integrity
- confidence and courage
- enhanced communication skills
- improved relationships
- enhanced self-discovery
- improved quality of life
- lower stress levels
What a coach does?
- A coach is your personal supporter. She takes a stand for
what you want
to create in your life.
- A coach listens to what you are really saying and what you
are not saying.
- A coach works with you to create possibilities both
personally and professionally.
- A coach will both challenge and encourage you to reach the
results you
wish to have.
- A coach helps you clarify your values and set goals based
on those values.
- A coach guides you through the process of goal-setting and
supports you
in achieving those goals.
- A coach acts as a mirror of who you are.
- A coach offers new perspectives.
- A coach acts truthfully when no one else will.
So, ... how does coaching look like in practice?
A coaching process spans a period of time. Sessions of, e.g. 45
min, are
scheduled usually weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the mutual
agreement.
A coaching session is a conversation, usually by phone or face to face,
in which the coach listens deeply to what you say and asks questions in
order to help you gain clarity and identify a way forward.
The conversation is centered around
you
and
your specific topic or issue (chosen by
you), in
agreement with your final goal.
Your aim is to explore the issue and identify practical steps that will
move you forward. The role of the coach is to help you in exploration
and
identification, not only to encourage and support you, but also to
challenge you. The coach will use inquiry, reflection, requests or
discussion for that purpose. The coach is there simply to facilitate
your progress.
Confidentiality and non-judgement
As a coach, I comply with the Code of Practice of The Coaching Academy
in the UK.
You can find it
here.
I promise that all information provided to me during coaching will be
kept strictly
confidential. Throughout the working relationship, I will engage in
direct and
personal conversations, be dedicated and remain non-judgmental. You can
count on me
to be honest and straightforward in asking questions and making
requests.
What can I do for you?
I am passionate about conscious personal development. I
love to
see people transforming towards their full potential. I will offer a
safe, yet challenging, environment in which you can explore own
thoughts, feelings and perceptions in order to identify clear steps
forward. In my role as a coach I will:
- give my best to really understand you and your issues
- help you regain and maintain self-acceptance and
self-confidence
- encourage you to recognise your core strengths, valuable
skills and attributes
- motivate towards
- examine your goals, ideas and interests
- explore real and perceived obstacles on your way to
progress
- focus on the solution and the way forward
- support you in sustainable progress
- help you live a fulfilled and authentic life
Coaching versus other practices
Coaching is
very different from counseling,
psychotherapy,
psychoanalysis, mentoring and consulting.
It is also different from the traditional coaching in sport.
To explain the differences, I will use the analogy of learning to ride
a bicycle.
How [a practitioner] would help you to ride a bicycle?
Counselor / Psychoanalityst:
They would help you to understand why you have not been riding a bike
yet and what is holding you back. They would examine the past
experiences
you had about bikes which are relevant to your current situation.
Counselors would help you to correct the problem (of what is holding
you
back from cycling), while psychoanalysts would help you to live with
it.
Consultant:
Consultants would support you with a manual and tell you everything you
ever wanted to know about a bike. They will provide you with the theory
and mechanisms of riding a bike. Then, they would leave and return some
time later to see how you were doing.
Mentor:
Mentors would share with you their personal experiences of riding a
bike.
They would explain you the stages they went through and also the
lessons
they had learned on the way. Mentors would share their wisdom with you.
Coach:
Coaches would help you jump on the bike and start going. Then, they
would
encourage, acknowledge, support and challenge you, while running
alongside
until you felt comfortable enough to do it alone.
Remember
Coaching only makes sense if you are open to explore and motivated to
take actions.
Useful links:
Coaching
resources
Coaching
vs mentoring
Lesley Matile,
my favorite teacher