Coaching leaders and professionals
Today all leaders and professionals have to think and act quickly; it is demanding and complex to get right. Coaching can help to pause the action, and bring clarity, focus and direction.
How do we coach?
We assist people in gaining new insights on their life and work, and in developing more successful approaches to whatever they are focusing on. Based on this heightened understanding, people are able to open up new opportunities, and increase their scope for action. Our aim is in creating managers and professionals who take more responsibility and demonstrate higher levels of confidence.
Through coaching, we assist leaders and professionals in becoming more agile, which requires a whole new understanding and living of leadership. We assist leaders in thinking new thoughts, exploring new possibilities – which will make them be more futurist. We assist leaders in being great with their people in a world that challenges us to stay focused on the human being – thus being more humanist.
When is it useful?
Coaching is useful in times of change, in times of great challenge or great complexity.
Work 4.0 is exactly this – a whole new way of working, leading and living.
Anyone can benefit from coaching; executives, managers, project or team leaders, specialists or employees. Our experience suggests it can address topics such as leadership, performance, career step-ups, personal development, conflict, work-life integration, relationships and skill development.
All CONTRACT coaches work as consultants and facilitators in many fields; when coaching we draw on our rich experience in facilitating leadership development, personal development, and developing organisations – as well as our experience of working in the corporate world! This helps us make it useful for all situations.
Implementing futurist strategies – leading in humanist ways – operating with agility
We pride ourselves on providing the ‘right fit’ between a coach and leader.
In this initial call we listen to needs, situations and provide input from our own experience.
We set goals and agree on timescales for the coaching rhythm.
Next the coach and leader together confirm the priority areas for coaching.
We then set goals (preferably with a line manager’s input) and agree on the scope of the process.
We scope out a sequence for dealing with the goals and priorities, start to develop activities to be completed in between coaching sessions and note any additional resources that could be useful to draw on.
3 – 5 coaching sessions in total – in person or virtual
Timed to suit needs and urgency
Each session lasts 60-90 mins
Leader centred process PLUS coach suggestions where relevant
Plan and sequence is adapted as we go – priorities change and we respond
The leader puts things into practice between the coaching sessions
These actions are agreed at the end of each session
They potentially include implementing decisions, shifting behaviours, making changes to approaches or methods or completing off-line learning activities e.g. watching video clips, self-reflection activity or reading articles
Review progress as we go and after the final coaching session
We carry out joint assessments of progress made on priorities, goals the impact the leader has made
We include managers for their feedback where necessary and input on what has been applied and learned
We agree further actions as required
What virtual coaching provides
- A resource that can be accessed as a planned programme or for one-off problem solving
- Essential support to successfully migrate to remote working
- Focussed time to reflect on their priorities
- Opportunity to reflect on remote leadership challenges such as trust, connection and morale
- An ‘off-line’ space for leaders to think through operational challenges and plan for success
- A time to re-balance business imperatives and the human system
- A forum to learn how to thrive in a time of crisis
- Ongoing opportunities to check-in and review progress
