In this special episode, we chose to reflect on endings in coaching. Gregor was one of four coaches who contributed to an article on this topic for Coaching At Work, and we wanted to take the opportunity to think this through together on our podcast.

We talk about the emphasis that is placed on the start of coaching engagements, and the importance that is placed on the results that are achieved. Yet, ending a coaching engagement well is a topic that appears to have received less attention, but is crucially important. Listen in if you’d like to learn more about how we can best end coaching engagements.

About the article:

Further to a webinar on ‘Ending Well’, organised by APECS (The Association for Professional Executive Coaches and Supervisors) in November 2021, there was a general recognition that very little had been written on practices related to ending with coaching clients. Wanting to address this topic further, four coaches who had attended the webinar penned an article for Coaching At Work. This has now been published in the May 2022 edition. The intent of the article was to start an inquiry, which may lead to further research that could define and propose best practices within the profession.

Resources:

Coaching at work - https://www.coaching-at-work.com/

APECS - https://www.apecs.org/

In this episode we consider the relevance of leaders integrating coaching skills into their day-to-day work. We reflect on coaching as a mindset and an approach, which can be seen in the way they behave. We discuss some examples of coaching skills that a leader may begin to introduce to their repertoire, such as developing a coaching presence, creating space for others to think, active listening and demonstrating curiosity.

Coaching is highlighted by McKinsey as the number one skill citizens will need in the future of work.

Listen in to this episode if you are interested in learning more about cultivating a coaching style of leadership in your organisation.



Resources:

Mckinsey article - “Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work”: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work

Logical levels of learning: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/lead/logical-levels.html

Reference for Nancy Kline’s Time To Think Pairs process: https://cdn.southampton.ac.uk/assets/imported/transforms/content-block/UsefulDownloads_Download/BE99E9F85CF5447B8537AE3625B93814/Instructions-Thinking-Pairs.pdf

WAIT acronym - Why Am I Talking?

In this episode we explore how we can use metaphors in coaching and how this wonderful tool, that is actually ever present in our language, can help coaches, their clients, leaders and organisations.

Metaphors offer us a symbolic language that goes beyond the limitations of the english language and provides us with a completely different way of expressing ourselves. This can be hugely powerful in coaching when, as a coach, we may offer our client feedback in the form of a visual representation of what we are seeing and/or hearing, or for a client to use as a way of expressing what they are feeling and experiencing. This can open up new learning and insights for the client, and enable them to shift their perspective and achieve transformational change. We share some stories from our coaching practice and reflect on the use and value of metaphor in our coaching sessions with clients.

Listen in to this episode if you are curious about the role of metaphor in coaching or if you’d like to learn how metaphor can facilitate change.