If you have gone through the other material on the site about the one-to-one executive coaching programme, the product page as well as the information article, and are keen to know about the process from start to finish, then this article should help.
We have a chat
Before we start working together we’ll have a chat – probably over zoom – so that I can find out more about you or your team’s coaching needs and if I am the right coach for you. If you are the one interested in the coaching then this conversation will serve as the “chemistry check.” If one of your team is to engage in the programme then we would need to meet separately to see if we’re a good fit.
I’ll ask you to describe your organisation, your remit, and why either you or one of your team wish to engage in the programme.
Once I have a clearer idea of what you are looking for I’ll give you an indication of what I charge. There are a number of phases to any coaching programme, and I’ll go through them now.
1. Pre-Programme
The work carried out in this phase determines whether the programme is viable and should go ahead.
Chemistry Check
This is a chance for us to meet up and see if we are a “match” for a good coach-client relationship. It’s your chance to find out more about me, what coaching entails, what my approach is and whether it works for you. It’s my chance to find out about you and to make sure that you are engaging for the right reasons. I’ve written more about who coaching is not right for in this piece.
If you are better served by engaging with one of my associates, I’ll put you in touch with them.
I’ll send you a proposal
Once I’m clear on your requirements and the work involved in the programme I’ll send you a proposal.
The proposal will include an outline design of the coaching programme, its content – which will be refined during the discovery phase – as well as timeframes and more general issues such as where the coaching takes place, and my work methods.
It will also contain a quote which should be similar to the figure we discussed in our introductory call. The use of psychometric tools and 360-degree feedback will also be factored into the final number. My fee will be based on my skills and experience. It includes not just the time delivering the training but also the preparation, research and meetings conducted in advance.
2. Discovery
This phase is concerned with me getting to know you, building a firm coach-client relationship and clarifying the goals of the programme. This phase can take anywhere from two weeks to a month – the use of techniques such as 360-degree feedback takes time. Where appropriate I will use a mix of the techniques involved below:
Enrolment Questionnaire
I’ll send you an enrolment questionnaire to complete.
Psychometrics
I will brief you on the psychometrics I am licenced to use. I will use them if I feel that they will give:
- More insight into you, your preferences and focus, as well as
- Further context to the goal setting and programme content.
Three-Way Meeting
I will meet you and the programme sponsor – usually your manager – to agree on the programme goals from the organisation’s perspective. I will broach the topic of client-coach confidentiality and impress upon you and your manager to remain in contact on the substance of the programme as it progresses. I won’t be able to discuss the content of our conversations with your manager, so it is important that you keep them in the loop so that they are able to see value and give feedback on what they are seeing.
360-Degree-Feedback
This is a way of bringing objective feedback and comment into play from the people who are significant figures in your work environment. These could be your peers, boss, executives and even customers. Its value is in the fact that it increases your self-awareness – we are not only relying on your point of view but also those of others.
3. Application and Action
In this phase we work on the themes identified in the discovery phase. The sessions tend to last between 90 minutes and two hours. The first two sessions are close together – a week to two weeks apart- with a gap of three to four weeks between subsequent sessions which take place over three to four months.
The First Session
The first session is concerned with exploring the themes that have emerged during the discovery phase as well as firming up on both organisational and personal goals for the programme. It also gives me a chance to find out more about you and your history.
Core Sessions
In these sessions we work on the goals identified. At the start of each session we clarify and frame the goals to work on. I follow your agenda, so you should always have a big goal or a series of smaller ones to work on when you arrive into the session. At the end we agree actions for you to focus on between sessions
4. Consolidation
Here we take stock and assess what we have done so far.
This is a chance for us to check in with the programme sponsor or any other stakeholder with an interest. We can explore what they are seeing, look for feedback and incorporate any new goals if necessary. In the final sessions we look for opportunities to work on new goals and consolidate any new behaviours developed. We also look forward and plan for what happens post-programme.
5. Programme Review
Once the programme is over we sit down to review the work with the project sponsor and any other interested stakeholder. In the session we detail the achievements along with any new behaviours developed and explore their views on your progress.
This is the ideal time to agree on what happens next and if it is appropriate to engage in another block of work.
Summary
So that’s it. If this all makes sense to you and you’ve gone through the product page and all of the other information about the programme on the website you can click on the link below to schedule our first chat.
