Coaching Conversations : CASE STUDY WHAT CAREER DO I WANT?

Tuesday, 16 March 2021

CASE STUDY WHAT CAREER DO I WANT?

CLIENT

The client had three career paths available to them. The first was secure, interesting and rewarding, but only part-time. The second was based on a lifetime and family interest with potential for income. The third was based on a technical skill which was financially rewarding but less compelling as a long-term option. The coaching conversation centred around these options and the lifestyle implications, issues and opportunities arising from each and/or a blend of these.

SESSIONS

At first the coaching conversation followed the clients past, interests and background and the context in which the options were being considered.

The coach tentatively offered that the coach for the exercise may be to make a decision but it became clear that there was no pressing timescale for a decision and indeed the options were not exclusionary (only one option). The coaching conversation therefore was an exploration of options and the clients feeling for each (confidence, capacity, drive, desire) rather than toward any specific conclusion or selection.

The second coaching conversation followed some recent changes at work which favoured one option over another, but again with no requirement to make any specific commitment. The coaching conversation therefore focussed on the future rather than the "hear and now" with a view to exploring an ideal future for which steps could be made without compromise to the existing situation.

REFLECTIONS

The coaching conversation about the clients past, interests and background drew the coach to want to take a psychoanalytical approach with considerable curiosity to the experience and motivations of the client. However this urge was resisted in favour of a client-centred approach.

In the psychoanalytic approach, the focus is on the unconscious mind rather than the conscious mind. It is built on the foundational idea that your behavior is determined by experiences from your past that are lodged in your unconscious mind.

The client-centered approach focuses on providing unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuine support in order to help the client reach a more congruent view of herself. This means letting the client set the agenda, scope, direction and outcomes rather than the coach be the expert/teacher/doctor with the client being the student/candidate/patient.

It was the coaches view that the psychoanalytical approach would be interesting for the coach, but the client-centered approach more useful for the client.

For the coach the coaching conversation represents an open dialogue which is supportive for the client. An explanation may help: If two friends trust each other they may well seek each others counsel and explore thoughts and feelings, and well as exchange ideas and experiences. This does not "end" as soon as one person feels better about something that vexes or intrigues them. The relationship is still there and a resource which may be called upon again and again but without committent, obligation or a schedule.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The Coach engages in training and continuing education pursuing and/or maintaining ICF (International Coach Federation) credentials. All coaching conversations are confidential and the abbreviated case above has been amended so as to protect the anonymity for the client whilst providing evidence of coaching practice, reflection and learning, for the purposes of ICF education, supervision, or oversight.

All coaching engagements follow ICF Policies and Principles Resources, Terms and Conditions https://www.adaptconsultingcompany.com/coachingtoolkit/client.php

Glossary

Person-centered coaching
The goal of Person-centered coaching is to provide clients with an opportunity to develop a sense of self where they can realize how their attitudes, feelings and behavior are being negatively affected.

Useful reference
https://positivepsychology.com/client-centered-therapy/

Psychodynamic coaching
The psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality.

Useful reference
https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/2014-08-07-5-top-tips-to-systems-psychodynamic-coaching

Behavioral coaching
This approach seeks to identify and help change potentially self-destructive or unhealthy behaviors. It functions on the idea that all behaviors are learned and that unhealthy behaviors can be changed.

Useful reference
https://www.businessballs.com/coaching-and-mentoring/cognitive-behavioural-coaching/

Existential coaching
Existential coaching emerged from existential therapy, which focuses on the human condition as a whole. The approach is informed by existential thinkers such as Sartre, Kierkegaard, De Beauvoir and Fanon, and is the only form of psychotherapy based in philosophy. Existential work looks at what it means to be an individual, how we can use our inner wisdom to resolve issues, and how we can view our struggles as inherently human rather than as dysfunction or defect.

Useful reference
http://www.plexworld.com/coach02.html

FEEDBACK FROM CLIENTS

“I have really enjoyed working with Tim for a few sessions. After the chaotic 2020 we have all experienced, the thoughts in my head felt like the insides of a tumble dryer. I knew I had the solutions for some of the challenges I was experiencing, I just couldn’t tease them out. Speaking with Tim helped me to unravel some of the strands of my thinking and follow them through to identify several potential options as well as talk through the role I play in each scenario. Having someone listen without judgement and ask inciteful questions was invaluable at the time that I needed it the most. I have recommended him to others.”

I found Tim's approach to coaching extremely helpful in exporting ideas and thinking of solutions. Tim really helped me to identify the cause of a particular stumbling block I had, thus enabling me to address it and move forward.

Tim's approach will always help you explore and reveal more options and solutions. Tim knows how to motivate and guide you to find and achieve your goals. His ideas and way of thinking are built to help you eliminate any challenges you might face. Happy to have worked with him and would warmly recommend to anyone.

It’s great working with Tim, it took me a few sessions to understand that there was almost nothing he couldn’t help on. He’s encyclopaedic on concepts that aid all areas of working life. His ability to be a head of the conversation creates a clear and effective pathway for any idea or challenge that is presented to him. He helped me with understanding the potential of myself, improved how i communicate and manage information, whilst maintaining a deep integrity for detail and complexity. Like with all excellent educational experiences my first thought is, how I wish more people can access it. He’s helped specifically in two areas, to present a systems approach methodology to a governmental group, and to rationalise my ideas for a small food business that I am a director of.

Tim's style, manner and pragmatic approach has been very valuable. His contribution will have a positive and lasting effect on the way we work as a team.

Tim Rogers independent and external view provided an excellent sounding-board and some practical challenges to the delivery of the IT Strategy and the development of the Service Delivery Plan and related Key Performance Indicators. What was particularly helpful was the use of a coaching and collaborative style that kept us in the driving seat, but allowed us to call on Tim’s experience at strategic intervals. We believe this allowed is to achieve on 6 weeks what might otherwise have taken 6 months