A coaching client came to me to discuss a challenge they had at work. This client works in an executive role at a large professional services company. A team member was coming to the executive’s office on a regular basis with seemingly long-winded, rambling and meandering background information about various…
Browsing Category Coaching
5 x Why, 5 x Who
You may have heard about the 5 Whys. It was originally developed at Toyota to help them figure out the root causes of failures and inefficiencies on their manufacturing line. Over time, the idea spread – it now shows up in everything from Six Sigma to goal setting. It’s a…
Getting to grips with my Inner Critic
The inner critic is something we all hear from time to time. During a recent coaching session with one of my coaching program peers, the topic of the inner critic came up. We agreed that it could be an interesting exercise for me to explore in more detail who this…
Trust, Lock-in and Switching Costs for Coaches, Consultants, and Advisors
This is post is about lock-in. Let’s get the Urban Dictionary definition out of the way first (it’s the first place my mind went to…): The largely illegal state of a bar or pub during the period of time after last call, during which the bar is locked to all incoming would-be patrons…
5 common myths about coaching
During my journey into coaching, first as a client and then as a coach, I’ve spent quite a bit of time navigating a landscape that can feel a little confusing. As coaching is still a relatively nascent area (particularly in certain countries, cultures and industries), a lot of people aren’t…
Coaching: 15 things that make your heart sing
One of the key components of my coaching certification program is to undertake peer coaching with other members of the cohort. There’s a minimum requirement of peer coaching hours over the program, but most of us have gone above and beyond this already as it’s been very valuable time –…
Diving Deep as a Coach
Moving towards something transformational beneath the surface. The time between 15 and 17 years old were not my finest. I got suspended from school 3 times, dyed my hair some terrible colours, got in (minor) trouble with the police, probably aged my parents by 10 years and was generally pretty…
Untangling Time & Energy
Somewhere along the way you’ve probably been asked a question along the lines of ‘where are you spending your time & energy right now?’ You may have asked it yourself. Time and energy are often paired together. The answer to this question may contain a few elements, or it may…
Why you should say less than necessary
In Robert Greene’s best-selling, controversial book ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ is the law ‘Always say less than necessary’. Whenever I think of this line, and the book more generally, my mind jumps to Marlon Brando in The Godfather, or Niccolo Macchiavelli. But it runs more deeply than just being…
How to facilitate your first class, workshop or training session
My most recent collaboration project launched last week at New York Climate Week. Sustainable Foundations is a workshop series and email course helping to unpack and demystify sustainability for modern business. During its creation I took some time to think about things I’ve learnt putting together similar education experiences [1], and…