How does coaching work?

In short - you talk, and your coach listens and reflects your conversation back to you, asking open questions, and allowing you to steer the direction of the conversation.

We don’t often talk out loud to ourselves - at least, not for an hour! When we talk out loud, we hear ourselves differently - and can often be surprised by what we find ourselves saying. As your coach is reflecting back to you, we also have a chance to hear afresh what we’re saying - giving us insight into what we’re really thinking.

This insight is really powerful - allowing you to work with the way you see yourself, and not against it, making long-lasting changes at a deeper level.

Don’t we know what we’re thinking?

We all have an ‘inner narrative’, that we’re sometimes aware of but is often subconscious. This narrative tells us how we see ourselves, and our place in the world around us. This can hinder our progress, for example, if we don’t ‘see ourselves’ as deserving a promotion or new job, or as the kind of person who exercises regularly.

When we want to make changes, and know what steps we need to take, but find ourselves not being able to take them, getting stuck, or finding excuses, it’s often because there’s a disconnect between our conscious plan, and the way we see ourselves.

What is ‘transformational’ coaching?

Rather than focusing purely on practical barriers to making progress and the steps we can take to over come them, transformational coaching helps us to understand how the way we see ourselves on an emotional or subconscious level might be stopping us getting to where we want to be.

Perhaps you’d like to move jobs, but are finding it hard to motivate yourself to actually take action - refreshing your CV, applying for roles, connecting with others in the field. Talking with a coach can help you uncover what’s really going on, what’s stopping you from taking action - and what to do about it.