“I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.” – John Russell, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.

Performance coaching, whether in a business or personal situation is a relatively new profession and many people don’t really understand the process or its potential effects. “What can a coach do for me?” is a common and appropriate question. So two important ideas have to be set out at the start: 1) coaches do not give advice or counsel people and 2) coaching is not therapy. Coaching is a process where we work together to determine and clarify your goals and develop and support a plan to help you to reach them.

Coaching is a unique and confidential partnership focused on how to do what you want to do. When you work with a coach, you give yourself a better chance of succeeding. You discover and build on your strengths. You fine-tune your skills. You notice when you’re getting in your own way – and then get out of it.

We believe coaches facilitate positive change by improving thinking. The role of the coach is to help people think better and move into action, not to tell them what to do (or why). The coaching process questions our internal life and the way we do things. Many of the answers to these questions are found in our relationship with ourselves and others – the core of emotional intelligence. Flexing these social skills, now acknowledged as a strong predictor of success in life, builds these key competencies.

What coaching involves:

• Focused interaction: Regular communication and meetings (face-to-face or by phone).
• Realistic assessment: Re-evaluation of current position.
• Relevant goal-setting: Clearly defining personal goals, providing clarification and clear priority.
• An action-oriented focus and structure.

What a coach does:

The coaching relationship is dynamic and the coach can play different roles

• As a facilitator: supports self-directed learning through powerful questioning.
• As a catalyst: assists with developing new personal insight.
• As a mentor: focuses attention on the potential for positive change.
• As an impartial observer: aligns actions with chosen goals.
• As a provocateur: Stretches and challenges goals to motivate action.

What coaching provides:

• Clear structures and methods focused on promoting useful actions to achieve specific goals.
• Processes to help break big goals and hurdles into smaller achievable steps.
• Honest feedback in an environment free from external judgments and agendas.
• Confidential discussion outside of existing work and personal relationships
• A source of encouragement and accountability that assists movement from intention to action.

More and more organizations and individuals use coaches to help them reach important goals. That’s because coaching works to effect positive change.

It’s Understood’s head coach, Sue specializes in workplace communication.

Communication is one of your most critical skills in business and in living. Effective leadership, successful sales calls, collaborative teamwork, productive meetings, and great relationships all rely on your ability to communicate effectively.

Andrew is focused on improving how project teams work together and, in particular, the performance of introverts in an extroverted world.

Together, you and your coach will discover and build on your strengths to accelerate your progress towards your personal and professional goals. Interested, let’s chat: