My Coaching Strategy
- Dynamic: I aim to adapt and be flexible in my professional coaching activities to meet clients’ individual needs
- Developmental: At the heart of my coaching practice is a drive for continuous personal and professional development for Coach and clients alike. From a personal perspective, focusing on my professional and personal development helps me support to my clients, as well as expanding my professional knowledge. I undertake continuous professional development (CPD), which is also a requirement of the ICF, as well as partaking in Coach Supervision, both 1-2-1 and Group Supervision.
- Coaching: ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. I am a member of the ICF and align with their Code of Ethics. I also have professional indemnity insurance
My Coaching Ethos
I adopt an integrated approach to coaching, which means I do not approach coaching from only one theoretical perspective but rather select from a range of suitable tools and techniques that are appropriate for the client and their situation. As examples, I employ some of the following foundations:
Behavioural psychology – the late Sir John Whitmore developed the GROW model, which can be found in his book Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership (here)
Person-centred perspectives – Nancy Kline asserts her ‘Time to Think‘ philosophy for leadership and coaching, through the process of creating a thinking environment. See here: https://www.timetothink.com/
Cognitive behavioural – Using the ABC Framework was developed by Albert Ellis (1962) and this theory is used to explain to the clients how their (cognition/thinking) beliefs are the causes for their reactions (e.g., behaviours, emotions). ABC stands for: A = activating event; B = beliefs; C = Consequences.
Gestalt and the empty chair technique – Useful in working through a current situation and enables the client to be more aware of different perspectives. See here for more information – https://positivepsychology.com/empty-chair-technique/
Solution-focused and the ‘magic question‘ – Imagine you wake up on Monday morning and all your problems are gone, and you have reached your goal. when you wake up what will be the first things that will tell you that the miracle has happened? How will you know that the transformation has occurred? This process allows you to experience how reaching our goals feels, and to work through problem elimination to reach those goals. See here for more information – https://www.universalcoachinstitute.com/miracle-question/
Systemic – developed by John Whittington, the Constellations technique allows the client to view their scenario within the system that embodies it, e.g. work, school. See here for more information: https://coachingconstellations.com/
Dr Diana Clayton, Executive Coach 