Work & Careers

Our coaching is goal-focussed and targeted, but we do not offer templates for success.

Instead, our focus is on listening to the client, and encouraging them in their inner exploration and self-reflection. We believe the client is the expert in their own lives. We support clients in making decisions, but we do not offer cookie-cutter solutions.

Coaching can be challenging, liberating and fun. We use creativity and imagination, but always respecting the comfort zone of the client.

Getting started in a career can be one of the most challenging periods. Whether looking for your first job, getting work experience while in education, or taking the first steps early in your career, you might feel like you are walking in a landscape that is strange, daunting and sometimes even threatening.

First, there is the decision about what it is that you want to do. Will you go for the first job that offers you an income, or take time to develop the skills for something more long-term? From the thousands of careers on offer, which are really of any interest? And how can you make a decision that is right for you, but also fits in with what family and friends are suggesting?

Even when that is all sorted, the first days in a new company can be a real struggle. There are few short cuts to understanding the rules and of norms of work, and the expectations of those around you.

A coach can help you negotiate your way through this unfamiliar territory. This might involve practical help in making a career decision, or discussion about writing your CV or how to approach a job interview. But coaching also offers the opportunity to review your hopes and fears in the early days of your career, and for an open chat about any worries or concerns you might have in a new role.

Most people will face periods of challenge, disappointment and frustration during their career journey. Jobs usually involve working alongside people with different backgrounds, motivation and sometimes widely different attitudes. This can lead to tensions and sometimes conflict.

Coaching can provide a constructive forum to talk about difficult aspects of your work and career. Often, there is no channel for dicussion at work but coaching provides a completely confidential space where you can explore your feelings and potential solutions.      

Maybe you have just been promoted, or perhaps you have made a switch to a new department. However big or small the step into a new role, it will make significant demands on your resources.

Some of the skills and aptitudes that have made you successful in your  old role may not be applicable in the new position. Getting to know a new team, working in a new location, or taking on new responsibilities, you will need to dig deep.

Coaching offers a confidential and safe space in which you can talk through the demands of a new job role, with someone who has deep personal experience of the challenges involved. 

Switching jobs? Nothing sounds easier. In fact, research has shown that making a significant career transition can be as demanding as buying a house or going through a divorce. 

But it can also be liberating and life-affirming. You will deal with uncertainty and self-doubt, but you will also have the exhileration of setting out on a new road.  You are taking control of your life and deciding what it is that you want to do, rather than treading water or going with the flow.

What images go through your mind when you think of taking a new career path? For some it might conjure up the image of white-water rafting or downhill skiing, for others it might feel terrifying, like taking a walk in a dark forest at night.

Discussing these feelings in coaching is an ideal way to prepare yourself for the journey.  

Mnay people leave the workforce for a period, either to take a sabbatical or gap year, for a period of maternity or paternity leave, or perhaps for health reasons or redundancy.

Returning to the workforce can be daunting. You may have changed during the period of absence from work, and when you return you mmay go back with different attitudes, and new life experiences that change your relationship with colleagues. Or you may have lost confidence if the period of absence has been extended. 

It’s not uncommon also for work relationships to change. Some of your former colleagues may have moved on, or moved into diffrent positions. You might find that a close colleague has been promoted and is suddenly now your boss.

Whatever the reasons for leaving a job, whether it was your own choice or beyond your control, coaching can help you engage with the often complex emotions running through you when you go back into the workplace.

Setting up your own business requires clear goals and meticulous planning, but also strong drive and the ability to deal with uncertainty. Few people have all of the practical skills and personality traits required by the successful entrepreneur.

Coaching can help you identify the qualities that really work for you in the business you have chosen to develop, and what aspects you will need to develop further. Writing a business plan, financial planning, writing a mission statement, seeking funding, taking on and motivating staff, the day-to-day logistics of operations, lead generation and sales, and dealing with unpredictable events: all of these will make demands on you, some of which you will be ready for, and some of which will require you to dig deep and find new strategies for coping.

Talking through the business challenges with an experienced coach can help you maximize your chances of success. The coach can be a sounding board for ideas, provide practical help with devising a business plaan, help devise strategies for the various aspects of the business, as well as helping the client with their motivation or concerns.

Taking a leadership role is a huge step forward in a career. Leading a team and taking full responsibility for the strategic direction of a business are massive challenges. The skills required may be very different from those that have carried you along in your journey so far.

Rather like the entrepreneur’s journey, leadership involves a complex blend of skills: practical, strategic, personal, communication, emotional and motivational.  As well as these skills, strong personal integrity and resilience are essential.

Coaching can help leaders meet the demands they face on an ongoing basis, as well helping new leaders step up to the challenge.

Many people who have led long and successful careers reach a stage where they want to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to a new generation.

Retirement coaching can involve planning for a future with more leisure and free time. This might involve identifying the interests that will sustain you, dealing with any financial concerns, and exploring new relationships that might be relevant to making this a fulfilled and happy period of life. 

But retirement coaching can also help open up new channels for those who wish to explore ways to contribute to society even after they have finished work. This may involve getting involved in volunary or chairity work, setting up a new business, or taking part in activities that have not been possible until now because of the demands of work.

Coaching is for all stages of the work and career journey. We believe that it can be  rewarding for those who have finished work but still on a journey towards fulfilment and seeking meaning in life.