What is coaching?

Coaching is simply a conversation between the two of us to help you to advance your thinking

(Kim Witten, life coach)

This is what I do during a coaching session:

  • Offer a confidential, non-judgmental space & sounding board, allowing you to speak freely & at whatever pace you want.

  • Follow the code of ethics & core values of coaching as set out by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

  • Reflect back at what I’m hearing. This is to allow you to hear it in a new way as well as to ensure that you know I’ve understood you correctly; this gives you the opportunity to correct or clarify my understanding of what you shared.

  • Gently challenge your thinking with insightful questions or observations. I will only make observations if I think it will be helpful to your thinking process in the moment & I will always ask first if it welcome - I don’t want to interrupt your thinking with my thinking.

I may also…

  • Share what is coming up for me as I hear you speak, as a way to co-create the experience together.

  • Take a moment to step back & allow us to reflect on where we’re at with our conversation or the challenge at hand.

  • Take notes or try to capture key moments in other ways. I will aim to do this in the least disruptive way as possible.

  • Offer tools or techniques that may be useful. I will only do this if we’ve already agreed that these offerings are generally welcome & I will always ask before offering something to you.

Everyone is different & so I coach you in a way that makes sense to you. Some women like ‘homework’ & visual aids & lots of messaging between sessions. Others prefer to stick to pure coaching & nothing else. Others would rather just experience things & not worry too much about how it all works. These are the things we’d figure out together over time, to arrive at what works best for you. And we’ll adapt as things change.

Coaching is led by you. You are the expert on your own life. As a coach, I am the expert on the process of coaching. You know what’s best for you, & I help facilitate the process of discovery, application & reflection.

I believe that everyone is creative, resourceful & whole. I believe that you have the ability to come up with the thoughts, ideas & solutions that are right for you. That you already have everything you need to do this. There is nothing broken, you don’t need ‘fixing.’

Simply put, my role is to raise your awareness through deep listening, gentle challenges & insightful questions, so you can achieve your goals. We go at your pace, exploring the obstacles & celebrating the challenges along the way.

What I won’t do is judge you, give advice or my personal opinions. Of course, you are always welcome to ask - & I will respond creatively & humorously, usually with a variation of, ‘what do you wish I would say?’ Saying out loud what you wish I’d tell you is always more helpful to you than anything I could say!