Is it like sports coaching?
For many, when they hear of “coaching”, they think of sports coaching. That netball, football or tennis coach who taught you at school.
The career coaching I offer has some similarities, but important differences too.
Like a sports coach:
I am invested in your development
I offer moral support and encouragement
I help you set goals and work towards them
But there are differences too. Unlike a sports coach:
I am not a technical specialist in your field
Where you would hire a sports coach for their technical know-how and expertise in the sport, my role is not to teach you technical skills in your field (even if I could!). For this, my clients have different resources: be that online courses, or specialist mentors with 20+ years’ experience in their field.
I do not tell you what to do
In the same vein, I do not give you “the answers” or “the secrets to career success”. I do not profess to be a “career consultant” or “business guru”. Again, for this my clients have a range of other resources: from career mentors to subscriptions to business journals.
So, what does a coach do?
As your Career Coach, I play a different role, much closer to that of a sports psychologist than a sports coach. That is, I support you on matters of the mind.
I listen, observe and ask questions
Since I’m not telling you what to do, I add value by listening carefully to you, observing and asking questions. For most people, this is a totally new experience. We’re so used to receiving advice from friends and family, that to be listened to for 60 minutes can at first feel odd. The results, however, speak for themselves. Clients who receive quality attention report that the quality of their thinking improves. Coupled with powerful questions and insightful observations, clients are able to go much further with their topic or challenge than they ever could on their own. The end result? Clients repeatedly report feeling a greater sense of control and ownership over their careers, more clarity and confidence.
I help you to optimise your mindset
It’s not only your technical skill set that matters in your career. As your Career Coach, I help you to notice and question your mindset - something a lot of us often underestimate the power of. Using proven exercises, visualisations and questioning techniques, we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of your self-talk and thinking patterns, so that mentally you can take control and be at your best. In doing so, you will learn a huge amount about yourself: what matters to you, motivates you, scares you and excites you.
I enable you to dream big
Okay, I admit, this one sounds really clichéd. But it’s important, because so many of us play small when it comes to our careers. Why? Because when we dream big, we dislodge ourselves from our comfort zones and things start getting scary. As your Career Coach, an important part of my role is to expand your horizons and to challenge your perceptions of what is possible.
I help you to make decisions and take action towards meaningful goals
Where a sports coach might set a goal for you, I believe that you are best placed to make your own decisions and to set your own goals. Who am I to tell you to “go for that promotion” or that it’s “time to change jobs”? Instead, I help you to set goals that really matter to you - goals that motivate you intrinsically and tap into your core values.
“Sessions with Euan really helped me to identify and use my strengths to work towards personal goals that, with his help, seemed achievable for the first time. ”
What can I be coached on?
Hopefully, that gives you a better sense of what coaching is. The beautiful thing about the coaching approach - listening, observing and asking questions - is that it can be used to address literally any topic, challenge or question. Be that how to break out of a rut, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, how to achieve more than you already are.
Here’s a just a shortlist of the types of questions we could explore together:
How can I find work that lights me up inside and that pays enough?
How am I meant to appear confident and resilient in senior meetings when I feel stressed and nervous inside?
What can I do to gain greater work/life balance, when I’m only just hitting deadlines with my current hours?
What can I do to get promoted more quickly?
What does “success” look like and mean to me?
How will I know when I’ve realised my potential?
Where do friends and relationships fit into my busy job?
Is my current career path in line with what really matters to me?
How can I feel more motivated and find the energy to do what I’ve been putting off?
Whatever your question or challenge, we can work on it together.
“As a confident self-starter, I struggled initially to see the value of coaching - what could a coach tell me about myself that I didn’t already know?
In response, Euan was patient and inquisitive. He led me through a number of structured exercises to help me define my core goals and uncovered a number of limiting beliefs preventing me achieving them.
Our work together helped me establish a clarity of purpose which ultimately led to a successful career transition from the private to the public sector. I would strongly recommend anyone considering their career next steps to do the same.”
DO I NEED COACHING?
Whether you feel you’re already excelling, or whether you currently feel a bit stuck, career coaching can have huge benefits.
Typically, career coaching is ideally suited to anyone who:
Sees the value of investing in themselves
Wants to supercharge their self-awareness and personal growth
Wants to take more ownership and control over their career
Finds themselves overthinking or going in circles on certain issues
Could do with more dedicated time and space for themselves
Wants to accelerate their career progress
Is ready to do the work and take action to improve their life
For many years, these things were true for me personally, but I resisted coaching, believing that I could make just as much progress on my own. Be that by talking to a friend or in deep self-reflection.
My opinion changed on my first encounter with coaching. The conversation was unlike any I’d experienced before, and resolved what I felt was a major career challenge in just one session.
Now a coach myself and still also a client (yes, even coaches have coaches), I’m continually surprised at what coaching can unlock for people.
If you’re intrigued by coaching but are hesitant about giving it a go, the best way to tell whether coaching is for you is to experience it. For this reason, I offer a 30-minute sample session, free of charge, no strings attached. Follow the link below to book yours: