Working with individuals

Most people benefit from using dedicated time and professional coaching to discover the best solution to improve their effectiveness. Coaching or Role Consultation with an individual can entail a number of activities. My methodology is based on the person's needs, their work environment and their aspirations, We build a confidential, one-to-one relationship to understand both effective, and ineffective patterns and habits in their working life. The aim is for this partnership to find the best solutions, crafted for their specific context.

It is based on a model using 'socio-technical' thinking which examines the interplay of the individual in his or her role, and the tasks they perform, within the system (organisation) they work in. This three-layer perspective means the person and their context is seen as an integrated system that effects and influences themselves their colleagues and their work.

Ways of working

A contract is agreed that best suits workloads, urgency, and style of learning. This can be weekly, bimonthly, monthly or as the work progresses even less frequently. This works best if an initial contract is made for 4 to 6 meetings with a review before the end to agree any further work. Each session could be 1.5 to 2 hours. A longer session can become too intense and erodes into other work time.

The contract sets the focus for the work that is regularly reviewed. The focus could be changing leadership style, dealing with feedback from colleagues, planning for the future, decisions about career crossroads or sorting difficult relationships. Most people benefit from using dedicated time and professional coaching to discover the best solution to improve their effectiveness. The sessions with the consultant and the coachee  are completely confidential, based on outcomes agreed with the contracting manager, and achieved at the end of the contract.

A typical session covers the current work environment, highlighting any critical issues.

Some examples of discussion topics:

• Promotion to a more senior role and the implications for both the individual and their team.
• Restructuring that creates either a bigger or a smaller area of responsibility.
• Building a new project, team, unit, or department.
• Politics and relationships.
• Making and communicating difficult decisions.