Category Archives: Clients and testimonials

Coaching: the Rolls Royce of personal development experiences

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I have a reciprocal arrangement with a coaching colleague, whereby we interview a percentage of each other’s clients at the close of a coaching relationship. This supports the process of drawing coaching to a close and yields valuable feedback which helps us both to continue to learn and grow.

Recently, I completed my coaching with RN, a senior leader in his organisation with a European remit. I am grateful to him for allowing me to share his testimonial following our work together. He told my colleague:

“My goals for coaching have been 100% met. I have adopted a more conscious approach to work and career decisions and I am more aware of options. Coaching has enabled and accelerated my ability to identify my values, priorities and options in my work life. I am more energized and happier and so more productive – and this has spilled into my private life too. This is more than I expected when we started.

“In the initial opening session we discussed coaching and set the scene and it went well from there. Dorothy had a positive attitude and was a good listener. She was always challenging and asked me questions that opened up new perspectives for me. I found coaching action-orientated – it was not relaxing at all and at the same time it’s a very selfish thing, wonderful to have someone there to talk to where it is all about you. I liked the length of our sessions: they gave time to get to the bottom of things but not be tired. The frequency was adapted to my priorities. Also, when I sent e-mails in between sessions I always got a quick happy, and positive response from Dorothy.

“What would I say to anyone who was thinking of investing in coaching? It is the Rolls-Royce of personal development experiences. I would recommend it absolutely”.

As I review R’s comments I celebrate our work together – including so many details about our coaching partnership and about R’s commitment to coaching which I am in no position to share.

And I also extend an invitation to you: if R’s testimonial describes an experience you would like to have, or if you know someone who may be interested to work with me, please contact me directly via dorothy@learningforlifeconsulting.co.uk.

Client testimonials – a gift to an unknown future

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Organisations (more correctly, individuals who work for organisations) commission coaching for a reason. And the reasons for which they commission coaching are many and varied. One manager sees the potential in a young executive and wants to nurture it. Another leader wants to support their highly skilled technician (lawyer, IT specialist, accountant, actuary) in developing the non-technical attributes needed to progress to a leadership role. Another manager wants to keep the person whose job has disappeared and sees coaching as a way of supporting that individual in making a decision – to stay or not to stay?

Sometimes there are hidden reasons for commissioning coaching and these unfold over time. Perhaps the brittle warmth between the manager commissiong coaching and the person for whom coaching is sponsored (barely) conceals the near total breakdown of their relationship. Perhaps the commissioning manager cannot bring him or herself directly to address the glaring mismatch between the person to whom they are offering coaching and the job they are in. Perhaps the best salesman (or woman) on the patch is at risk of alienating their colleagues or of burnout, or…, or…, or…

Sometimes clients come directly, funding coaching from their corporate budgets or setting aside time and money of their own to address an agenda that requires skills or time that are not otherwise available. The early achiever wonders, now that I’ve fulfilled my aspirations, why am I not happy? The midlife career professional wants to find a way of balancing a successful career with home and family and maybe even having some kind of life. The CEO seeks out a place where he (or she) can ask for challenge as well as support.

And always, quite quickly, two people find themselves alone in a room at the beginning of a relationship that will develop in ways that neither can predict and to do work together whose outcomes are as yet unknown. No matter that the agenda is, on the surface, cut, dried and impersonal. The reality is infinitely personal because, when it comes to making changes in our lives, we cannot change the others, we can only change ourselves.

The hidden depths of coaching are such that clients often want to shout their successes from the rooftops and yet, to do so anonymously. For the coaches, too, who watch miracles unfold and know they have played a role in the unfolding, there can be a wish to shout their celebrations from the rooftops even whilst knowing that such shouting needs to take place within the strict confines of a confidentiality agreement.

I ponder this today as I begin to explore with clients who might be willing to share what with readers of this blog so that, over time, I can say to potential clients: “if you want to know what coaching does for my clients, take a look at my blog”. In this way, client testimonials become a gift to an unknown future – to people as yet unknown, whose reasons for seeking the support of a professional coach have not yet been identified.

And if you are interested to read them, watch this space.