Sometimes, I like to “claim” a client. This is a process whereby I let someone know I think they’d benefit from coaching and that, if ever they decide to pursue it, I’d love to be their coach – or to help them to find the coach who’s right for them.
Sometimes, too, I offer a scholarship to young people with high potential – the future leader, for example, whose employing organisation has not yet spotted their potential or (because of my personal interest and engagement in music and the performing arts) the talented performer or future star.
The testimonial below comes from one such client – someone I “claimed” as a client and who took up my offer of a coaching scholarship. Oftentimes, high performance comes at a personal cost so I am struck by the benefits to my client in his work from learning to look after himself.
Coaching was Dorothy’s idea – it wasn’t something I’d thought of doing. I’ve experienced coaching as personal to me – learning about myself and what I enjoy. It’s been a way of learning how to live in a way that suits me – learning what I want and how to get it.
Before we started working together I was doing my work as well as I knew how but I wasn’t looking after myself and I was experiencing some stress. I wasn’t willing to take risks and I didn’t have the confidence and energy to change.
Coaching has opened up a new way of thinking for me. Now I’m checking in with myself regularly and acting on my own feedback. I’m more relaxed and happy and my confidence levels are higher. I’m working more and better as a result.
As my coach, Dorothy created trust from the beginning and maintained her commitment to confidentiality which was important to me. I get a strong sense of her dedication – her willingness to contribute her time and expertise to help. I also found it quite liberating to be left to set the agenda and to judge the outcome myself. There was no judgment – I’ve never experienced anything like that before.
Would I recommend coaching? Yes, I’d recommend it to anyone. I thought it was for certain people with certain problems but now I realise it’s for anyone.