Making Positive Changes For Professional Goals

A manager approached The Leadership Coaches after identifying that they needed to make some positive changes to get the most out of their professional life. After a successful chemistry session, the manager and leadership coach Wendy began to work together. 

Over the course of eight months, the client was able to identify their values, which helped them understand more about how they navigate certain situations. They also set some goals and found their confidence increased as coaching progressed. 

Below, we share insight into how the client felt before, during, and after coaching with Wendy. 

Before Leadership Coaching

I am feeling in a bit of limbo at the moment from a professional perspective and feel I need to work with someone to understand this and make some positive changes to get more worth out of my professional life. I feel that my ability to impact things has started to wane to what I used to deliver, and I have moved into the management of people impacting things rather than being hands-on myself as much.  

I think that I find myself feeling more responsible for other people (my team) and how they are progressing than looking at what I should be doing to get to the next level professionally.  

Sometimes I think that I am involved with and doing a number of things all about 50% as well as I could do them if I had more time to get through the work where really my time is pulled between so many things that until things are going wrong, I don’t really justify spending time on things. 

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Mid-Point Coaching Review

Discussing various aspects of the outcomes and goals with Wendy has been beneficial. Understanding where my values lie and what I need to try and improve has been important for me and working through this by understanding how others have done some of the things I have focused on.  

I am more confident in my convictions and effectively managing upwards as well as managing and having more of a command of my work. I think that I have the skills of putting more focus on the things that require my input rather than some of the things that simply do not require me.  

I am approaching sessions with my team as well as my line manager with more purpose and also trying to get others to think about how they can approach their job in order to get better outcomes. I am trying to empower others to take control of their own work and working in a way that they are acting with intent so that I can create resilience in the team and effective decision making whilst creating an environment where people still feel supported. 

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End-Point Coaching Review

I am better at handling decision-making and knowing what I need to bring to my manager and what I do not. With the increased workload on me and my manager, I am in a position where I am trusted to proceed with decisions and not require oversight on everything. I continue to build resilience in my team through ensuring that they are equipped to lead on pieces of work and understand what my expectations of them are even when I am not present.  

I believe that the team is in a strong position at the moment, and this is something that we can continue to build on as my focus moves towards the next contract. I meet the managing directors and the CEO directly rather than having my manager as a conduit or safety net. This has been beneficial for me and allows me to control the messaging and the narrative to senior leaders in the organisation. This also allows me to raise and discuss specific items with them directly and increases my accountability with them, which is something that I always wanted to have.