Paul’s Own Coaching Experience so Far: Taking the Leap of Faith

Paul Halsall

Red Tiger Consulting

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I thought I’d put “fingers to keyboard” to put some thoughts down on my coaching experience (as a coachee) so far, to give insight into what coaching is like. As someone who is involved in setting up a coaching business (Red Tiger Coaching), to someone who is being coached (by Matt Loftus), to someone who is seriously considering becoming a qualified coach, I thought it worth sharing my experience so far.

The thing with coaching (from trying to build a coaching business) that really resonates with me is, why should people have the “leap of faith” to pay for coaching? I mean it’s not really high up the list of priorities to spend money on is it? Well, I thought rather than convincing people to have that leap of faith, why not take that leap myself and then write about the experience and what it meant for me. Here I set out why I wanted to be coached and what I have gained so far.

Why I Wanted Coaching

I am trying to sell coaching to people but how can I understand the customer? Well yes, you’ve guessed it – just be one! That aside though, it all comes down to trying to get the best out of myself and exploring what is “best”. To me personally, it is finding that balance/ingredients of where I feel really happy with life in general. I felt coaching would help give me a framework to work out what those ingredients are, and an action plan of how to get there. I really believe that we do have the answers to most problems within ourselves, we just often don’t have the space or the tools and framework to get to those answers.

Choosing a Coach

I was lucky in this respect; Steve (my brother and co-director) mentioned someone on his coaching course that he felt I would get along well with and could really benefit from speaking to. I initially had a free hour with Matt and from my point of view we got on really well.

We had common interests and I felt he was someone I could have really good conversation with and explore areas of my life that I can improve – this is key! Whatever you do, don’t sign up with a coach without a “chemistry session” that helps see if you would feel comfortable with that particular coach. If it doesn’t feel right, then it is perfectly acceptable to not continue the relationship.

The Sessions

My overall goal that I agreed with Matt was as follows: “Personally I’d like to just explore how I can get to peak performance in life and in my job.” Without going into detail, I am now almost 3 sessions in and I’d definitely say Matt has helped me start to do this. He has helped me focus on getting a new recruit (Grace) in to help free up work time, as well as to formulate a plan for Grace to report into Chloe (also freeing up my time and giving Chloe some great experience).

It’s great also that I come out of sessions without a great deal of expectation/list of things to do, just a couple of key focus points that can really make a difference (Matt kindly documents these after each session). I have to say somewhere within me I had these answers, it just needed Matt to help me get to them.

Learning

institute of coaching: coach benefits coaching experience
International Coaching Federation Study

In summary I would say that if you are interested in coaching, have some clear idea if you can, of what you think you would like to get out of it. You can see my objective earlier in this post but it can be many different reasons. These could be things like exploring a change in direction (life/career), or it may be that you have a new job and want to transition into that job in a smooth way.

Whatever you take from this be curious to explore; why not visit our Coaching page and book a free Clarity Meeting with one of our coaches to find out more about what it can bring to your life.

As an analyst I like to back things up with numbers so here are some stats on coaching benefits:


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Published by Paul Halsall

Paul is an experienced head hunter, data and insight specialist, trainer and coach. His experience lies in Location Planning and Mapping but more recently within Business Management, working internationally on a variety of accounts.

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