Blog
Thought-provoking articles from our experienced coaches
There are many books about coaching, and new ones being published all the time. There are a couple of publishing houses, or …
It's a funny old game, coaching. At one end of the spectrum, it is a straightforward, effective approach. Managers, teachers and mentors use coaching approaches to help someone talk through an everyday challenge or opportunity. At the other end, it is an effective mechanism to help people make lifelong changes and overcome long term obstacles.
What do we do if the coachee we are working with seems to occupy another universe? That they see the world in …
This is the first of a pair of blogs to help coaches make sense of the world of psychometric profiling/personality testing. It …
What every coach actually needs This is a great one to Google. Type in “top 10 resources for coaches” and you’ll be …
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with all the information and worry about growing your coaching business. You’ve worked hard to learn to be a coach, and the next steps may feel like too big an obstacle. This article talks about the steady development of your coaching business, and the first steps to take.
Do you slander your own memory? Say things like “Of course, as I get older, my memory gets worse?” Most people do. …
Have you ever been asked “are you an optimist or a pessimist?” We probably all have at some point. And the assumption …
There is much confusion about this question. Some coaches follow a very rigid structure. Others go with the flow and are very …
Recently I was running a workshop about student wellbeing for a group of school leaders. A great question occurred to me, so …
I have been asked, quite often, “can anyone be a coach?” My view is that, as it is a skills-based activity, then …
Of all the debates in coaching, this one runs deepest. Most qualified coaches understand the difference between coaching and mentoring. And yet …
At the heart of coaching within organisations lies a dilemma: can coaching be used to directly improve the performance of a team …
As coaches, especially newer coaches, we spend a lot of time thinking about what we are doing. Are we structuring the session …
Can any leader learn a coaching approach? I have read coach profiles describing themselves as “kick-ass coach”, “hold your feet to the …
The structure of a contracting session in coaching Often people say that a contracting conversation sounds and feels quite procedural. It sounds …
Like teaching and training, there are several different approaches possible in coaching. Some practices all coaches follow. Others are chosen only by …
We are likely to be coaching individuals on a number of occasions. The most popular structure is the coaching package of four, …
As we know by now, questions are a key part of a coach’s toolkit. With questions, coach and coachee can work together …
One of the great debates in coaching is whether it is most useful to support high achievers or strugglers. The truth, of …
Teaching is an incredibly old profession, dating back beyond Jesus, Socrates, Moses, the Buddha. And yet, it’s only been in the last …
A coach is a coach, right? You may be employed in a coaching capacity, (often referred to as an internal coach). Or …
There are many different types of coaches – for the sake of this blog, let’s define them in two categories: the internal …
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
The latest in our series of blogs for people thinking about receiving coaching. And also useful for fellow coaches to share with their potential clients. This article explains why coaching isn’t solely for people who are struggling, and how many high performers also access coaching
There are many occasions when it is not appropriate for a leader to be coaching. But probably many more when it absolutely is. Increasingly leaders report that they like to use coaching approaches in their one-to-one conversations whenever possible. Here is how…..
People like to talk about coaching being a natural thing and that some people are more suited to it than others. This may be true but also coaching is very learnable. Managers who choose to learn coaching are likely to improve the quality of their own management. This is how…..
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
Is it possible to have a coaching session, debriefing the 360* feedback that our coachee received? It is, but it is full of pitfalls. Read on for ways to avoid these and make it a valuable experience for our coachee.
Preparing for coaching sessions involves centering yourself, understanding your tendencies, and establishing routines to ensure you're fully present. Take time to reflect on past sessions from memory before reviewing notes, and dedicate moments post-session for immediate reflections. These practices enhance focus and provide a clear, engaged experience for both coach and coachee.
The debate rages about whether coaches need psychological training. Let’s widen that out and consider the whole world of human behaviour, and see how coaches can draw on their knowledge in order to be of service to their clients.
High performers in organisations often get a poor deal. Coaching often gets allocated to those who are struggling, or those who are new in their post. Coaching works equally well, if not better, for high performers. Read the ways that high performers can benefit from coaching and how coaches can support them well.
Head teachers have such an important role to play in their schools, and in society. And coaching can support their wellbeing and maximise their effectiveness. Only a small proportion of heads engage in coaching. Here are a few reasons why, and also some benefits for heads engaging in having a coach to work with.
Coaching isn’t just for times of struggle—it’s a powerful tool for growth, goal-setting, and exploring your aspirations. Whatever brings you to coaching, choosing meaningful topics to work on can make all the difference. Embrace the journey and see how coaching transforms your perspective!
Now that most schools have embedded growth mindset principles in their culture, it is a good time to combine them with coaching. Coaching and growth mindset go hand in hand as they both focus on growth, change and positive outcomes. This article explores how that can take place.
Coaching isn’t just for times of struggle—it’s a powerful tool for growth, goal-setting, and exploring your aspirations. Whatever brings you to coaching, choosing meaningful topics to work on can make all the difference. Embrace the journey and see how coaching transforms your perspective!
The best way to make an initiative fail – ignore the potential risks! When coaching is introduced to organisations, there are risks. Let’s not ignore them but let’s be informed. Knowing the potential risks gives us the best chance of avoiding them!
The best way to make an initiative fail – ignore the potential risks! When coaching is introduced to organisations, there are risks. Let’s not ignore them but let’s be informed. Knowing the potential risks gives us the best chance of avoiding them!
There is an increasing expectation that managers and leaders do their jobs well, to the benefit of the people they lead. Gone are the days of command and control (apparently!). In the workplace people have high expectations, with good reason. Yet the ILM reports that 90% of employees have had a poor manager. Coaching skills aren’t magic! But they help leaders support their team members well and empower them to do their best and be happy at work.
Many teacher training organisations are starting to offer coaching to their trainee teachers. We welcome this approach, and in this article look at some of the benefits of teachers in training having access to good quality coaching.
Our coachee looks to us to handle the timing and the structure of their coaching sessions. And if we don’t, they will do as they always do – either talk a lot or be very brief. They are right – it is down to us to set up coaching in a way that enables them to explore their topics well. That enables them to reflect and have insights. And that gets them focused from the very beginning.
Before introducing a coaching programme in your organisation, it’s a good idea to review the culture. If an organisation is open, people are prepared to be vulnerable and to admit their weaknesses, then coaching normally works well. Let’s see some examples of what works well, and less well to help an organisation become coaching ready
The best way to make an initiative fail – ignore the potential risks! When coaching is introduced to organisations, there are risks. Let’s not ignore them but let’s be informed. Knowing the potential risks gives us the best chance of avoiding them!
The #1 hot topic for many coaches is “should I give advice, or hold back?” Although we haven’t seen full blown fist fights – after all we are coaches – we have seen plenty of heated discussions about it. We have a strong view at LYC – advice is off the table save for emergencies.
There are increasing opportunities for school leaders to learn how to become coaches and to adopt A coaching approach. We celebrate this, and look at some of the benefits of the school leader coach.
Managers who choose a coaching style instead of a directive one are likely to get better results with their team members, and avoid the risk of their disengagement. Here’s how:
Managers who choose a coaching style instead of a directive one are likely to get better results with their team members, and avoid the risk of their disengagement. Here’s how:
Coaching in its present form has been with us since the 1970s. Mentoring has been with us in one form or another …
New head teachers find themselves at an exciting moment in their careers. In some ways it feels like the pinnacle of many …
People often ask me which coaching models I use, and which ones I teach. The answer I give is always the same. …
Finding the right coaching course can be very confusing! There are different qualifications, different bodies accrediting them, all sorts of names and …
When we ask new coaches to identify key coaching skills, it is rare that pausing gets a mention. And yet, the power …
What coaching skills does every leader need? For the moment, let’s take it as a given that every leader needs to have good …
Organisations exist for a number of different reasons. For some, it the commercial aspect. For others, it’s all about providing a service …
What is a coaching course? Once the idea of learning to be a coach has come into our head, the first question …
A question that I am often asked is “Have I got what it takes to be a good coach?” It’s an understandable question. We are in …
It’s funny how things turn up in life, and quite quickly we take them for granted. New technologies, advanced ways of travel, new …