We worked on the agreed goals and maintained focus by looking at what was making a difference...

"I undertook coaching following a recommendation from a colleague that it would be good for me. I wasn’t sure initially but I knew I could say no if it didn’t work, but right from the start I developed a great relationship with the person I selected. I had looked through a number of profiles before I found someone I thought would be suitable - for me personally I was looking for a woman with senior leadership experience.

The key thing for me was to trust my coach. I had 3 different service directors during my coaching and I had concerns about the coach feeding back to them, but as part of the contracting she confirmed that if was up to me what I disclosed from the sessions. The style and language of my coach was very thought provoking. She went at my pace and whatever I said she remained neutral and didn’t give the impression I should respond differently but helped me think about how I moved forward.

I had a rough idea what I wanted to achieve when I started but with help from the coach we were able to hone down what was important and agree on the focus. The coach initially met with me and listened to what was going on for me, enabling me to establish my priorities. My manager joined part of the first session which was really valuable as together we were able to agree what I should work on.

In my role it was also important that they understood my world, the legislation I have to work to and politics I needed to deal with so that I didn’t have to explain myself.

Having the time for sessions carved out and having protected time to provide the opportunity to reflect was invaluable. Coaching was seen as a priority to help me move forward and I had permission from my manager not to reschedule sessions despite pressures of work. We worked on the agreed goals and maintained focus by looking at what was making a difference.

When I hit barriers my coach was able to ask me questions to help me find my way through. I used to get really frustrated with the barriers I thought were put in place by those more senior to me in the organisation. As a result of coaching, instead of getting frustrated I have a better way of identifying the outcomes I want and instead of demanding responses straight away I stop and think and I get better solutions. Some solutions simply involved establishing what I already had, what I needed and how I was going to get it, but working with my coach helped me get there quicker and think about things I may not have previously considered.

Coaching is really effective, a valuable use of time and I have promoted it across all my staff."

This case study is from a Head of Service at Birmingham City Council, managing 8 teams of 8 staff.

View full case study