Many managers use a coaching style in one-to-ones and other interactions with members of their team. This is to be encouraged. But there can be times when the subject that is most pressing is one that cannot be explored with the manager, or when some more intense work is needed. Or when the person concerned is the most senior in the organisation. This is where external coaching can be valuable.

As a coach, I work with senior managers from the NHS, social care and charitable sector, and with young NHS leaders. Those I coach tend to have reached a career crossroads. They may want to explore issues they cannot discuss anywhere else, including major career decisions, or the culture of their workplace and how this aligns with their personal values. Or they may need to explore something significant that has led them to question their own competence and/or confidence and/or motivation.

As a coach, I follow a number of rules:

• Everything discussed in a coaching session is confidential. If the person being coached chooses to share their insights with others, that is their choice. But I will not discuss them with anyone else.
• I do not advertise and I do not share who my clients are with others.
• I work with only a small number of clients at any one time.
• I aim for clients to feel better at the end of a coaching session than they did at the outset.
• I aim to give people tools and techniques that they can use themselves in the future, rather than encouraging dependence on coaching.

Each coaching session is complete in itself. I agree a contract at the outset, usually for three sessions, usually about a month apart. This is satisfactory for most people. For others, a second or possibly third set of sessions is needed.  I usually meet the client away from their workplace; this seems to provide a greater opportunity to reflect and is particularly valuable for those in very senior positions.

I use a number of approaches, rooted in psychological and management theory. My first degree is in psychology and my masters is in management. I have completed a coaching course, although I didn’t sit the exam. In 2016, I qualified as a Myers Briggs practitioner, and use this extensively, as I find the insights from the MBTI tool are valuable in understanding self and team dynamics. And I increasingly find myself returning to approaches I used many years ago as a nurse and health visitor in helping clients to understand that if they do not take care of themselves, they will be much less able to ensure the well-being of others.

My charges are based on a standard day rate, which I then adjust for specific circumstances.

If you want to talk to me about coaching, please do email me at lisa@rodriguesmarsh.net

Thank you.