It's hard to see what's going on with a chair that you're sitting in. All your weight is bearing down on the problem and you don't have an objective vantage point.
I could look across the room and say, “I see that chair you're in. It looks like it needs better support at the front.” But that's not my job as a coach. My job is to help you see for yourself what needs doing.
I help you lift the burden and gain new perspective. I support and guide your thinking, so that you can see what's really going on with your situation. You decide what you want to do about it, and I am there to advance your thinking even further.
Let’s pull up our chairs and start thinking together.
What is Coaching?
Coaching is simply a conversation between the two of us to help you advance your thinking.
— summary of coaching by Claire Pedrick, from Simplifying Coaching
Coaching is led by you. You are the expert on your own life. As a professional coach, I am the expert on the process of coaching. You know what’s best for you, and I am there to support your insight discovery, action planning, and reflection process.
My role is to raise your awareness. Through deep listening, gentle challenges and insightful questions, you will gain the clarity and confidence to put all your thought into clear action towards your goals.
Here’s what I do during a coaching session:
Offer a confidential, non-judgmental space and sounding board, allowing you to speak freely and at whatever pace you wish.
Reflect back what I’m hearing, highlighting any themes, details, or language notes that may be useful for you. This will give you new perspective and insights to move the conversation forward that next important bit.
Gently challenge your thinking with insightful questions or observations. I will only make observations if I think it will be helpful to your thinking process in the moment and I will always ask first if it is welcome — I don’t want to interrupt your thinking with my thinking!
And throughout all of this, I always follow the code of ethics and core competencies of coaching as set out by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
I may also…
Share what I’m noticing or feeling as you speak, if I think that would be useful for you to know about.
Take a moment to check in where we are at with things and if there’s any changes we might want to make about where we are going.
Take notes, or try to capture key moments in other ways. I will aim to do this in the least disruptive way possible.
Offer tools or techniques that may be of interest to you. I will only do this if we’ve already agreed that these offerings are generally welcome and I will always ask before offering something to you.
Insightful. Useful. Meaningful.
Everyone is different and so I coach each person in a way that makes sense for them. Some people like ‘homework’, visual aids, and lots of messaging in between sessions. Or prefer to stick to pure coaching with no frills. Some would like to understand the psychology behind the techniques. Others would rather experience things and not worry too much how it all works.
These are the things we’d figure out together over time, to arrive at what works best for you. And we’ll adapt as it all changes.
If you’d like to see what it’s like, book your free Discovery Call with me now:
Frequently Asked Questions
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A Discovery call is a free, 30-minute no-pressure Zoom (or Teams) call where you can learn about coaching, get all your questions answered, and see if it’s a good fit for you right now.
I’ll start by making sure you’re comfortable and we have everything we need to dive into things.
Then we’ll begin exploring your understanding of coaching and answer any questions you have.
We’ll go over what coaching is like and what you want from it.
Then we’ll cover the practical matters, such as scheduling, pricing, availability and more. Again, I’ll ask if you have any new questions at this time.
Lastly, I’ll check-in whether we both feel it’d be a good fit to work together, and if you’d like to proceed with coaching.
If you’re ready to get started, I’ll send you a follow-up email with next steps. And if not, I’ll make sure you leave with all your questions answered and any further help or resources I’ve offered during our session.
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For many people, it can be helpful to know what is expected of them in the Discovery call. You do not need to prepare and you do not need to know the answers to any of the questions asked in the call. However, it can be helpful to give each of the areas below some initial thought.
After we settle in and discuss what coaching is and isn’t, we’ll begin exploring your problem, challenge or aspiration, as well as why you haven’t resolved it yet.
We’ll also explore what you want to happen through coaching and what a successful outcome looks like for you. This may also include exploring what it could mean emotionally, financially, and practically to get what you want. This allows you to see why this is important to you right now, as well as later allow you to set meaningful goals with tangible outcomes.
It’s also good to understand how committed you are to reaching your goals and talk through any objections or challenges around that if necessary.
I’ll then explain clearly how I can help you achieve your outcomes through the coaching process. As coaching is a collaboration and a relationship toward your specific outcomes, I will take what you’ve shared with me and offer the coaching program that I think will meet your needs the best. If I don’t feel like we are a good fit, or that I can’t offer support that meets your needs for whatever reason, I will let you know this and either recommend another professional who specialises in that area or is otherwise better suited to what you need.
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It can be helpful to understand this, so you know what to expect, as well as to ease any anxieties you may have.
Any coaching session has four basic parts:
The catch-up: this is where we spend a few minutes getting comfortable and catch-up on anything new or relevant since we last spoke. If we agree to record our sessions, I’ll usually ask if it’s ok to turn on the recording toward or at the end of this part.
The contracting: this refers to us agreeing on what the session will be about and how we want to approach it. I usually ask the following questions during this part:
What would you like to think about today with me? If it’s a particularly big topic, we may zoom in to a specific area, e.g., Given that we have [x] minutes, what about that do we need to focus on?
What would you like to be different by the end of our session together?
How will you know you have got what you need out of this time?
How should we go about this?
Where shall we start?”
The coaching: This is where the thinking collaboration really begins. Here’s where you can share anything on your mind and we work through the thoughts taking an open, curious, and non-judgemental approach. I may ask questions to further your thinking or share what I’m noticing as you speak. I won’t interrupt you or lead the conversation.The conclusion: here’s where we wind things down and reflect on the session. Did we reach our goal? Sometimes we don’t, and that’s ok! Regardless, I will ask about your insights and actions from the session. This allows you to synthesize and summarize things, and clarify for yourself what you got out of our time together.
Lastly, we’ll make sure we’re all squared away for our next session.
For more on what actually happens in a coaching session, from start to finish (and beyond), read here
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While coaching shares some commonalities with therapy, there are some crucial differences too.
Like therapy, openness and honesty needed from both of us, which means that conversations may go deeper.
We also may go to the past. If you are not comfortable talking about something, let me know, and I will respect that boundary. Conversely, I am not a therapist and if our conversations focus too much on the past or go into areas that I’m not qualified to handle, I will let you know and we’ll redirect the conversation appropriately.
The crucial difference here is that therapy is primarily focused on the past and understanding how that is shaping who you are today. Coaching is primarily focused on the future and who you are today that helps get you to the future you want.
That is, the past provides useful context for understanding who you are now and how to plan the future, but we we’ll only discuss the past so long as it’s useful to the present and future.
I work with many people who are simultaneously in therapy and coaching. This can be a wonderful way forward, so long as all parties are aware of the relationships and boundaries are maintained as necessary.
If you’d like to compare coaching to therapy further, and to other methods of support such as mentoring, or training, please see this helpful coaching comparison table.
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The short answer is no. The coaching rates I offer aren’t calculated by time, but rather the value I provide, my expertise, and your investment in resolving your challenge. Granted, there are session hours that go into that, but the real process of change happens during and in between sessions, as you spend time thinking about the insights you’ve gained and applying them to you situations in your life. This also occurs when you reflect back on the week as we start each session and set new goals.
The value of your investment is also in the expertise and experience I bring. This is how I can truly listen to you and ask the most insightful questions to support you. I am here to help you become the best strategic expert thinker you can be. The session hours are crucial to achieving that, but our collaboration and coaching relationship is even more important to supporting your success.
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If there’s a question you have or a thought you want to share with me, please get in touch! I’m very friendly and open and I’d love to hear whatever you have to say. You can email me anytime at coaching@witten.kim. Or book in for a short call here.
Book a free, 30-minute call with me to see what it’s like to have a powerful, perspective-changing conversation. Even if coaching is a no-go for now, you’ll leave the call with clarity about what you actually want and insight about your best next steps.