This blog is written by Collective member, Leadership Coach, Natalie Tucker.
October 2024
Coaching is for everyone – not just senior business executives, not just senior people at all actually – it can be enormously beneficial at any stage in our careers. But this blog focuses on its particular usefulness to charity leaders because:
Charity leaders are incredibly busy – your to-do list is forever getting longer and you spend all your time doing – when you know there’s huge value in slowing down to reflect and plan so you can use your finite time and energy to best effect.
Everyone around you is busy too, and you feel a sense of overall responsibility – this can make it difficult to ask for help or even a sounding board. Coaches are great ‘thinking partners’ – a first port of call to bounce challenges and ideas around with, and to help identify when and how to tap into other sources of support.
Your work is high stakes and high pressure – it’s difficult to switch off from, so maybe you often take it home with you. Coaching offers valuable emotional support, while also enabling you to put the boundaries you need in place to regain a better balance.
"I was looking for clarity and focus, as the four component parts of my social enterprise were growing at a faster pace than I envisaged. Just 90 minutes of coaching helped me see what needed to be done and in what order - helping me to complete a roadmap that I'm going to use for the next 6-12 months within one session was amazing." Social entrepreneur
What is coaching?
It’s no surprise that many of us are confused about this! There’s no universally recognised definition of ‘coaching’, and it tends to be used in wide-ranging ways. Here, I’m talking about what we might call ‘pure’ coaching, defined by the world’s largest coaching body, the ICF, as:
“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
But what does this even mean?...
Coaches are trained professionals, who support their clients’ personal or professional development, in an area of their choice, for example; ‘discovering my leadership style’, ‘creating a better work/life balance, ‘building constructive relationships with board members’.
Coaches guide conversations with their clients, using skills, principles, models, and sometimes psychology theory, to help them work through where they are and where they’d like to get to, and identify the best way forward for them – then hold them accountable on working towards it.
Coaching is based on the belief that “we are all resourceful, creative and whole” – we don’t need fixing or telling what to do because we have everything we need within us, so coaches don’t typically offer us advice or tell us what to do.
How is coaching different to mentoring/therapy?
You might be thinking ‘this sounds a bit like mentoring/therapy’ and it’s true that coaching can feel similar to these. All are client-focused and involve the coach/mentor/therapist asking questions and the client doing most of the talking. So let’s look at what’s different about them:
A mentor is typically someone who has experience of what the client is working on or towards, and an important part of their role often is to share their experiences, opinions and advice, where a coach will remain neutral and focus on drawing out the client’s own wisdom. A coach doesn’t need to have experienced the situation you’re in to be able to help you with it.
While coaching typically focuses on the future, counselling and therapy help us to understand how we’ve become who we are based on our past experiences, and offer us new techniques for dealing with challenges in life.
I see these as three complementary types of support, and it’s common for clients to use more than one of them.
“Coaching offered me the dedicated time, space and support to really reflect on my work life and personal life. It opened my eyes, helped me see difficult situations from different perspectives, and work through how to respond to them better.” Small charity CEO
How do I find a coach?
It might seem like coaches are everywhere these days, but how can you find the best one for you:
Before seeking a coach, it’s a good idea to get clear on what you’re looking for; what do you want help with? Do you need encouragement/challenge/accountability/something else? What qualifications or experience is it important for your coach to have?
Once you know what you’re looking for, identify a few potential coaches; Fair Collective would be a good place to start since you’re already here! Recommendations from peers can also be useful, and there are a number of directories you can browse.
Speak to two or three potential coaches – A good coach will have you exploring deep into your thoughts, feelings and behaviours – you’ll want it to be someone you feel good about sharing these things with, so ‘fit’ is vital. That’s why most coaches offer a free initial call to explore working together. Speaking to more than one coach will give you more sense for what’s likely to suit you best.
“Coaching was a game-changer for me. I’d recommend it to all charity leaders. And I’d say do it before you think you need it, it’s worth every penny to keep you standing!” CIC Managing Director
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and aim high with your new coach!
If you’d like to give coaching a go, you can book a free 45-minute call with Natalie here to experience it for yourself and explore how she might be able to help you.