Coaching Case Studies
Preparing for a difficult conversation
Issue: Sarah wanted to prepare for a difficult conversation with her boss.
What we did in the session: We began with Sarah talking through the context and what she wanted the conversation to address. We then moved into an “empty chair” exercise: first, Sarah spoke to a chair in which she imagined her boss was sitting, and rehearsed her opening to the meeting. Next, she moved into the empty chair, put herself in her boss’s shoes, and said out loud what she thought he would say in response. Sarah then alternated between playing herself and her boss, as the imagined conversation went back and forth. The final step in the exercise was for Sarah to imagine herself stepping into the shoes of a good friend who had been observing the dialogue, then voicing what her friend had observed about the “meeting”, and what advice she had. We spent the final part of the session with Sarah reviewing what she had learned, and identifying some specific steps she would now take to further prepare for the meeting with her boss.
Outcome: Sarah felt clearer about the reasonableness of what she wanted to ask for, had identified some possible objections and evasions which her boss might deploy, and practiced how she would keep the meeting on track to meet her objectives. As a result, Sarah felt less anxious and more confident about the meeting.
Getting unstuck
Issue: Ravi is 30 and in a job that pays well but is not fulfilling. He is also aware that he alternates between periods of being highly organized and productive, and times when he feels overwhelmed by his responsibilities and to-do list and falls into periods of lassitude and unhealthy living.
Prior to the session: Ravi completed the “wheel of life” exercise and found that this offered a structure for grappling with the range of issues he was confronting.
What we did in the session: Using the 8 life-domains from the wheel of life, Ravi spent most of the session talking through the range of issues that have been swirling round his head for a long time. We identified some underlying themes, including his lack of confidence in some relationships and associated anxiety. He decided not to focus on any single issue and specific actions to take, preferring to stay with the wider set of interlinked issues and explore further some of the underlying issues.
Outcome: At the end of the session, Ravi was clearer about how much had been going on for him in recent months, but also felt he had gained more perspective about how much in his life was going well. He decided to further use the wheel of life framework to clarify where he wanted to be in 5 years time in each life-domain, and the main steps which he would need to take in each area. He felt that this would give him a way of “naming the beast”, getting down on paper all the things he could be doing, and then more consciously priortise where to focus his energies in the near- and medium-term.
Navigating a career crossroads
Issue: Jan is in her late 40s, currently working part-time as a management consultant, following 4 years heading up a major public sector body. She wanted some help thinking through her choices.
What we did in the session: We spent some time pinning down the specific questions Jan wanted to address, which were: 1. “Am I content with my current career position?” 2. “If not, what do I want to do instead?” 3. “Am I a plausible candidate for Board roles with major financial sector companies?”. We took each question in turn. I used a version Nancy Klein’s “Time to Think” framework to provide a combination of space, structure and challenge to Nathan’s thoughts.
Outcome: By the end of the session, Jan was clear (“9 on a 10 scale”) that her aim was to become Chair of a major financial sector institution. She also clarified the gaps in her CV she should fill over the next 1-2 years to maximise her chances of getting the sort of position she most wanted. She identified several concrete next step to move forward, and ways to keep hold herself accountable.
What kind of retirement?
Issue: After a 35 year career in the corporate world, Adam had clarified that the time was right to shift to a different work-life balance. He had a good sense of the broad contours of a portfolio of roles that appealed, but he wanted to test that and then figure out the concrete steps he needed to take to turn the vision into reality.
What we did: Adam and I agreed a loose structure we would use for a programme of 6 sessions. The first session focused on how Adam could make sense of this juncture, exploring the emotions which had emerged as he engaged with the prospect of “retirement”, using William Bridges’s seminal work on transitions as a framework. The next two sessions explored Adam’s values and priorities across various life domains. We paid particular attention to what he learned about himself, and what brought him meaning, during the later phases of his career. Sessions 4 and 5 were about planning, figuring out who he needed to talk with and about what. Adam deferred the final session for 6 months so he could reflect on the progress he was making and fine tune his plans for the next 6-12 months.
Outcome: Adam came away with clarity on where his vision for the next phase was right, and where it needed to be refined. And he understood the value for him of being able to sit with the uncomfortable uncertainty of this transition phase. The brainstorming we did on who Adam could reach out to from his extensive professional network led to several concrete opportunities that otherwise might have passed him by.