Career Confidence Coach
Case studies
Sophie
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Reasons why Sophie contacted a Leadership Coach
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Coaching was recommended to Sophie by another client who had benefited from coaching.
Sophie is a full time Junior doctor in Exeter who wanted to progress to become a Medical Registrar.
She had passed her written exams but after one fail she had lost confidence in passing a face to face exam called PACES (practical assessment of clinical skills)
The behaviours and challenges Sophie was facing.
Sophie felt that the experience of failing the exam has influenced her confidence at work and was questioning staying in the medical profession. She wanted to know “the reasons why she was putting herself through this difficult time.”
Sophie was worried that she was hoping to take on a role which involved the supervision and managing of other people and how other people would perceive her in this role.
The skills she developed.
Over the six sessions Sophie looked at the reasons and values around coming to work and what drives her forward. We talked through finding a balance and having time for her own wellbeing.
We spent time talking about the different leadership styles that she had experienced and how she wanted to be perceived as a leader. We reviewed the theory of an ‘Authentic Leader’ by being herself and acknowledging her strengths and weaknesses. This gave her the confidence to see how she would be able to gain the respect of others. She concluded that having moments of needing thinking time or consulting others with her diagnoses and decisions, made her relatable to others.
Sophie had overcome life events and medical issues in the past and we talked about how to draw on that resilience.
As a leader she became more confident that there will be times where she has to be more authoritative and times where she could ask opinions or delegate work situations whilst being available for support.
When she finally got to the exam Sophie had been in the role for 4 weeks and had had a holiday, instead of constant revision she had balanced her work with some time to rest and recuperate.
The conclusion
Three months after Sophie started coaching she passed her PACES exam and now feels - “extremely proud of myself and relieved-finally able to move on and concentrate on the new challenges that come with my new role (mainly managing people) ”
The impact of coaching.
Sophie feedback afterwards that; “ I found the coaching sessions very useful in that they allowed me to focus on the positives-- which then ‘helped to motivate me to continue with my development. The sessions helped me to reflect on recent events at work, talk through and develop my understanding of the different leadership styles and how they can be applied to different situations. I understood that there is not necessarily a wrong or right approach, and that we can have a natural/habitual style, and others that may need to be learned and employed when necessary. This in turn helped be to build confidence in myself, which allowed me to move forward with the practical aspects of the exam and understand how much of it relies on your presentation skills rather than medical knowledge. “
Henry
Reasons why the Henry contacted a Career Confidence Coach.
Henry worked in a primary school in Hampshire and support had been suggested for Henry as he moved from Year 6 to EY at the beginning of the summer term. There had been a number of difficult situations in the school and this need to happen in order to bring stability to the school before an expected Ofsted visit.
He had been teaching three years, was well respected and had worked hard in making sure that his year 6 children did the best they could. The headteacher knew he would be the best person to take over a class that had had five supply teachers over the previous term.
The behaviours and challenges Henry was facing.
Henry was very unsure what he was taking on as he didn’t have any experience in EY and only a week to plan and set up a learning environment that would support these young children. The EY teaching assistant was also tired and very negative after such an unsettled few months and the Year One teacher and assistant unhelpful in their comments about the situation as they shared an outside learning space, phonic groups and support staff.
The skills Henry developed.
I was able to support Henry through a range of mentoring and coaching. I have a background in Early Years teaching and so I was able to work within a mixed approach that involved giving advice in these circumstances.
Initially Henry needed direct support in setting up the environment and initial planning but as his confidence grew I was able to make my visits more about coaching and encouraging his reflective style. Henry was able to build his understanding of the principles of EY education and build his confidence in his own vision and practice. He really took on learning with the children through stimulating play opportunities. He set clear expectations and routines across the day that built a secure inclusive environment full of curiosity and questions such as “ I wonder” and “let’s have a go” grew. He developed good communication with the support team and as Henry’s leadership skills developed he was able to build a team that encouraged the long standing teaching assistant to now say she was enjoying her role and could she was making a difference.
The conclusion
It had not been an easy term and there had been some strong staff unease and anxiety over the disruption but now Henry had been able to build his confidence in his teaching ability for this age as well as his leadership skills, he had been able to get everyone on board in working together and owning the ups and downs of the journey. The children in Early years were now more independent and curious within an evolving, stimulating environment and the school community was calmer.
Henry reported how he understood how his leadership skills had grown, he was more positive and he could now see himself was taking on promotion to middle management as soon as possible.
The impact of coaching.
The headteacher was able to feed back that the children were settled and progressing well and that Early years had been recognised in their last Ofsted inspection contributing the school progressing from a long journey in “ requires improvement” to a Good school. The headteacher was also, more importantly, able to report that he could rely on a confident teacher who was enjoying his work, building his own leadership skills and adding stability to the school.
Peter
Reasons why Peter contacted a Leadership Coach.
Peter had attended some leadership and management training through the local LSIF( Local skills improvement fund) and Chichester college group - I work part time for CCG and as a follow up I was able to offer a number of coaching and mentoring sessions.
The behaviours and challenges Peter was facing.
Peter was in a middle management role in an FE education setting. Two years ago, he had been asked to move into a role where he is leading a department. He is very supportive of his team but finds it frustrating that he cannot give answers or solutions to questions because senior leadership are unable to sort out issues Peter sees as easy to solve. This affects his team and the ability to plan ahead. Peter is ambitious and would like to be in a more senior leadership role but there are rarely positions available in his current setting.
The skills Peter developed.
In our conversations Peter was able to look at his need to solve problems and give answers and how he can develop his ability to develop others by not always answering the questions but encouraging others to have a go, think of solutions and discuss ideas and mistakes. We were also able to talk through the kind of leader Peter wants to be and the characteristics that he would like to avoid! As the coaching sessions continue Peter is enjoying how thoughtful he is becoming and values the space to talk, think and reflect.
The conclusion
Peter is still part of the initial coaching journey but he reports how he feels less frustrated and more settled in building his leadership skills while he enjoys a work life balance and the precious time with young children
The impact of coaching.
Peter reports “ I can now see that the situations and frustrations at work are all learning opportunities to collect ideas about what kind of leader I want to be and the skills I want to develop.”
Other Case studies to come from a conveyancing solicitor, a consultant doctor and quantity surveyor.