How would you explain the difference between coaching and therapy? How differently do you see mental ill-health and numero diversity? How does your knowledge of the differences affect the way you work as a coach or manager, the kind of support you might look for when working in these contexts, and when and whether you might seek out a coach or a therapist?

David Britten is dual-trained as a coach and therapist, currently working as a coach, coach supervisor, workshop trainer and consultant. He provides us, in this episode, with helpful ways to think about the difference between coaching and therapy. He uses the example of the experience of an unexpected redundancy to illustrate the different purposes of coaching and therapy and their complementary nature in the support of human flourishing in general, and better mental health in particular.

David explores what the coach needs to think about in the contracting stage of a potential coaching relationship where mental health is a significant area of consideration, shares a valuable model to help understand what’s happening in a client’s experience, and the role of supervision in supporting good coaching practice.

Our next episode explores further aspects of this important subject.

To contact David got to https://rb.gy/qmiev

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Are you starting to wonder that you may be coming to the end of a phase of life, or a phase of your career? Is something changing in you, or are you recognising changes in the place you work or serve - changes so significance that you’re wondering whether you still fit? 

Or are you at, or working with, people at the start of their career, impatient to get on to the next level and running the risk of not getting full value from their current experience as a foundation for the future?

You can gain valuable and practical insights by reflecting on this question: What's that ‘time’ for?

In the second of our two pods exploring time, Geoff and Fiona look at ‘kairos’ time - those phases, moment, epochs, and seasons of time which we consider to be significant. They explore:

• How do we identify the signs that a particular time is significant?
• How do we understand its significance while we are in it?
• How do we understand its fuller significance in retrospect?

Drawing on experiences both as a coach, and as a mentor, they illustrate techniques and approaches that allow us to leverage the power of questions such as:

For the past : ’What was that time for?” and

For the present: ’What are we doing in this time, what are we really doing, and what makes what we are doing, worth doing?’

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What connects these two questions?

“What have you really enjoyed doing today?”

“If you thought about your time, the same way you thought about your money, how would you spend it?”

Both are ways of helping us think about time. 

We all have choices - and challenges - around what we do with our time. Whilst much of our time is spoken for by demands over which we have little or no control, we have - perhaps more than we sometimes realise - choices about how we allocate our time. To with these choices Geoff and Fiona share:

• Two Greek words that give us different perspectives on time.
• Four categorises that help us to decide how much of time we will allocate or invest in different ways.
• How changing career roles necessitate us taking different views on what we allocate time to.
• Enabling processes we can put in place the minimise the risks of people abusing the time we allocate to them.

At the end of the pod you will have a straightforward way of taking stock of your time priorities and practical steps to redress the balance between time as your master, and time as your servant.

In passing, Fiona mentions a coaching tool called 'The Balance Wheel.' If you want to know more about what this is and how you can use it, please contact us at [email protected]

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“‘Asking for help isn’t giving up,’ said the horse. ‘It’s refusing to give up.’” 

From The Horse the Boy the Fox and the Mole. This was also turned into this BBC video.

Join executive coach and coach supervisor Jan Brause for an open and honest exploration of the power of courageous vulnerability. Jan shares, in real time, how she manages her own vulnerability by recording a podcast, before sharing experiences from her professional practice on the positive impact of bringing more of ourselves into work situations.

Jan reflects on the different masks people wear, the challenges of wearing them as well as removing them, and how we can address the lifetime narratives – scripts – we developed from childhood that trigger our behaviour today.

Jan gives us her own take on how to apply Karpman’s drama triangle (also covered in this pod) and how vulnerability can help us address our two deepest primal fear, and bridge the gap between victimhood and empowerment.

Jan concludes with some powerful questions for coaches to reflect on themselves, and with their clients.

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It’s quite a thought - there are surveys that indicate people rate public speaking as more scary than dying. 

So think about the levels of stress that actors put themselves through both in terms of speaking before hundreds of people and then being analysed in intimate detail by theatre critics!

In this episode, Tom Wright shares how a coaching approach enriched his work as a theatre director, and how theatre direction has provided transferable wisdom to his work as a coach.

Tom helps us explore the issue of stress - common to both professions - showing us how to ride the stress curve, challenge stress-inducing myths that assail us on a daily basis, and then provides us with some techniques we can use to manage our own stressful situations and liberate creativity.

Tom also mentions one of the most well-known and well-used coaching models - GROW - which was developed by Sir John Whitmore. 

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Do you ever go into a job or situation feeling there is a mis-match between what you’re being asked to do, and what you feel able to do? Do you ever look at other people and thnk they are like the swan, serenly gliding over the challenges of life whilst you're struggling to stay afloat? You’re not alone. In fact, you might be surprised to discover how common this is. Underneath that feeling there are likely to be other issues, a major one being confidence.

In this podcast, coach, consultant and coach supervisor Jeremy Lewis explores how we can approach challenges by drawing on resources from our past, present and future. Jez shares a model from Peter Hawkins’ book Coaching Mentoring and Organisational Consultancy which looks at the three dimensions of authority, presence, and impact. Through this you can expose what your Imposter is telling you, how to identify your own personal sources of authority instead of being blinded by what you see as those of people around you, and where to find the courage to shape a different future for yourself.

Jez, Fiona and Geoff give a number of examples of how these ideas can be applied, drawn from their current and past working lives and share some great tips and insights which you can apply in your own work context.

To find out more about Jez or to contact him, go to his website Grow the Coach

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Today we build on our previous podcasts which looked at what makes some relationships so easy and others more challenging.

Fiona and Geoff explore Gary Furlong’s Conflict Resolution Toolbox in which we find six factors that contribute to conflict. You can find a summary of the six factors here.

In the pod, Fiona coaches Geoff around a semi-fictitious scenario crafted out of different experiences from Geoff’s working life. Notice how Fiona uses Gary’s ideas to form the basis for an in-depth coaching conversation as Geoff prepares for a challenging meeting with his line manager. How can Fiona’s questions, and Gary Furlong’s insights, help you in your own challenging relationships?

Gary Furlong has written extensively on the subject of conflict resolution and mediation. You can find his Conflict Resolution Toolbox Models and Maps for Analyzing, Diagnosing, and Resolving Conflict on Amazon and other booksellers.

If you feel your confidence is being challenged, or know someone who would say that about themselves, this pod is for you.

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What makes some relationships so positive, and others so challenging?

Using an example from one of Geoff's previous job, Fiona and Geoff explore a coaching approach based two models - Karpman's Drama Triange and Emerald's Empowerment Dynamic. These approaches help us to see where we, and others, are on the different points of the triangles and how we can change where we are to create healthier relationships.

Here's a link to one of many places on the internet where you can find a graphic illustration of the two models.

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What’s your best working style?

• Are you someone who likes to empower and encourage team members?
• Are you most happy when you have lots to do or are you inspired by innovation and change?
• Do you have an eye for detail and make all your work a work of art?
• Are you at your best in a crisis?

There are various tools and techniques you can use to reveal your preferred ways of working. In this podcast, Geoff and Fiona use one developed by Taibi Kahler, who recognised five working styles. These style definitions show how understanding our preferences can help us play to our strengths, and better understand the preferences of others. That better understanding and appreciation of other people will enable us to reduce the risk of conflict - which can occur as different styles rub up against each other - and make for more harmonious and productive working relationships.

Listen as Fiona and Geoff share reflections on their own working styles, how this knowledge has helped them at different points in their careers, and hear a worked example of Kahler's ideas put into practice.

You can find plenty of information about Kahler’s working styles on the internet. This site gives and explanation of his ideas and a questionnaire you can complete.

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What does it mean to be your authentic self? How do you empower yourself to be your authentic self and what are some of the challenges you face in realising this? Do you ever feel like people want you to be someone else, or that the place where you work and serve only allows you to work in certain ways that don’t allow you to give freest expression to your skills and personality?

Fiona and Geoff explore these issues, drawing on personal and professional experiences of facing their challenges in these areas.

They also share a practical, intuitive and easy to apply coaching approach to help you coach yourself towards a more authentic expression of yourself.

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