I’m a fan of personal/profession (what most people call work/life) balance. If that means you take work home so that you get home in time to have dinner with the family and then do some work after the kids are in bed – fine. But as an executive and personal coach I recommend that everyone develop a schedule that fits your life.
However, this article is about something else – it’s about when a client takes the coaching work we do together home.
I recently finished working with a management team and they were talking about the impact my executive coaching and leadership sessions had on them over the last year:
- They listen to each other more, to understand the situation rather than just react
- Arguments in private, praise or constructive solution finding in public
- Being more aware of what might be going on in other departments
- They ask more questions and ask for help rather than demand assistance
- They spend time talking about issues to find the best solutions rather than just trying the end the discussion to get back to work
And then a couple of the managers shared how ‘Anne – their coach’ has been talked about at home. I’ve heard this from other clients, they will be having a discussion at home with their spouse and they will mention ‘Anne would ask’ or ‘Anne says…’ I do like it when clients talk about our executive coaching work at home because it means they are thinking about their impact at a human level and not just as a manager at work. One manager says he and his wife talk together about what success looks like a year from now – a question I have asked him about his team at work and himself as a leader. It’s satisfying when a client takes this thinking home to reflect on the personal aspects and not just the professional ones.
What work idea would be interesting to think about from a personal perspective?
If you are interested in any of my executive or personal coaching sessions, which cover a wide spectrum of issues including confidence, work and personal life balance, leadership and group coaching in London, please contact me on 02031 516 830.
