How can coaching help me?

I recently coached Kim who worked in the public health sector. The hours were long, her boss demanding, and she felt as if there weren’t enough hours in the day. Managing her workload was more stressful than the work itself, and she was seriously considering not continuing her contract with the health provider when it came up for renewal.

The most important aspect of her work to her was to show up fully for her clients, to give them all her focus and do the best possible assessments that she could. There was very little left over for her at the end of the day, other than to ensure her daughter had eaten a good meal. She would describe crashing on her sofa and not having a drop of energy left for anything else, including herself.

One of the first things that came up very naturally in our sessions was the subject of boundaries, and as soon as our first session was over my client had decided that she was going to start working differently. The first new ‘rule’ she introduced was that she was not going to be a slave to her emails. If anyone, including her boss, wanted something they could wait while she considered how to reply.

This one simple step alone revolutionised her working day, and she was delighted. Bit by bit she introduced other boundaries which provided her with a little breathing space.

Towards the end of our time together, I was starting to notice a real shift in her demeanour. It was as if she had a new appetite for work, and life. As it happened, she was a meditator and had a lot of tools in her wellbeing toolbox that she had simply neglected as she had edged closer towards burnout.

Then on our last session, she delighted in telling me how she had ‘stretched time’ the previous Sunday. How, by bringing her mindfulness to her morning and deciding to take a long coastal walk (something that would have seemed frivolous just a few sessions earlier) and she had experienced a real moment of clarity. When she returned home it was still only midday, so she was able to spend time with some of her hands-on creative projects. Things that brought her real joy, but which had also fallen to the bottom of her list of priorities.

At the end of our session, she told me she felt able to step forward with a plan for work and home location (two things that had been on her mind) and that she was so much happier in doing so. And now she could ‘stretch time’ there was real opportunity to enjoy herself too!

It might surprise you to know that Kim had just three coaching sessions with me.

This work is impactful.

When you’re ready to explore, contact me. There is so much to discover!