Coaching

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a working partnership between coach and client that helps quicken the coachee’s growth and fulfil their potential at work and at a personal level. In action, it looks like a conversation but it is certainly a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires the client to maximize personal and professional excellence. Coaching is, in a nutshell, challenging our inner world; and the art of a good practice of Coaching lies on empathy, deep listening, self-awareness, skilful questioning and the impact of the coach’s presence. 

Standing on this foundation, the coach's responsibility is to enable the coachee to achieve goals by: 

• Discovering, clarifying and aligning with the client’s goals. 
  
• Encouraging client self-discovery. 
• Tailoring together an efficient action plan. 
• Strengthening their will to challenge usual thinking and behaviour. 
• Keeping the confidentiality of the partnership. 

What is the difference between Coaching and Psychotherapy and what intervention is right for you? 

Coaching focuses on setting goals, creating outcomes and managing personal change. It supports personal and professional growth based on self-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is future focused. While positive emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one's work or personal life. With the help of your coach you will be able to raise your awareness as well as unlock your full potential (personal and professional) by exploring more deeply your challenges, options and changes you want to make. If you wish to understand your internal landscape, Coaching is the right tool to achieve this.

Psychotherapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or in relationships. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with the present in more emotionally healthy ways.  

What does the Coaching process look like? 

We start from a personal interview (either face-to-face or online) to assess and understand the person’s or business’ current situation and challenges, define the scope of the relationship, identify priority for action and establish outcomes. The client will agree on a contract between both coach and coachee.  

Subsequent sessions will be online and the length will be previously determined by both parties. Between scheduled coaching sessions, the individual may be asked to complete specific actions that support the achievement of one's personally prioritised goals. The coach may provide additional resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments or models to support the individual's or business’ thinking and actions. The Coaching process will last depending on the client’s or team’s needs and preferences. 

What is Executive Coaching?

Successful leaders usually need a safe yet challenging space to explore themselves by skilful questioning, challenge and support. This bespoke intervention addresses the whole client and attends the inner progress, and not just focusing on objectives and knowledge. It is offered in an equal 1-2-1 session format providing quality tailored development and support for leaders, employees, young professionals or people who find themselves in transition feeling the need of stepping up into a new challenge. Atenea is there for you, offering high impact Executive Coaching programmes to either individuals or teams for business growth.  

Most typical catalyst to start an Executive Coaching programme: 

• Maximising high potential employees
• Making a positive impact in a new role 
• Dealing with difficult employees or colleagues 
  
• Developing a personal brand 
  
• Dealing with a work transition 
  
• Showing employees how to lead with influence 
  
• Motivating the workforce and managers 
  
• Dealing with an unemployment situation 
  

FAQs

- Where?  

We are flexible on this.  Regarding Executive Coaching, often it works well at your place of work, but sometimes we recommend coaching away from your office.  In terms of a psychotherapy session we offer on site or via Skype. The final choice is yours. 

- Face-to-face, Skype or email?  

The heart of the coaching/therapy is face-to-face work however experience tells that videoconference is equally efficient in the majority of cases. Either on site, at your office or via Skype we will always need your email for assessments, contract and evaluations throughout the process. 

- How long does a session last?  

The duration of a session depends on the request and kind of programme. Usually a counselling session lasts 1 hour and Coaching sessions about 1.5 hours. This will be always agreed by both parties prior to the programme. 

- Every week or…?  

This will be also agreed before the first session starts. Depending on the request some programmes respond to a weekly basis and some others monthly.  

- How long does the process usually last?   

If you are undertaking a Coaching programme, it depends on your coaching goals.  If you are keen on starting counselling, this will be advised and agreed by both before the process starts. Lengths are always flexible and rely on how the process is going. 

- Termination without penalty!   

We always agree with the intended duration of our coaching/counselling relationship at the start, but you can end it earlier if you wish, without penalty.  Our client relationships rely on mutual trust and respect giving you freedom of choice. 

- Can Executive Coaching be arranged for teams?  

Sure! Just drop an email with your request and Atenea Clinic will work on a bespoke Business Coaching programme to develop your team.