What is Coaching?

There's a lot of nonsense written about coaching! Most people seem to be more able to define what it isn't than say what it is. There's plenty of talk about the human spirit, growing in personal awareness, breaking barriers, unblocking individuals, and taking a holistic approach!

At Beacons we take a simple view: coaching is a 1:1, non-directive way of developing valuable employees.

It means that we work on the individual's agenda, not our own. It produces great results!

What we offer

We have a highly experienced team of coaches who work 1:1 with individuals. We believe in a practical, open, no-nonsense style, rather than thinking of coaching as a mysterious art!

We work with directors, senior managers and others in organisations covering issues like:

• Life and Career Goals
• Personal impact and influence
• Leadership Behaviours
• Development needs identified by 360 degree feedback, another of our specialist areas
• Management Training 1:1 Master Classes

Coaching is a powerful talent development tool for organisations. It demonstrates a commitment to the individual, and provides much more focused development time than is possible in a group.

We use a combination of coaching techniques, management tools and theories applied into practical situations, psychometric tests (personality and values questionnaires) and feedback from colleagues, peers and other stakeholders to start the process. We can also tailor our approach to your organisation's capabilities or leadership competencies if required.

How it works

Our Coaching programmes are bespoke to each client, and can be easily tailored to your needs. We always agree a Coaching Plan for each individual, to ensure the coaching is relevant and tackles the key priorities first. Every Plan starts with personal objectives written by the individual.

A typical coaching scenario

• initial meeting to agree objectives and a session plan
• typically 6 to 12 sessions, of 2-3 hours, every 3 to 4 weeks
• final review
• sessions remain confidential between the coach and individual
• only the main outcomes are discussed with the sponsor at the end of the assignment

An alternative coaching scenario

• One session on a single performance issue can make all the difference in the world!

Powerful benefits

Benefits to the organisation include:

• Retention of young talent in the business
• Quicker and more effective key career transitions - say from manager to director
• Improved Leadership Survey ratings
• Sensitive performance or interpersonal issues are addressed
• Better Personal and Team Effectiveness, and a deeper understanding of styles

Benefits to the individual include:

• Being able to work on my development gaps in private
• Greater practical understanding of my personal impact - 'how I come across'
• Improving my leadership behaviours
• Clearer life and career goals, so I understand my fit with the organisation
• Improved confidence and competence after my recent promotion

Personal reports

We provide a full Personal Report on the individual that frequently becomes a valuable personal reference point for them. The report includes personal development planning and the key information and findings from:

• 360 degree feedback
• Any psychometric questionnaires used
• Life Stage and Personal goals
• Career Anchors, Managerial, Conflict and Influence Styles
• Development Profile - Strengths and ongoing Development Areas

Beacons coaches

Beacons coaches bring a variety of skills and experience to suit your needs, including qualifications in:

• NLP - Neuro-linguistic programming
• MBTI - Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• Psychometric tests - registered with the British Psychological Society
• The University of Life!

For more information about coaching, please contact us.