I’ve worked with coaching clients for over a decade. I started my own coaching, facilitation and governance training practice in 2013. Over 10 years ago! (Read my story if you want to learn more about my journey to this point.)
After working with coaching clients for a while, themes start to appear. Although some themes appear consistently throughout the years – think ‘communication issues’ and ‘dealing with difficult relationships’ – some are products of the complex post-pandemic era we live in now.
Here’s a snapshot of what I noticed in 2023, with some tips and tools that might help you if you’re facing similar issues.
If you’re looking for extra support, consider a one-off strategy session or one-on-one individual coaching program.
Coaching theme #1: Looking for the ‘what next’
Maybe it was the ‘great resignation’ following the pandemic that meant that a number of coaching clients felt dissatisfied with their current status quo and were looking to work out their ‘what next’, and specifically, their ‘purpose’. That nagging ‘what else is out there for me?’ thought keeps hanging around.
Ideas for you to action:
- A good first step is to develop an organisation or team (or even individual) vision.
- Take the time to look at each skill – one after the other – with a skills matrix.
- Look at how you want to feel to set goals for the future with my RSVP worksheet.
- Start with taking a good look at where we are now and be as clear as possible about what we want with Michelle Gibbings’ Career Leap.
- Also, ponder the importance of legacy.
Case study: Read how Caroline Pilot gained clarity around her own story and strengths, thanks to the many tools used as part of Take on Board KickStarter.
Coaching theme #2: Stepping up in a leadership role
I’ve watched many coaching clients progress careers to significant leadership positions and encounter the subsequent challenges with those new roles. And I had my own coach when I was first appointed to a CEO position, so I know from first hand experience how important it is to have someone in your corner when you’re new to a step-up role!
Ideas for you to action:
- Make your team coaching conversations easier with one of my favourite tools – REACH.
- Set the context at the start of a workshop with my two go-to context tools, SOAR and PESTLE.
- Build trust through difficult conversations using Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead ‘playbook’.
- Try three of my favourite tools for teams that build collaboration and inclusivity.
Case study: Read how the Midnyte City surveyed the team to identify gaps and targets for change.
Coaching theme #3: Addressing communication issues
I’m not sure whether it’s the fast-paced modern-day work practices or the fact that more of us communicate with colleagues online that many of us are feeling the pinch of communication mishaps.
Ideas for you to action:
- Identify the different ways we communicate with the five love languages.
- Address a difficult relationship with a work peer with the Karpman drama triangle.
- Use the Johari window to explore team interactions.
Case study: Read how the five love languages helped Alex Patterson to understand communication with her boss.
Coaching theme #4: Dealing with difficult relationships
How to navigate difficult relationships – in both personal and work lives – is a perennial coaching theme. It’s a companion theme to ‘addressing communication issues’. It’s one of the key reasons why people engage a coach.
Ideas for you to action:
- Understand a difficult relationship with a work peer with the Karpman drama triangle.
- Work out different behaviour types with Kim Scott’s Radical Candor framework.
Case study: Read how an annual series of workshops and a coaching program helped the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) build team relationships.
Coaching theme #5: Building boardroom diversity and inclusion
More than my coaching and facilitation work, I’m known for boards – the Take on Board podcast and the two Take on Board group programs, KickStarter and Accelerator. The Accelerator program in particular is, essentially, a group coaching program. And in 2023 – for all of the 2020s actually – I am hearing that diversity and inclusion are both a challenge and opportunity.
Ideas for you to action:
- Identify the areas where the board or team feel threatened or blocked with the SCARF framework.
- Assess your board’s skills, commitment, alignment and diversity with the ‘four keys to a better board’ worksheet.
- Consider an external board evaluation to identify and address diversity and inclusion concerns.
Case study: Read how even a stable board like North East Catchment Management Authority’s (NECMA) benefitted from a facilitated board review.
