"The goal of coaching is
the goal of good management:
to make the most of an
organisations's valuable resources."
Harvard Business Review
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within."
Bob Nelson
Coaching and Mentoring
Coaching and mentoring managers, executives and specialists has formed a core part of cfa's work over the last 15 years. We act both as external coaches for individuals and organisations and also assist organisations to develop managerial capabilities to coach and develop their people.
As external coaches we have worked with a diverse client group, comprising a range of nationalities, with a mix of UK and Global roles with functional expertise ranging from IT, Marketing, Sales and HR to Engineering technical experts, Professional Accountants and Solicitors.
Most clients possess a vast array of technical competencies and knowledge. The coaching work concentrates on increasing the individuals overall contribution, through helping them to make adjustments to the way they utilise this expertise.
Typically psychometric tools and/or 360-degree feedback tools are used to obtain a compelling picture of the person's current preferences and approach. A series of meetings over an agreed timescale, providing additional input and expertise and a review process provide a format for short-term adaptation and longer-term sustainable success.
We use a range of specialist coaches, and an eclectic approach borrowing tools, techniques and approaches from a range of sources gained through a variety of experiences, built upon a solid base of qualifications, to provide appropriate outcomes for each client. Currently much of our work relates to Dan Goleman's powerful 'emotional intelligence' work. We are accredited users of the associated emotional competence inventory as one of our range of tools.
The client experience
"In the course of 5 or 6 years I enjoyed 2 periods of 6 coaching sessions with Colin. Having had a couple of bad experiences with coaches in the past I embarked upon my first "stint" as something of a sceptic. However, I soon came to value the way in which his coaching challenged me to develop my own solutions to the issues I was dealing with, both in my day to day work and in the way in which my personal career development agenda evolved. At successive meetings I gained considerable value from the fact that he focused on ensuring agreed actions had been followed up and the outcomes were then reviewed. My career continued to progress positively during this time.
My respect for Colin's work extended to advocacy as I arranged for other
members of my staff to be coached by him. The individuals and the
Organisation each benefited from the outcomes, whether the people concerned
were "high flyers" who needed coaching in preparation for moving on to
bigger things or individuals who required coaching to bring their
performances up to the standard expected of them in their current roles."
Managing Director, Global Insurer
