Individual practitioner account: coaching case studies – from the new coach’s casebook

Practitioner account developed by Jo Hensel

Since graduating from the Guildhall School in 1991 as a horn player, I have enjoyed a successful and varied career in the music profession. I have toured, performed and recorded with many of the UK’s and Europe’s leading orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Composers Ensemble, BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras. I have been a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields’ horn section since 1998, and I also play an active role in the orchestra’s education and outreach work - combining my passion for music with a fascination for how people learn and develop. Early in my horn playing career, when I was a member of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia – and away on tour a lot, I undertook a BSc (Hons) in Psychology with the Open University. My education work includes projects in schools, prisons, hospitals, banks, businesses and many other community and corporate settings. I was appointed as Deputy Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion at the Guildhall School in January 2011. I started the mentoring-coaching course for staff in September 2013, undertook the Five Day Intensive Coaching course with Linden Learning run by Jane Cook and Jenny Rogers in October 2014, followed by the ILM Level 7 Diploma in Executive Coaching and Mentoring (including a minimum of 100 hours of coaching or mentoring at a senior or executive level) with Consult East which I completed in April 2016. The opportunity to develop my coaching skills within a conservatoire setting seemed to me to be the most perfect way to bring together the parallel strands of my career thus far – using coaching tools to enable my students and others working in my department and beyond to close the gap between performance and potential.

I am using the skills and tools gained in my coaching training in every area of my work at the Guildhall School. Sometimes this takes place in contracted 1:1 coaching with students or staff. At other times, I use a coaching-informed approach, for example, in my day-to-day work with students and colleagues.

For the purposes of this account, I will look at four different areas of my work – aiming to capture where, how and what impact coaching is having on my work and on the people with whom I am working:

Students1. The use of coaching tools in routine review meetings with students2. One-off coaching sessions as and when the need arises

3. A series of 1:1 coaching sessions with students who have specific issues which they want to explore. In this account there is an example of how this can be used to support 1:1 teaching with a principal study instrumental professor.

Colleagues - both from within my department and beyondOften the uniquely confidential and safe environment which coaching offers enables the exploration of issues which the experienced professionals who work in a conservatoire environment may feel unable to explore anywhere else. In my experience – as both a coach and coachee - the resulting insights can lead to profound and lasting positive change.

In my work with my line manager – who has also undertaken a year of the Guildhall’s mentoring-coaching course

In our partnership, we have sought to establish a coaching culture – and this has had a really positive impact on our ability to work effectively together.

In another area of the organisationThis totally unexpected positive outcome in another part of the organisation came about when I offered coaching more widely across the school in order to fulfill 100 hours of coaching at a senior or executive level for my ILM coaching diploma. This account documents the positive impact of the coaching on the coachee, and on the work of the department as a whole – with the voice of both the coachee and his head of department captured in the account.

For the purposes of the account, I have anonymized all my case studies (which have been approved by my clients), with the exception of my account of my work with my line manager who has agreed to the publication of this non-anonymized account.

Supporting students’ resourcefulness in their learning and career developmentWith 140+ students in my department, I am in the privileged position of seeing them all in scheduled group and 1:1 meetings throughout the year. In addition to this, the door is always open for students who have questions, concerns and ideas. The nature and quality of my contact time with the students has developed significantly over the past 2.5 years, in the light of the mentoring-coaching development in the school. I will try to capture some examples (by no means an exhaustive review) of the ways in which I am using coaching with the students – and also the exciting and transformative effect which it is having on them and their learning – particularly on those who I am able to see for either a one off, or a series of 1:1 coaching sessions:

How can I have a really meaningful 15 minute review meeting with a student which can result in change and action?In an “action learning set” (Revans 2011) in the context of a group coaching and mentoring training session at Guildhall led by Jane Cook in early 2014, the issue I presented was:“We have 147 students in our department, and between us, Richard and I see them all 1:1 for 15 minutes in the space of a week or two in February. At the moment, it feels a bit unsatisfactory, with not enough time to have a meaningful discussion – so it often feels that we achieve very little in those meetings, and/ or we run terribly late.” From this starting point, and through the skillful questioning, challenge and support of my colleagues, came the idea of developing a balance wheel (see Appendix) which could be sent to the students in advance of the session in order to enable them to reflect in a structured way on the whole of their Conservatoire life prior to the meeting. The hope was that in the 15 minute meeting, they could then share some of their insights from this exercise, followed by a brief coaching session that could lead to change and action as appropriate.

This approach has impacted on the quality of the mid-year reviews in a number of ways:

1. Rather than starting with a rather general “how are things going?” it is possible to see immediately how things are – and consequently, meaningful conversation leading to change and action can begin earlier. This results in both a more productive meeting and in better time keeping

2. Whilst we manage the process and the time keeping, the agenda remains in the hands of the student. We are there as a resource for the student, who we may challenge and support in any number of ways which may include giving information, advice or feedback if it is asked for (or asking permission to give feedback if it is not requested by the student but may be helpful), or helping them to explore one area in more depth. Because the student has more ownership of the process and has done some thinking in advance, we find that any agreed change and action is owned by them and is therefore far more likely to be effective.

3. I no longer come out of the review meetings with a “to do” list as long as my arm, as the students now have the responsibility for change and action. This is far more sustainable – both in terms of the students’ education and development, and in my ability to have time and energy for some of the more strategic things in the department.

One-off coaching which transforms surviving into thrivingStudents often pop in to ask for some advice, or to use me as a sounding board. Whilst I am happy to give information and / or share my experience of a particular issue as appropriate, following my coaching training, I am much less inclined to make assumptions about what the students need from me. Instead, I use a coaching approach to find out more. Often a “five minute coaching” ensues; sometimes I give information or advice as requested, and occasionally, I offer the student a coaching session in order to explore the issue in more depth.

An example of this came with a student - Lily - who popped in a few weeks into the Autumn term to ask if it was OK if she put a deputy in for a couple of repertoire sessions to which she was assigned. She didn’t feel that she had enough time to prepare the material. In the past, I might have agreed to her putting a “dep” in and spent a couple of minutes suggesting who she could ask. On this occasion, I asked her a few more questions, the responses to which led me to offer her a coaching session, which we arranged for later that day.

Lily’s goal which we established in the first part of the coaching session was: “If this session was useful, I would go away with a plan for how to cope over the next few months.” In the course of the one hour coaching session, we explored Lily’s expectations of herself, and her feelings when she failed to meet these expectations; we also looked at her coping mechanisms when she was feeling overwhelmed – and the assumptions she was making about what others might feel if she shared her feelings with them (she realised these went right back to a situation which had occurred when she was 16 years old). Having reflected on her current situation and shone a light on the assumptions she was making based on past experiences, Lily was able to come up with a short list of actions, about which she felt positive. Incidentally, she chose to stay in the repertoire sessions.

I did not see Lily in a 1:1 meeting again until her “end of year review”, in which she talked enthusiastically about the year and how, more than anything, it had been a voyage of self-discovery which had been set in motion by the coaching session and the insights which she had gained in that short session.

Transformative support for one to one teachingIn October 2014, I had a phone call from a professor who was calling me to tell me that her student, Katie, was “in bits” following her lesson, and to let me know that she had sent her to come and see me. Katie was performing a concerto that night – but was experiencing a crisis of confidence. Later that day, we spent an hour exploring the issues and Katie went away having devised a plan of action for the performance, which she later reported went well. I left her with an invitation to come back for another session if she wanted to, but she did not take me up on that until January 2015, when I had a very similar phone call from the professor who had, again, asked Katie to come and see me following a lesson in which she became quite upset. This time when I offered Katie a series of coaching sessions, she took me up on the offer quite readily.

Overarching Objective agreed for the coaching:“I (Katie) would like to get to a place where I can feel positive about my lessons and my work in order that I can be productive. I would like to feel more motivated to practise properly.”

Session 1. (30mins)Objective: “To go away with a plan for the coaching and sessions in the diary.”

Session 2. (75 mins)Objective: “To find a way to organise my practice so that I feel positive at the end of it.”Session 3. (60 mins)Objective: “To work out how to approach the coming week.”

Session 4. (60 mins)Objective: “A plan for how to approach my 1:1 lessons positively so that I can get the most from them.”

Session 5. (20 mins)Objective: “To reflect on progress and have a plan going forwards.”

Whilst the focus of all these sessions was “the work” (in the present and the future), in the course of the coaching, we touched on the past as I challenged some of Katie’s self-limiting beliefs:

“My parents spent months trying to persuade me not to come to Conservatoire because they said that I would not have the self-motivation and discipline to be successful…they were right in a way.”

Katie’s reflection on the coaching at her last session: “I am amazed how much coaching has turned things around. I couldn’t possibly have imagined what a difference it would make if I think back to the first session and how I was then. Normally I might have just refused to do something like this, but because things had got so bad, I knew that I needed to.”

And on looking back some time after the coaching:“The style of coaching was noticeably different to other counselling and support sessions I have had in the past. The largest difference for me was the focus on thinking for myself - I was strongly encouraged by Jo to identify issues and potential solutions…using my own words. My previous experience of traditional counselling involved instead the counsellor taking almost full responsibility for identifying the possible issues and solutions. This meant that I found the coaching sessions with Jo more challenging than traditional counselling… but I was able to quickly move past the barrier of feeling stuck.

The coaching has significantly improved my progress with my principal study professor. We worked through issues I had been having with attitudes to my own progress, practice and lessons. Working through these issues has transformed my relationship with my professor and has meant that I can freely and confidently progress through the course in this area.Personally I feel that having experienced this style of coaching I am much more able to think for myself when it comes to resolving issues as a musician.

The coaching has genuinely helped me to be more optimistic and proactive when I am in a difficult place, and the techniques I have worked through with Jo have also helped me to become more organised and therefore more focused on my own progress and development as a musician.”

Her teacher’s reflections:“At the point when I encouraged Katie to come and see you, I was totally treading on eggshells, avoiding any kind of discussion about anything that might need improving. In her playing she would recognise those things but it was totally like “everything is so bad that what’s the point of moving on?” and treading on eggshells to avoid tears. The lesson couldn’t take its natural course because she had an agenda of some sort that stopped that happening.

Having seen you, Katie got herself into a better place and seemed to be feeling more confident about her playing. She was happier, there were no tears. The situation now is that she is able to consider more things that might need looking at. She gets a little bit frustrated, but it’s not the dissolving of the lesson now. When that happens, I am able to offer up suggestions as to how she might work on it, what she might look at, what exercises she could do – so discussion can happen now without tears and negativity. It’s mostly about her having control back. If she notices something she doesn't like and I agree with that, it doesn't compound into “therefore I can’t play the instrument”. She is able to isolate something and what she can do to work on it.

Katie now comes with a much more positive attitude about the week’s work, even if it hasn't been a good week. She’ll tell me “I don’t think I practised that well this week and we are able to have a discussion about why that might be instead of “that’s because I’m rubbish.” She also generally has a more positive attitude as a person and we can talk about other things – she is more open.

The long term impact of the coaching is perhaps even greater than the short term. It has enabled progress to snowball for her. Long term, this will enable her to really hone her playing. The fact that she has addressed that successfully herself must be quite empowering I think.”

I asked the professor (who has over 20 years of teaching experience) how her experience of the impact of the coaching was different to that of other interventions such as counselling.

“It was quicker. She had some kind of strategy to put into place quite quickly. It was an understanding or something that happened quickly – I noticed changes even as soon as the next lesson.”

Having read an early draft of this case study, a colleague asked me whether I thought that the coaching was effective in this case because I wasn’t the student’s principal study teacher. She was thinking about a student of hers who she felt might benefit from some coaching, and wondered whether she should be the one to offer the coaching, or indeed, whether it might be a better idea to ask someone else “more neutral” to coach the student. This question highlighted a couple of things about this particular case:

1. The professor who asked me to see her student had a relatively good understanding of the coaching development at Guildhall because I had talked about it within the department. The impact of this was that having referred the student on to me, she trusted the process enough to feel comfortable with the confidential nature of the coaching. I did not discuss the coaching with her, except to confirm that the student had come to see me as agreed – although I was very happy to hear that within the lessons, things were so much more positive.

2. It was clear to me that the principal study teacher felt that by enabling her student to get some help outside of the one to one setting, she could continue to spend her time in the lessons focusing on “the work” (the instrument and the music). This separation was healthy in enabling the student to move forwards in both areas (personally and musically) – on a parallel track. I believe that the majority of students with whom I have worked have appreciated this separation too. That is not to say that there cannot be “coaching moments” within the 1:1 lesson, but when there is a bigger issue and coaching in its purest form is required, perhaps this is best dealt with outside the 1:1 lesson.

3. As a full time member of staff with a duty of care to the students within my department, I am able to make time to coach a student who would particularly benefit from this intervention – not least because, in my experience, a relatively short amount of time spent coaching at the point of need, can save hours further down the line when things may have moved beyond the point where coaching might be effective or appropriate. I recognize that this is a privileged position to be in -privileged for me because I have and am receiving training in coaching at the Guildhall School, and for my colleagues and their students because they can refer their students to me as appropriate and necessary.

Empowering colleagues in their professional rolesAt the Guildhall School, there are a number of ways in which professors can engage in Continuing Professional Development. Receiving coaching has been a powerful, personalized development opportunity for two principal study professors with whom I have worked since starting my coaching training. I have also personally found the coaching that I have received as part of the Guildhall’s coaching development programme incredibly powerful, for a number of reasons:

1. The agenda is mine. I can take anything to the confidential coaching space that is puzzling, concerning or preventing me from bringing my best possible self to my work.

2. The unconditional positive regard that I have experienced in the coaching space has enabled me to be totally honest with my coach – and myself. Through skillful challenge and questioning, a light is often shone on things that are preventing insight and progress. The resulting clarity has led to change and action.

I will never forget the first coaching session which I had with Jane Cook as part of the Guildhall’s mentoring-coaching development programme. I arrived a little unsure as to what issue I wanted to bring. There were a couple of minor ongoing issues at work which I might have brought, but nothing at that point in time with which I felt really stuck. Jane reassured me that it didn’t have to be a work issue, and asked whether there was anything else. “Well, I am having a really difficult time with my teenage daughter”, I heard myself blurting out…. We then spent the session exploring this troubling issue which, as I look back, was occupying my mind and a lot of my emotional energy on a daily basis. Jane skillfully challenged and supported me through an exploration of my relationship with my daughter – and my own role within it. I left the session feeling optimistic – as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and with a real sense of purpose about how I might move forwards more positively. To this day (two and a half years on), I see this session as a complete turning point in my relationship with my daughter, with whom I had reached an impasse. Whilst I am in no way a model parent (and she is still not a model child – if such a thing exists), we now share an open and positive relationship, which (on a good day) she tells me (with some pride) is the envy of her friends. Ironically, the positive impact of this session on my work at Guildhall has been significant. Firstly, it relieved a great deal of low level anxiety – giving me more energy and focus at work. Secondly, the session enabled me to recognize my own strong (and usually unhelpful) desire to “rescue” others – something I subsequently recognized I had a tendency to do with my students and even colleagues at times. Perhaps most significantly, it illustrated perfectly how powerful coaching can be – whatever issue is brought to the space.

In my own coaching since then, I have experienced other cases where an issue in a client’s personal life needs to be addressed before energy can be given to “work issues” (for example Tim in the last section of this account).

Case Study: Helen – a vocal professor with an international profile as a performer, who has come to teaching more recentlyI worked with Helen for several sessions – to which she brought various issues from her teaching. In the third session, we established that Helen would like to leave with “a plan for my next lesson with Mathilda.”

Situation: Mathilda is a frustrating student. Helen describes how she is hard to get hold of, scatty, frequently late to lessons, arriving without her music. Recently Helen attended a performance she gave, and was disappointed to see that, in spite of the work they had done in the lessons together, Mathilda was “winging it” and her performance was very disappointing as a result. Helen is sure that Mathilda has ADHD or something similar. She has a friend whose husband’s life has been changed by reading a book about ADHD and recognizing that he has the same condition. Helen has bought

three copies of the book – one for herself and one for each of the two students who she believes may benefit from reading it. She recalls that in a previous lesson, she talked to Mathilda about the condition and her suspicions that she might have it, and Mathilda had cried. She also mentioned that the Mathilda had cancelled the last two lessons.

Frustrated by Mathilda’s seeming lack of desire to take on board the advice Helen was giving her and to change her behaviour, Helen wanted to achieve a little more clarity about what was going on for Mathilda, and what she might be feeling which was stopping her taking on board Helen’s advice.

One tool that coaching uses to enable clients to see something from a different point of view, is the “Meta Mirror” (which comes from the Gestalt school of Therapy). Through the process of the Meta Mirror, the client is asked to enter a state of maximum empathy with another person (in this case, Mathilda) and then to reflect and draw on the resulting insights. Through doing this exercise, Helen had a strong sense of what Mathilda might be feeling in the context of her lessons, which included being overwhelmed by Helen’s intensity and desire to “help”. Helen also became aware that this came from a place in herself of really liking Mathilda, “but feeling unable to do what I am supposed to do with Mathilda which is to help her to be a better singer.”

With this insight, Helen was able to explore other ways of working with Mathilda. Having explored a protocol for giving feedback in a previous session, we re-capped this and Helen role-played giving feedback in a way that Mathilda would be more likely to be able to hear and act on. In reviewing the proposed actions for the forthcoming lesson, Helen also recognized that before (if at all) giving the book to Mathilda, she should read it herself, as so far, she had not got past the foreword. Following the coaching session, and Mathilda’s next lesson, Helen emailed me: “Thank you, thank you! My lesson feedback session with Mathilda was brilliant and took 20mins yesterday. So simple and straightforward. And we had 1hr 10mins to have a really constructive lesson. Will fill you in next time, just wanting to say hooray for your work with me, and thanks again!”

Case study: Paul – an instrumental professor with a distinguished career in both teaching and playingIn this first session, Paul described two particular recent and difficult episodes with two of his students, which caused him great concern.

These troubled students have come as somewhat of a shock this year, because having had some very difficult students in the year before, Paul had made a conscious decision not to take on difficult students because of the toll that it was taking on him. He saw these two particular ones as quite straightforward - and is troubled that this is not the case. Paul has asked himself whether it is something in him or his teaching that is causing these episodes with these students.

When I asked Paul what he would like to get out of the session he said a few things:

1. A sounding board "an intelligent pair of ears to bounce things off"2. Some support3. Some more tools in his tool kit (in his "Pandora's box")

In this first session, Paul’s responses to some challenging questions started to throw some light on the situation:

Q. How responsible do you feel for your students’ work / for what they achieve in their work? A. Very responsible - 80%Q. And for their well-being / happiness?A. Very responsible (80%) for their satisfaction / happiness around their playing life.Q. How responsible do you think that your students think you are for their work (and also their satisfaction / happiness around their playing life)? A. Very responsible - 80%. Q. How responsible do you think that they should feel you are for their work?A. Much less. You would like it to be different.Q. How would you feel if they were less dependent on you?A. Better!

Following this first session, Paul has had regular coaching sessions in which we have worked on this and other issues.

I asked Paul to reflect on some questions about the coaching that he has had, for the purposes of this case study:

How is your experience of coaching different to your experience of other professional development opportunities?“As a teacher, I have had virtually no other professional development opportunities so this is not an easy comparison to make. I have completed a written self-appraisal and had an appraisal interview; but nothing has explored the same sorts of issues that coaching has, nor has gone into anything like the same depth. The constructive, confidential, creative and enlightening working and thinking space which coaching provides seems to me to be a uniquely enriching and resource-building experience, from a professional point of view; it seems to me to be one of the most powerful, helpful and supportive experiences a teacher/employee could wish to have.”

How has coaching impacted on your work as a teacher?“As a teacher, the theme of ‘resourcefulness’ has been particularly helpful. My personal resourcefulness has improved (I hope): I am more aware of resources I can call upon (both from within myself and from others), I have greater trust in my own ability to be resourceful, and in a general sense, I feel I have more ‘tools in my toolbox’ for some of the incredibly challenging situations that teaching can present.

Interestingly, it has also helped me to spot when students are being over-dependent, and has helped me to facilitate their own resourcefulness; potentially, this may help me to find teaching less exhausting. It has also shed light on working relationships with colleagues.”

Establishing a culture of coaching; sharing issues, working (and ‘playing’) together to create solutionsThe coaching development at the school has had a significant, positive and unusual impact on the way in which I work with my line manager. Adopting the core principles of coaching in much of the work we do together (coaching is about change and action; the client is resourceful; the coach’s role is to develop the client’s resourcefulness through skillful questioning, challenge and support; the client sets the agenda; coaching addresses the whole person – past, present and future; work and private lives, and, most importantly, that the coach and client come together as equals), and often with me taking the role of coach, has enabled the development of our working relationship and effectiveness in our roles. I asked my line manager to reflect on a number of questions (sent by email) about the impact of coaching on our work, to which he responded as follows:

How has the coaching development at Guildhall impacted on your working relationship with Jo?“Empowering individuals and groups was a starting point in our working relationship. So far, our relationship has been stimulating, nurturing, encouraging, always supportive. At times I have felt challenged, sometimes provocatively so, but always in a healthy spirit of enquiry, working to improve things, so I have always received constructive criticism, which is always welcome. From the outset, we established a strong rapport and trust, whilst retaining the ability to ask questions, to check things, and not to take things for granted.

I am mindful that there are very few jobs comparable to this one in other conservatoires. This in true in terms of the scope of the work that is required of us both, and also for the possibilities of extending that scope, seeking to improve the experience for both students and staff.

We do not work in a line management pattern, with me as Head and Jo as subordinate. That would not be healthy in terms of individual empowerment (for either of us) and would not allow for personal development of skills, or for exchange and dialogue. From the outset it was clear that each of us would only be restrained in our particular strengths by time, energy, and the moderation of the other.We enjoy the luxury of rapport, of being hard workers who approach work with a sense of fun (fun is part of being a musician, at heart), and having very different ways of looking at things. This constantly came up with new issues in our first two years. To say that we had the capacity to be in conflict would not exactly be accurate, because collaboration and resolution was always our aim in working together. But it would be true to say that the headiness of the working week, combined with our personal characteristics, meant that to be truly productive, creative, efficient, fruitful in our work, and to remain sane in a constantly evolving and sometimes high-pressured working environment, something needed to be added. That thing, we have discovered, is coaching.

In Myers-Briggs terms, where Jo would see an issue through a ‘Thinking’ lens, I will often be ‘Feeling’. Coaching questions can create a neutral space that harnesses the energy of both Feeling and Thinking to find a solution.

Coaching questions apply a sense of science to questions which are so often about personality, involve others’ identities and uncertainties, which for me have crossed over into areas in which I am only gradually becoming informed and knowledgeable:What’s the best answer for an issue? Who else owns the issue? What is the timeframe for finding a solution?

Change has happened in a variety of ways. Coaching has established a disciplined framework, but also a framework of playfulness which can be used spontaneously.Establishing a culture of coaching, as an approach to sharing issues and to working (and ‘playing’) together to create solutions, has brought in a fundamental and transformative shift to the dynamic in which Jo and I work together. I can see these changes improving other working relationships across the Guildhall School.

Under pressure, I have a tendency to see an issue as needing to be solved by me alone or to try and avoid taking responsibility for it. Coaching questions have helped me to establish how to look at an issue, to keep it live only for as long as is necessary for a solution to be found, and to have a healthy balance of ownership of the issue between Jo and myself (or anyone else who has ownership of the issue).

Coaching techniques continue to impact positively on my ability to deal with issues of:

Problem solving (small, discrete issues) Crisis management and its solutions Staff development Departmental development”

When has the use of a coaching approach been useful in your work with Jo?“Observing Jo adopting a coaching approach with a student who was not easy to deal with has been useful. A space was created in which the student could address her issues. At all times a neutral, non-judgmental approach was taken by Jo. Coaching questions and techniques meant that the student was offered hope, support, and constructive means for improving matters.

My own role in this case was primarily as observer and supporter of the approach. From this I learnt how I might approach other cases in which conflict resolution was the main issue. The position which Jo consistently took also showed that creating a position of supportive neutrality enabled the coach to keep a necessary separation from the issues (in this case, of a severe and extreme nature). I learnt how dealing with a difficult situation need not de-rail one’s work for the rest of the day or in the following days.”

What tangible / measureable changes have occurred in the department as a result of Jo’s use of the coaching approach in her work with you?

“What is wonderful about the coaching I have received is that it affirms for me my sense of purpose. With Jo’s coaching added into our working relationship I feel valued and affirmed - and coaching adds potency to our teamwork.

Changes are happening in a variety of ways. Many of these are in small steps, in scenarios in which I find myself becoming more mindful of how better to interact with a colleague or a student. The larger effect of this change is in the creation and ability to sustain a better rapport with students and with colleagues, which is both enabling and transformational.

I have had to deal with some challenging issues that have 'landed on my desk'. When the clients have been difficult to negotiate with, I have a sometimes found it hard to focus on seeing the issue and its aspects clearly. When Jo has worked with me as a coach to assist me in handling a challenging issue, she has powerfully enabled me to develop an approach with which I can move forward. With an issue that involved a colleague with a volatile temper, I came to fear that I might not find an answer, and deeply doubted my ability to find a solution that was acceptable to both our colleague and to the School.

Dealing with this colleague BC, (at a time before coaching was being used), my approach to resolution failed. This was because my approach was School-centred, not client-centred, and I unwittingly obstructed negotiations by trying to 'fix' it. More recently, when the issue returned to the table DC (in a developing coaching culture), Jo worked with me on solutions. After Coaching, I felt empowered in my approach, and more confident moving forward because of Jo’s assistance. She enabled me to see clearly what I could influence in the issue, and what I could not control.

What is tangible as a result of her work with me is that our colleague felt heard and respected, and that the issue could be taken off the agenda.

In my working life, when I am 'in flow' I am generally readily able to be my authentic self, and deal with issues and with people with relative ease and with freedom. However, there are times that when challenged, my ability to deal with issues and people is inhibited by a fear of failure. Coaching work with Jo has created a powerful place to step back from that potential to enter a negative spiral of behaviour, and to look at the issue at hand with resourcefulness and increasing clarity - also with creativity and playfulness as fits the issue.

As a result of this continuing coaching work, I feel much more able to be resourceful where previously I might have taken a muddled approach. I am beginning to assimilate it into my working life. It has also had benefits to my individual personal life too!

Open questions are a stronger part of my approach to interviews, student meetings (whether termly review meetings, or informal meetings and chats as part of the working day), and meetings with staff (most of these are arranged ad hoc in response to requests, or situations). Jo has modelled open questions, and the powerful effect that they can have, and I can have more powerful conversations as a result.

Coaching from Jo has supported my preference in my management style for inclusiveness, and to manage change through transformation of behaviour and of opportunities. It has assisted me in steering away from a tendency to slip into

thoughts (and sometimes actions), which are characteristic of transactional leadership. No good comes of that, despite the temptations of the short term fix when a challenge is not seen as an opportunity but as a threat.”

Coaching for individual empowerment and organisational development “In general, organisational structure is becoming flatter with more responsibility at the lower levels” according to Bush et al. in Wildflower and Brennan (2011: 154). To coach successfully within an organisational context requires “an understanding of the conscious and unconscious aspects of the organisation’s culture and systems”. Both these assertions resonate with my experience of coaching Tim who works in a professional services role at the School. Although I did not have any experience or understanding of the specifics of Tim’s role, my knowledge and understanding of the culture of the organisation enabled me to coach him effectively.

I worked with Tim for four sessions between July and October 2015, followed by a short session in December 2015 where we reviewed the coaching that had taken place together, looking at the impact of the coaching on Tim’s work.

Overarching goal: To achieve more clarity about Tim’s direction in life, and career path in particular, in order to move forward positively.

Session 1: Having agreed the overarching goal for the coaching, it became clear that there were a number of family issues that were preventing Tim from focusing on the development of his career:

“There are loads of things coming at me – mainly family things - that stop me from thinking about the future. I’d love to have a career plan and know where I am heading and on the one hand, I’m putting pressure on myself to plan that, but on the other hand, I wonder whether I should chill out and let things happen a bit more.”

The outcome which we agreed to work towards in this first session was:“to leave with a plan to make things a bit more positive re. difficult relationships within the family”. The use of the “Meta Mirror” helped Tim to achieve more clarity about his situation:

“I have tried to put myself in other people's shoes before, but doing it that way was really cool. I hadn’t realised that I didn't really communicate with my sister until now.”

Having shone a light on some of the difficulties which were preventing Tim from moving forward, he left the session with an action to undertake before the next session.

Session 2:Tim had successfully carried out the action agreed from the last session, and he felt ready to start to think about the future.

Outcome for this session: “to think about a plan for the future and to have some more clarity about direction in life / career progression.”

Situation:Work is quite stressful. Tim is staying late to get the work done. There are some benefits, but should he move on or stay and continue to learn and relax a bit? “I don’t want to mess it up at this stage”. We explored what “messing it up” looked like, and then what things would be like if it went well:

“More financial security / stability / able to support others without stress” “Ownership of the work” “Support – someone else to be accountable – someone else to bounce off –

this would make me more productive – I could achieve more. At the moment, I have to be the go-getter, but people are coming to me.”

We then explored the choices and looked at the qualities that Tim’s ideal job needed to have. He was able to look and discern which of those things he was able to get in his job as it currently was, and also things that were not currently available. There were some light bulb moments as Tim realised that there were some things which were really important to him. Tim also recognized that whilst he thrived in the “stretch zone”, he was currently operating in the “stress zone”.

Actions agreed included to be a little more relaxed about the way forward and to think about some small steps he could take, recognizing with more clarity what he wanted from his work. Although it wasn't easy to think of who might help him, Tim wanted to think more about this. (Bush et al assert that change occurring through coaching must be sustainable in the culture of the organisation. The question “who can help you with this?” is an important one for the coach to ask as this encourages the client to build support for themselves into the coaching).

Session 3Having had some holiday, Tim had spent time reflecting on our previous session.

Outcome for this session: “to go away with some more clarity about what the next step is…to achieving the career that I would really like to have.”

Situation:Tim feels a bit stuck in a place where he has a clear picture about how everything fits together – how each department contributes to the bigger picture. He also has a clear idea about what needs to change / develop for things to work better – so that the School can really achieve bigger and better things.

The frustrations are:1. Tim is not sure how to get that vision across. The finer details are not yet

ready to be presented, and he knows that he needs those before putting himself on the line with a big presentation.

2. Time to put all the details together is lacking. It’s a big piece of work and he is not sure whether it’s work that people want him to be doing.

3. There’s quite a silo mentality – everyone concerned about their bit rather than how it fits together.

The things getting in the way of moving forward are:

1. “Confidence”2. “Fear of failure – also I am concerned that others might think that I am

being condescending”3. “Getting stuck is not as bad as getting stopped …by those in authority

over me”4. “I’m in the corner (metaphorically and physically) at the moment. That

makes things difficult.”Tim then explained his vision to me with a great deal of animation – I reflected back to him that he had successfully communicated his ideas in a visual way – with plenty of passion. Tim went on to say that although his job involved lots of detail, the bigger picture that came out of the detail was so much more interesting. This led back to the question of who might help, and Tim was immediately able to identify three people in the organisation who shared his passion for the bigger picture.

Action“To reflect on how to start the conversation about my ideas”

Session 4Tim had found a way to start the conversation about his ideas. He had undertaken 3 x 1:1 meetings and is now bringing people together on Friday for further discussion about how to move forwards

Outcome for this session: “having recognised the importance of the bigger picture for myself, I would like to go away with some ideas about the development of my job and my career”

Situation:We spent a while exploring what’s working and also where the gap for Tim is. He recognized that he has the knowledge and experience to work from the bottom up and that is going well. He identified that the gap is having the skills / knowledge / experience to get things going from the top down. He recognizes that this is what he needs in order to be a visionary / a “game changer”

Actions:To carry on sharing his vision and to continue to think / observe / work out how / take opportunities to work from the top down. He has two particularly strong role models – one within the School and one outside.

Interview with Tim – December 2015Jo: “I am interested in the difference between coaching and any other professional development opportunities which you have had.”Tim: “Completely different really. I found it really interesting. Like, the bits where I could step out of myself – people don’t do that in professional training stuff. It kind of drifted into breaking down personal stuff. You saw it as a whole…Life, rather than just specifically work… because work gets affected by everything personal.

Quite refreshing to have it all seen as a big picture rather than just one tiny bit and then I could focus in once I had understood what was I wanted to focus in on. It made it helpful for me because even though you just facilitate me thinking, it was nice to have that ability to go that way because professional development is quite structured and its aims are very specific as well.

This was “I don’t really know what my problem is but I have a problem and a lot of things going on and it’s very confusing and complicated” and it was nice to have a bit of space to figure it out but I wasn’t limited by anything as well. It’s nice to be able to go with the bigger picture.”

Jo: “How did it feel to have someone like me coaching you, who doesn’t really know that much about what you are doing, although I know where in the organisation you work?”

Tim: “It was interesting to try to explain my job and what I do because my job isn’t particularly easy to explain anyway but I felt quite good when you relayed stuff to me about how you understood it and you understood it the way I explained it or you’d given me more insights into what I was doing which made me feel quite pleased and happy. You didn’t really not understand…”

Jo: “I think what I heard you saying is that it was interesting working with someone who didn’t know the specifics of what you were doing because when they would reflect back simply what you were telling them rather than bringing anything else to it that they already knew, because then you could really hear stuff because it had come from you and not from them.”

Tim: “Yes that’s exactly what I was trying to say - it’s nice to have had that ability to just say it and then you saying it back to me helped me to figure out more of the structure of how I see it – and what I have done and what I haven’t done and what I can do and what I can’t do.”

Jo: “Yes – because you are the expert of your job.”

Tim: “Yes – it’s learning that as well. I didn’t realise that until speaking to you, that I am the expert and I didn’t know.

It gave me a lot of confidence when I was out in meetings, or talking or trying to develop … there was a lot of pressure, and I thought…hang on a second…I’m the expert, I can say “no” . I am not good at saying no, but it gave me the confidence to say “no” when I needed to.”

Jo: “How has coaching impacted on your work?”

Tim: “Good. I have got a lot more confidence in knowing my direction with my work, and the direction that I think the school needs to go in and I have a lot more confidence about owning that as well in meetings and I am now quite aware of the impact that I have on the team and on the wider School network like people come to me now for help and the word has gone out, I am not educating any more or trying to influence people, they are coming to me, which is quite good. It shows a real shift and also with my colleagues, especially with the head of dept. He looks for my approval. He checks with me that I am happy with it in order to move forward and he’s not happy to move forward until he knows that I am happy – which shows a real sense of trust which I really like.”

Jo: “Would you put that down to the coaching or other stuff too?”

Tim: “I think that it has come from a lot of work over the time I have been here, but I think also that it is much more tangible now I understand what I am doing

more and how I interact with people. I am much better at seeing when it is happening and having confidence to know that that is what is happening rather than being like “is that OK? I don’t know…””

Jo: “So is that the bit that you attribute to the coaching?”

Tim: “Yes – it’s seeing those moments.”

Jo: “So you see that moment and then what is different about what you do with that moment?”

Tim: “I think it’s the way I interact with the moment or the people in the moment. It’s different. And also the wider office. I know my place in the team. To be able to get the best out of other people… I know my place so I know what their place should be so I try to communicate with them to try to get the best out of them and what they need to do. We have now started doing team leads on project so when there’s a project I am not actually in charge of it because that then would mean that I would be in charge of 25 million projects which would be ridiculous. So now when there is a project there is a team lead who is in charge of it, who facilitates everything.

They come to me for the support on the X and the X and all that, because that’s a huge part of everything you do now, but they lead on the timings, what we need it for, they’ll discuss with me and it gives me a chance to discuss a lot more about “why are you doing this?” like I ask the questions to be able to break down so that then the person actually has confidence in what they’re doing as well, rather than just doing it because they’ve been told to do it.”

Jo: “So you’re feeling very positive about the huge amount of facilitating that you are doing.”

Tim: “Yes – I feel that it’s a better use of my time because I like the big picture, and I also think that it’s important for my role to do that. I feel like eventually I am kind of getting the lid on what I was talking about. I have done the work from the bottom up and now people are coming to me for support and stuff. They know that I am the person who can help get things done in a different way. They are getting more efficiency or more productivity out of the task they are doing and now people are starting to try things and the heads of department are getting involved. I still haven’t reached strategic stuff but I know that that’s where I want to go. I’m not quite there yet – but I can see snippets of when it’s happening. I think when we did those post-it notes and we stuck qualities /values down, that was really useful for me because when you sent it to me I looked over it and now I know what I want from life, and from my work life and different lives, and I’m trying to use those and not be bogged down by other things that really don’t matter.”

Jo: “What has changed for you as a result of the coaching (apart from the things you have already mentioned)?”

Tim: “I would say I’ve got a better sense of where I am going. I don’t feel as lost. I felt that a lot, especially with all my family stuff and all my work stuff…all those different things going on…trying to break it all down. I can do that better. I feel

more trusting to get support from people because I am not a trusting person at all. I don’t let people help me very much. I think that I’m better at that now.

The whole process has helped me realise that I do need help sometimes. I do need to say “too much is too much”… and then you tend to learn more…Take a breath…find out where you want to go with this…

The technique that you used where you’d say something or make an action to take a step back was really good. Sometimes it was physically, sometimes it was emotionally or mentally…you’d just be like “let’s break that down” or “let’s step back for a sec and break this down”. That was actually one of the skills that I have been able to take on board in my life a bit more. That has really helped with some tough stuff. I use this both when something comes against me that’s new or difficult or whatever - I now try and use that but also with my colleagues as well – using that in the workplace – “let’s all just slow down” and a lot of it with my line managers, when they get stressed and feel pressure and that can often filter down, not intentionally, but it just does, and they’re like “there’s a lot going on” and I’m much more confident in saying “I will step back,” and showing that “I’m fine” and a few times, that has relaxed them. That has had an impact on them.”

Feedback from Tim’s Head of DepartmentHaving spoken to Tim about the impact of the coaching on him and his work, I asked his permission to seek some feedback on his work from his Head of the Department with whom he works closely. Tim had already told his HoD that he was receiving coaching, although in giving his feedback, the HoD wrote “I’m clearly unaware of what your coaching sessions have touched on”.

I wrote as follows to Tim’s HoD as follows: “Thinking about Tim’s work in his job at the Guildhall School, what changes / developments have you seen in any of the following core behaviours since July 2015? Please do not feel that you have to fill in every category, but add a line or two under any headings which you feel have been significant.” This was the HoD’s response:

Thinking:Planning and OrganisingTim’s approach to planning and organising has significantly improved since July 2015. He has diversified his methods of approaching this aspect of his work (e.g. using visual representations of processes and deadlines) and he has become more confident at handling his workload as well as negotiating the demands of colleagues on his time. Organisational UnderstandingTim’s understanding of the Guildhall School and its immediate context has certainly improved. He has always been keen to explore the bigger picture of our work in the X Office, particularly with regard to long-term strategies and not just dealing with the immediate needs. I think that the fact he is winning advocates in other administrative departments e.g. X and X and facilitating their XXX needs is indicative of his institutionally-inclusive approach. Analysis and problem solving

Again, I think there has been improvement in this area, due to similar themes outlined above. A very significant improvement is the fact that he now seeks out a ‘project leader’ or main contact point for each activity or project and asks them to outline and take ownership of what they want to achieve. This means that he can act more regularly in a ‘consultancy capacity’ and advise on the best way forward rather than taking on the burden of, for example, X or X. The knock-on effect of this is that other team members are gaining a greater understanding or his work and what might be achievable through their own.

Building Relationships:Communication and InfluenceThis area has improved in recent months and Tim is showing a greater understanding of what colleagues need to know rather than what they could know. An example would be in judging the audiences for reports that he produces: he now very much tailors information according to the audience (e.g. for myself as Head of department or for the Principal) rather than outputting every single piece of information that has been collated. He is also keen to identify trends that demonstrate the behaviours of our constituents and can inform strategic or short-term decisions eg. X and X

Team workingThis has always been one of Tim’s strengths and he willingly volunteers to support others and work as part of the team. However, he is now showing the ability to recognise and vocalise when other members of the team can support his work too. This means that he is less likely to take on responsibility for other team members’ work, thereby relieving him of a certain amount of stress and frustration. See notes on ‘project leader’ under ‘Analysis and problem solving’ above.

Achieving:Drive and PerseveranceTim has always exhibited significant drive and perseverance in his work and is always seeking out new challenges and opportunities for professional development.

Self-Managing:AccountabilityTim is always extremely accountable for his work and for meeting deadlines. In recent months, I have noticed that he is more able to manage other people’s expectations of his work more readily.

Learning focus:I have always been impressed by Tim’s willingness and openness to new ways of working. He is also not afraid to re-examine, deconstruct and change elements of his work if he feels that this is not the most efficient way of approaching it.

Leading:

Leading and EmpoweringAlthough this is a core behaviour that usually only applies to employees in a line management role (which Tim is not), I think it is worth noting that through his work in recent months Tim is now empowering many of his colleagues to rethink their approaches to X and X, and facilitating administrative processes that previously would have taken more time or would have been more complex. This is a significant achievement.