Coaching Case Study By Charles Chow Nyit Voon
(Career Coach, SINGAPORE)
1) Background on Client
April has been a high flier all her career life. She started working for an MNC in China immediately after graduation in 1994. She is a self-directed person who pushes herself to do more, once she thought that the existing company does not inspire her to do more, she join another company in 2000. She at present works for a new startup company for almost 6 years. Recently, she could not find motivation to work as all she has been looking forward to has changed to a shorter working time. She is thinking of more work-life balance as her age catches up. She recently retakes her self-assessment DISC and compared to her assessment done after her early graduation, the value drop but the I value seems to remain the same.
(2) Issues Faced
April is actively looking for what future holds as she is approaching 50 years old and she is looking forward to quitting her job She seems to re-prioritize her objective in life. She needed coaching on how to move forward to find the passion in her future.
(3) Coaching Techniques and Approaches
Checking Perceptions
I started the coaching session by assuring her that all the information shared will be confidential and she can talk freely about her interest, passion and her goals. From her description on her career compared to her fresh from University, there is a changed in field from her law study to operations or logistic career. She is more mature in her approach and more forgiving when dealing with fault or mistake from colleagues or subordinates. However, her focus on the goal has not change and would rather guide colleague the means for achieving the goal. She like the coaching skill that ICA has taught her and she has been practicing the skill acquired.
Being Focused on Coaching Goal
After asking powerful questions on her goal, I allowed April to speak freely with minimal interruptions. At times where she was drifting away from her coaching goal, I brought her back to her coaching goal and asked her how her action would impact her coaching goal.
Ranking of Priorities
I probe her priority changes based on the wheel of life which she emphasizes more on personal development, serenity, friends, family over career and financial burden. I asked her to rate them according to her state now versus her desired state that she thinks her goal leads her.
I also check on her on the top three priority that she would like to achieve in the quarter and laid down the actions by day, week and months. She talked freely on the review system that she used to familiar with on reviewing the daily actions, weekly review and month achievement goal celebration. The process of defining the goals and celebrations was very well articulated by April.
Support Team
April shared that the reason she felt overwhelmed by the changes of priority in life as she experiences a couple of demise of her circle of friends. Her changes were supported with her husband discussion on changing of priorities. I told her that she could explain her goals shifting to her spouse and for support. n the tasks of others when they failed to fulfill their responsibilities. I asked her how she would overcome this problem and she shared that she would take more steps to find out their commitment level of potential volunteers before assigning a task to them or taking on more projects.
Gratitude
I asked her whether she familiar with the tools of gratitude and she needed some explanation on defining gratitude. She would then research more on how to write a blog on daily gratitude. She could reread them on weekly basis to find her affirmative of her actions and by sharing the write up, April could find support of her long term goals.
(4) Moving Ahead
At the end of the coaching session, April shared that her clarity of her priorities were clearer and the guidance on her gratitude could give support on her goal. At the next Coaching session, she would like to talk more about achievement, thoughts and other goals.