Coaching Case Study By Chee Kian Teo
(Career Coach, SINGAPORE)
My coaching sessions with my coach Z (not her real name) were truly sessions of self-discovery, uncovering what my strengths really are, how to focus on them, how to leverage on them to brand and market myself and shifting my focal points to what I truly want in my life.
Just a short background of myself, I have been running my own businesses for the longest time, since 1993. However, due to the financial crisis in 2008/9, I sold off my companies at very low prices. I never actually recovered from that, despite showing the world I am still the strong Eddie Teo everyone knows. I am aware of my capabilities, but I am having issues getting work at senior positions, as I do not have the necessary paper qualifications or relevant experience many of my peers have. The longer it went on, the less confident I got to become.
Issues Bothering Me Since 2009
I presented my coach my issue of not being able to brand myself, I do not have any outstanding USP that that can set myself apart from the other person in the room. I also shared with her I have the issue of procrastination, often unable to stick to my own goals that I have set up.
Z Asks Powerful Questions and Listens Actively
I shared my thoughts with Z, who demonstrated great patience with me, always waiting for me to finish my sentences, waiting a little bit more for me to add to my sentences, before asking me whether there is anything else I would like to add. She would then reconfirm with me whether she has understood correctly what I have shared with her.
It started from small sharing of my thoughts, and the sharing led to complete sharing of my feelings and experiences as she slowly gained my trust and confidence. Through her powerful questionings, I began to uncover a lot of inner thoughts, most of times leading me to saying things out that surprises myself too. I know those traits and strengths are inside of me, but I have never really put much thoughts into them.
Having “discovered” the traits, Z’s questionings leads me to discovering why I have lost my confidence in myself. Through understanding my Clifton Strengths, Z discussed with me on how I can use them to brand myself, always letting me decide on the “how-to’s”. She gave me the homework on deciding what I really want the world to remember me by imagining how I would like to be in five years’ time.
Following Up with Me
After the initial session, Z followed up by sending me some resources for me to refer to, while following up with me via instant messaging and emails on my progression on my homework. Her dedication to help me impresses me the most. She also helped me overcome my unwillingness to speak to strangers during networking sessions through self-discovery.
I am most impressed by her abilities to help me re-discover myself again and her devotion to help me.
Summary
Z’s skills on coaching impresses me, but it’s her dedication to help me achieve my goal of branding myself that inspires me most. Her keenness to listen and ask powerful questions that leads to me knowing more about myself and her follow ups with mere things I would love to adopt in my future coaching sessions with my clients.