Amit mentioned the visualization process created a lot of awareness about his strengths, his ability to succeed, and increased his self-confidence. What empowered him was the fact that he discovered he had the ability to move ahead in his career if he really wanted to. He felt he was in control now.
ICF competencies observed:
Concluding
The sessions going forward were very positive and energetic. I could feel the confidence level in his voice he had a very optimistic approach and was able to focus on his current job without any distraction. He said what helped me gain confidence was the fact that he was now in control, he was doing something about the situation and there was a clear goal and action to move forward.
One of the actions he came up with, was to develop a 30-day plan of what he would achieve in the new company if given the opportunity, in a follow-up session he discussed the plan in detail with so much enthusiasm & excitement, I’d never seen before. He had done an excellent job; he went a step further by noting down few questions that he would like to ask the interviewing panel when given the opportunity.
We went through the plan together and I challenged him on particular areas to which he responded confidently as to why he thought that should be a part of the plan. We discussed this over the next two sessions. He also had answers to questions we had brainstormed in the previous sessions. I appreciated his energy and commitment to create action plan and follow through on the same.
At this point, I found Amit so driven that would summarize the further actions he intends to work on before our next meeting. I saw a complete change in his behavior and attitude. He would make sure all the actions we talked about were captured and met, he would not hesitate to add a few more insights to his plan. For instance, when we first talked about the 30-day plan, I never expected Amit to go a step further and work on a 60-day plan. It was brilliant!
Finally the day came when the consultant called him for the next round of discussion with the Vice President. He was finally made an offer after 8 rounds of interview. I still remember one of our more recent conversations where he was ecstatic about joining the new company and how the whole coaching experience helped him reach his goal! He expressed gratitude for standing besides him when he needed support throughout the journey. It was a very humbling & rewarding experience for me as a coach.
ICF competencies applied:
GROW Model
Mapping this case study to the GROW model would look like:
- Goal – We started of with 2 goals that had to be addressed. The first being a decision whether people management was the right career move and second if he should continue working in the same organisation. I really wanted to focus on one goal to begin with, so when we understood what the priorities were, it became very evident that the first goal was to make a clear decision of moving into the people manager role. We further discovered the stated goal had many underlying issues and wasn’t what it appeared to be in the beginning. We also explored emotions like fear & anxiety that were deeply connected to the stated issue. Once we uncovered the emotions it was easy to focus on future steps. Further exploration of the goal led us to believe that both the stated issues were connected. Once we were clear about moving into the people manager role how to go about achieving this became clear as we progressed.
- Reality – The reality was Amit had strengths to succeed as a people manager, he was convinced that people management was the best move for his career progression, he was also the only earning member in the family, he didn’t have opportunities to grow as a people manager in this current organisation, his department was downsizing and his manager made it clear that he had to wait for 3-4 years before an opportunity for a people manager role would be available in the current organisation.
- Options – The options were to start looking for opportunities within the current organisation to move ahead with his aspiration of becoming a people manager or remain in the current organisation for the next 3-4 years but not as a people manager. And the last option was to explore opportunities outside the company, while still in the current job.
- Will – Amit definitely had the will to move ahead in his career and didn’t want to wait for his department to downsize and be asked to move elsewhere. He also had the will to be a people manager and worked at identifying his strength & areas of improvement for the role. He acted without wasting any time once he was clear about the options. He had an optimistic approach and created an action plan to support the same, he also made sure he executed on the plan and moved forward.
The end result – he is now with a new company, as a people manager, which aligns with his long-term career goal and has received better compensation that will help him support his family in the future.
Client Insights
During our last few sessions, Amit shared his insights with me. He realized the stated issue was connected with deep underlying emotions. His biggest realization happened when he discovered he had strengths that were required to be a successful people manager and he was also considered as one of the best escalation managers in the department and regarded as a high potential employee in the company.
He particularly mentioned that even though he thought the visualization exercise at first, felt a little awkward, but once we were done he felt a lot lighter, energized & had a lot of clarity in his thoughts.
He mentioned that once he openly spoke to his manager about his aspirations and later realized there were no options within the current organisation, it was easy to decide the next steps.
Finally, the most important insight was the fact that even though he thought he was stuck with a situation, once he took control of it and moved forward he felt very empowered and in control.
My Learning as a coach
I learnt a great deal from this coaching experience. The first being, that there are emotions attached to the stated issue, if we go deeper we will explore them. Most of the time the stated issue has underlying beliefs attached with them.
I also realized however complex the goal might seem in the beginning its a good idea to try and break it up into smaller outcomes and one of the best way to do this, is by asking the client to define his priorities and long-term goals.
In this particular case, I also discovered that the client gained a lot of clarity in the visualization process. I’ve learnt that being curious without being judgmental is a good way to explore in coaching.
I’ve also learnt that it is important to challenge your client at times as it helps to clarify the goals and explore underlying beliefs. I’m now convinced that if we are authentic and genuine in following the coaching process and competencies the results will show in time. I also believe that the client has all the answers and we as coaches need to enable them.
Finally, it is very gratifying & rewarding when you see clients succeed in their life and in-turn appreciate you standing by them in their journey!