Most of us have grown up in a world of coaching. It’s a familiar term to us. Think back to your first club sport and all of those after-school practices with your coach screaming, “You can do it!” But coaching is much more today. Coaching is a style of communication and support designed to help you realize your capabilities and take bold action around personal and professional priorities. Coaching is about forward movement toward clear goals.
What is coaching?
How does coaching differ from other types of counseling?
Think of it this way. You and a helper are planning to go on a bike ride. If the helper were your therapist, they would want you to focus on your bike’s backstory—who manufactured it, how it is rated, and what the mechanical attributes are. If the helper were your mentor, they might regale you with stories about their experiences with bikes—their first bike as a kid, what they learned about themselves by riding, and what you should learn by riding. If they were your consultant, they would proudly present you with detailed instructions on how to build and repair your own bike. Then they would hand you the box with the un-assembled bike and a bag of tools. But if your helper was your coach, they would ride their bike alongside you and ask the question, “So, where do you want to go?” Coaching begins with the present, envisions a destination, and starts peddling—no time is wasted.
How can university administrators and faculty benefit from coaching?
For those of us who have built our careers as administrators and professors, we are fully invested in the success of our students and graduates. We are often labeled by others as the ultimate helpers, caring deeply about the quality of our teaching and service, and the difference our contributions make in the academic communities we support. Yet through this rhythm of upward mobility, we don’t check in with ourselves enough, if at all, to determine if we are really on track: setting our best goals and progressing smoothly through our current and onto our next professional role. Once considered a perk for corporate leaders and university presidents, the Chronicle of Higher Education in a recent article on hiring and talent management, reported that more campuses are adopting a “culture of coaching” to assist administrators with strategic thinking and decision making.
What are the expected benefits of coaching?
Coaching creates clarity, direction, and momentum. In 2018, the Human Capital Institute and the International Coach Federation partnered on a research study of 432 participants across a multitude of industries proving that coaching is a powerful tool to develop employee potential, modify behaviors, and drive business success.
What do clients indicate they gain from coaching?
According to the 2022 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study, the following represents the top 10 impacts clients experienced during their engagement with a coach:
- Improved communication skills
- Increased self-esteem/self confidence
- Improved work/life balance
- Increased productivity
- Increased well-being
- Optimized individual/team work performance
- Expanded professional career opportunities
- Improved business management strategies
- Accelerated onboarding into a new professional role
How long does the coaching process take?
All Andrew T. Ceperley & Associates coaching engagements are individually designed and customized to support leaders’ articulated outcomes and emerging aspirations. Often, a coaching arc will feature eight 45-minute sessions over the course of four to six months.
How are consulting projects designed?
All Andrew T. Ceperley & Associates projects are individually designed and customized to support leaders’ articulated outcomes and emerging aspirations. Project engagements can range from three to six months and typically incorporate comprehensive final reports with specific tactical recommendations, assessment presentations to key officials to ensure high-level awareness, facilitated staff gatherings to inspire a culture of momentum, and ongoing client coaching to bolster leaders’ skill in moving their organizations forward.