Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try!
- Demotivated and without any energy?
- Tired of doing the same thing over and over?
- Lonely and/or that you cannot control your thoughts?
- Purposeless and with no direction in life?
- Stuck in your life and have no idea what to do first?
- Unfocused and overwhelmed by work?
There is coaching available and there are coaches in the Commission who can support you in this journey wherever you are at this moment in your life!
What is coaching?
Coaching is a partnership between the coach and the client in a process of provoking and stimulating the client’s thinking and creativity, to inspire clients to maximise their personal and professional potential (International Coaching Federation (ICF [1])).
Coaching was recognised as a profession 15-20 years ago and it originated in the sports field. The essential observation was that sportspeople can obtain better results when confronted with open questions, related to ways in which they can improve their performance, compared to the approach in which coaches offer their own solutions for ‘correction’.
A coaching session is a dialogue, a conversation between the coach and the client in a productive context, focused on obtaining results and it generally consists of the following.
- Clarification of the client’s objective(s)
- Identification of obstacles which hinder the client in reaching the objective(s)
- Removal of the obstacle (through powerful questions and techniques)
- Identification of the necessary resources to help the client reach the objective(s)
- Conception of an action plan.
Coaching is not consulting, mentoring and counselling. The coach operates with the presupposition that you have all the resources you need somewhere in you. The coach is your guide and stimulus.
What are the benefits of coaching?
- You have a better understanding of your life expectations – your target, value and vision.
- You overcome blocks, understanding that you have the coach there to encourage you in your journey towards change, to help you focus and challenge you towards development .
- You have the coach to discuss and comment on your ideas, plans and strategies and also to help you take responsibility for your commitments.
- You obtain more structure, direction and concentration.
- You understand and become aware of your feelings and learn to use them efficiently at the workplace to improve your relations with the others.
- You recognise and cope better with stress.
- You work on advanced communication skills, leadership, presentation, planning and delegation.
- You coordinate and harmonise your career and personal life.
- You boost your self-confidence and self-esteem and address any performance-related anxiety and fears.
How can coaching help you?
Through coaching you can improve any aspect of your life, regardless of your circumstances: couples, single people, pensioners, those dealing with changes brought about by a new workplace, those discovering a career path, those in transition periods, parents and those simply interested in improving the quality of their life.
Where can I find a coach?
During this time within the Commission there is coaching offered by specialised, trained and certified coaches, in order to support you in managing your performance and to strengthen your resilience and purposefully develop your relations at work and in your private life as well.
The coaching provided by the colleagues in the Commission is a free service offered to all staff as individuals and also to teams which have a clear mission.
What is the procedure to get free coaching?
There are two possibilities of having coaching support, especially during this quarantine time either you make direct coaching request to HR B3 [2] or you can address a coach directly if you know one: and here it is a list of Internal HR Accredited coaches [3] who can offer you this service for free. Click on their profiles there to see more information.
Requests will have to go through the Corporate Coaching Service [4] or the corresponding Account Management Centre (AMC) who will put you in touch with a coach. Coaching will be offered on the basis of the availability of the coaches.
What is a coaching session like?
A coaching session normally lasts between 45 minutes and one hour and each time you can have an objective for that particular session. Of course, during several coaching sessions it is desirable that you design a concrete plan of action so that you can pursue it step by step in the company of your coach. And let me tell you a secret: even coaches have their coaches because it is always good to have somebody with an objective view and also to keep us accountable during our journey!
To conclude, coaching:
- Leads to change and transformation through approaching new beliefs and behaviours.
- Means learning, in which clients can start to self-correct, learning how to change their own behaviour and to become self-reliant.
- Means for clients to rediscover themselves, to get the tools needed for moving from the present situation to the situation they want in their life.
- Works with the feelings of the clients, so that through the recognition and understanding of their own feelings, they can understand how to reach their full potential and give their very best.
- Approaches the objectives of clients’ personal and professional areas of life (home life, trust, self-esteem, etc.)
Let us know how you get on and as ever, please contact us [5] if you have any questions or comments.