My coaching journey

I recently completed my sessions with an executive coach, my first coaching experience. From a personal perspective it has delivered an entirely new suite of tools that have enhanced my performance professionally, and permeated my personal life also.

We started simply, with a discussion around what I thought my role was, and what it would look like in an ideal sense. We then identified the steps I needed to take to get to a defined point within 12 months. This involved investigating the role, analysing where the focus needed to be and where my energy flowed, both naturally… and not so naturally. That initial discussion uncovered a number of areas to work on – who hasn’t had to manage negative self-talk and self-doubt?

My coach then began to share ideas about how I could take control of some of the areas I felt I needed to progress in. She introduced me to the concept of Dr Adam Fraser’s third space – the 1st space is what you’re doing now, the 2nd space is what you’re about to do and the 3rd is the gap in middle, which allows you to compartmentalise. If you’re interested in learning more there are some simple YouTube videos that can help.

We explored the importance of mindfulness, being present and switching off with self-reflection. Together, we looked at Stephen Covey’s Circles of Influence and Concern, and prioritisation model; Gretchen Ruben’s 4 tendencies; Spencer Johnson’s ‘Who moved my cheese’ (yes, it is as quirky as it sounds); Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle theory; the “futures cone”; Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory; and also the GROW coaching model. (I’ll include some references to source material below).

It is fair to say I have progressed in my career faster since getting a coach. It was fantastic to have a professional confidante to talk things through with, and to have someone challenge me in ways I hadn’t before. The tools she shared have helped me develop and learn and have equipped me with different ways to approach professional challenges.

It also gave me the space for some self-reflection, increased my self-awareness and self-esteem, and has had a dramatic impact on my confidence. I’ve come so far, I have even commenced the Pro IQ podcast series (new episode coming in the next few weeks!).

And it is just the start of my professional growth, as I have now engaged with an incredible mentor to continue challenging and extending myself. It is safe to say that my career development journey will continue as we unpack areas to improve on.

I have approached all of this with a growth-mindset, and the processes have only strengthened that mindset. Research uncovered that our mindset exists along a spectrum, from strong fixed mindset to a strong growth mindset. I would say I started with a mild growth mindset, but recently revisited this handy test* and now I’m happy to report I have a strong growth mindset.

For those not familiar with this concept, a growth mindset views intelligence and talent as qualities that can be developed over time – whilst it won’t make you Einstein, there are still variables in what we can all achieve. A growth mindset simply means people believe their intelligence and talents can be improved through effort and actions. It also recognises that setbacks are a necessary part of the learning process and allows people to ‘bounce back’ by increasing motivational effort; sees ‘failings’ as temporary and changeable. A growth mindset is crucial for learning, resilience, motivation, and performance.

With a growth mindset you are more likely to:

• Embrace lifelong learning
• Believe intelligence can be improved
• Put in more effort to learn
• Believe effort leads to mastery
• Believe failures are just temporary setbacks
• View feedback as a source of information
• Willingly embraces challenges
• View others’ success as a source of inspiration
• View feedback as an opportunity to learn

So, I continue my career development journey, embracing all the tools at my disposal, and encourage everyone, no matter where you are at, to consider a coach, a mentor, and embracing a growth mindset. You don’t know what you don’t know, until someone challenges you!

Growth mindset: https://www.mindsethealth.com/matter/mindset-quiz-growth-mindset-or-fixed-mindset-mindset-health