Frequently Asked Questions

In what circumstances can a coach be beneficial?

These are many and varied! But some typical examples for individuals include:

  • You are new in post and need support to get up to speed fast.
  • You perform well and have the potential and desire to deliver even more.
  • You are performing below your best and below what is required.
  • You believe you need support to develop your leadership skills/capabilities.
  • You have signed up to (or even had imposed!) stretching performance targets.
  • You are not confident in your capability to meet new challenges and/or opportunities.
  • You are feeling lonely at the top and want a peer to help you move to a more stable and confident position.
  • You need help to identify and develop the skills needed to perform effectively.
  • You have the potential to take a step up the hierarchy.
  • You have a challenge in your relationships with colleagues.
  • You need support to think through a problem.
  • You have returned from a sabbatical or extended leave (eg maternity or paternity) or sickness and want help to get back in the swim!

Teams benefiting from a coach could have the following situations…
Your team:

  • Is high performing and has potential to achieve more.
  • Is new and must start to perform quickly.
  • Consistently under-performs.
  • Is dysfunctional.
  • Needs to respond effectively to significant changes in its environment.
  • Needs to develop a vision for the future and strategies for delivering it.

Back to top

What happens at the first meeting?

The first meeting is usually about 2 hours in duration. Sometimes we might have an initial 3-way meeting involving the coach, coachee and line manager to ensure that we are all clear about what the organisation wants from the relationship. Having got to know each other we will then normally produce together a “contract” for the relationship which covers such issues as:

  • The duration of the relationship (we normally try to agree an end date, even if the relationship might be renewed, to encourage us to review together progress after a set period of time).
  • The location of meetings (if face-to-face; but telephone/Skype meetings are also options).
  • What support is available between meetings.
  • Performance metrics. We will explore the metrics against which performance improvement will be evaluated. These might be at organisational, functional and/or personal levels.
  • Confidentiality (see also FAQs: Is what we discuss confidential between us?).
  • Will there be any notes of the meetings and which of us will produce them.

Back to top

Is what we discuss confidential between us?

Yes. In one-to-one coaching engagements our starting assumption is that the content of the relationship and what we discuss is confidential. However, sometimes coachees are happy that the coach can provide feedback on progress to a line manager or HR.
Back to top

How frequent are meetings?

The first few meetings might be fortnightly or even weekly. But on average a typical frequency is once a month.
Back to top

Where do we meet?

This can be any combination of your office, our offices, a third party location (e.g. a hired meeting room, hotel, personal club, coffee shop or a park!) or on the telephone/Skype.
Back to top

How long will a coaching relationship last?

Typically 3 – 6 months. But some of our relationships have extended to 18 months or more.
Back to top

Can Coach4Impact offer a team of coaches?

Yes. You will have the option of working directly with lead coach Bob Empson. And we also have a network of experienced coaches who can be available for you in the UK and numerous other countries around the world.
Back to top

What are the differences between executive coaching, performance coaching, team coaching, mentoring, counselling and life coaching?

Executive and performance coaching. This is what Coach4Impact does. Executive coaching is a one-to-one relationship and process to facilitate self-awareness and greater insight and to inspire and support personal change and development. We refer to our style of coaching as “performance coaching” because we lay particular emphasis on personal change and development which will lead to sustainable performance improvement.

Team coaching. Coach4Impact also provides team coaching. This is broadly the same idea as executive/performance coaching except it applies to a team. However, a particular focus will usually relate to the development and strengthening of the team so that it can perform effectively. Team coaching can be particularly valuable for: senior teams; new teams; under-performing teams; project teams; and teams which need to respond quickly to changing environments. Team compositions, relationships, communications and behaviours are often important issues which need to be addressed.

Mentoring. The main differences between mentoring and coaching are that mentoring relationships:

  • Tend to be on-going and longer term and can continue through career/job moves.
  • Are usually less formal/contractual.
  • Often cover issues outside and beyond the mentees current functional/work area (eg career development).
  • Focus less on short-term performance.
  • Usually involve a greater emphasis on providing direction and advice

Counselling/psychotherapy. The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) defines counselling as: “Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing.” Coach4Impact does not offer counselling services; but where appropriate we can put clients in touch with specialists.

Life coaching. Life coaching is about supporting and enabling clients to improve the quality of their lives and their well-being through setting and achieving life/personal goals. Life coaching can encompass a wide range of issues such as personal relationships, lifestyle, life-balance, career, health and nutrition. Life coaching is not usually provided within work environments and Coach4Impact does not offer it (although, of course, there is sometimes a personal element which we need to understand when it might be having a significant influence on work performance).

Back to top