Sutherland Consulting Group

FAQ'S


What is Leadership Coaching?

Over the last decade coaching has emerged as the most powerful method for developing leaders, enabling them to achieve better results and work more effectively with others, especially direct reports. A recent survey by the Ken Blanchard Company noted that the most common benefits reported by the majority of coaching clients and their organizations were:


Coaching is a confidential, collaborative relationship that fosters self-awareness and builds on individual strengths to generate possibilities. Integral to the coaching experience are the coach's questions which enable new insights to move clients beyond self-imposed constraints and limiting beliefs. Because coaching is supportive and personal, an environment is created that enables clients to take the risks that help them achieve significant goals.


What is Performance Coaching?

Performance coaching is an efficient, effective, and high-impact process that supports people to improve results in ways that are sustained over time. It is efficient because unlike traditional training, it doesn’t require travel to courses or time away from the workplace; it is effective because it has been shown to have a have a higher success rate for changing behaviours and performance than training alone and it is high-impact because it focuses on the issues and results important to the organization. The goal is to achieve genuine, lasting change and to engender self-knowledge and self-control.

Who uses coaches?

Coaches work with executives as well as leaders and managers at all levels of an organization. The goal of coaching is to create meaningful and measurable outcomes that impact the business. Some clients want to acquire new skills and competencies. For others, coaching is an opportunity to enhance strengths and prepare for more senior assignments. Promoting positive changes to produce results relevant to the business is the primary aim of every coaching engagement.

Why is coaching the best method for supporting a change in behaviour?

The effectiveness of coaching is based on neuroscience and what we know about how our brains respond to change. Science tells us that our brains change as a result of the focus of our thinking, creating new patterns and connections in the brain. We also know that insights we achieve as a result of thinking for ourselves create neural pathways that support change. The 'a-ha' moment we experience as a result of an insight is accompanied in the brain by a burst of neurotransmitters which make us feel good and help create new pathways.

These physical changes don't occur when someone tells us what to do or when someone else does the thinking for us. This only happens when we achieve the insight ourselves. And that's why coaching is so effective- you generate insights as a result of being asked powerful questions that help you work out solutions, rather than being told the answer.

How much does coaching cost?

Coaching is cost-effective, with a documented return-on-investment of more than 500%. Six months of coaching is less than the cost of attending a 3-day training program, doesn't require travel and achieves far greater and longer-lasting results. Dependent on the package you choose, phone-based coaching can start at around $500 per month. Coaching programs that include face to face meetings can also be arranged.

Where does coaching take place?

Coaching sessions are usually conducted via phone; three 45-minute sessions per month fit into even the busiest of calendars. takes place in a series of 45-minute meetings, usually via telephone or during face to face meetings. Most clients find 3 sessions per month works best.

What steps are involved in getting started with coaching?

The first step is a review of where you are and what you want to achieve as a result of coaching. This process often includes assessments to understand more about you, your leadership and communication style, strengths, values and motivations, as well as the expectations, accountabilities and relationships that are important to your role at work. Once we have taken a good look at where you are currently we review what you want to achieve with the help of a coach. One or two areas are chosen for development that will help you move with purpose from where you are now to where you want to be. These will be the underlying themes that guide the coaching relationship.

What happens during a typical coaching session?

Every coaching conversation is shaped by the agenda set by the client. The client brings to each session an issue, problem or observation that is the focus for discussion. The coach supports the client to view different perspectives, identify patterns of behaviour, assumptions or limiting beliefs to uncover how the client may be getting in their own way. The questions the coach asks help the client to reflect on the issue, clarify the situation, challenge assumptions and facilitate action. The coach is responsible for ensuring the client is always in action and moving toward the goals set out for the coaching engagement. Each session concludes with the client reviewing what they learned during the session and what actions they will commitment to taking as a result of the coaching conversation.

How do I know if I need a coach?

Coaches can help you:

Coaches support people to make changes – transformational learning and change
is at the heart of coaching.