Less Stress, More Success

Thoughts on my coaching by Christian Worth
-a client's testimonial.
Richard Washington - Head of Marketing - Natwest Private Banking.

Christian, I promised to provide you with some thoughts and feedback on the experience of being in a coaching relationship with you over a 3-month period. So here it is……

Overall
" A very positive experience that helped me to think through a series of challenging situations at work, and to take immediate actions - with excellent results
" I suppose the acid test is that I would definitely like to work with you again in the future

Examples of situations where coaching helped
A few specific examples spring to mind:

- " When I was approached about taking a new role in my organisation, you enabled me to take a step back and think about what I really wanted, and the pros & cons of moving from my current role. Most importantly you helped me to take the extra step (that I would not have considered in any depth) of how I would communicate my decision to various stakeholders. The results were great - I didn't take the new role, but gave clear and positive reasons why. and feel that I enhanced my reputation in the way I handled the situation. Thanks!

- " In a period of major organisational change, you were an excellent sounding-board when the atmosphere became stressful - you gave me an outlet and helped me to remain calm and to focus on the areas that I could influence

- " Before a key meeting with Senior Management to discuss a significant business case, I was concerned about how to handle the meeting (that I had done a lot of work for), and indeed was nervous about it. A coaching session helped me to put the meeting in perspective, to have confidence in the work that I had done and to make only reasonable (rather than excessive) demands of myself. The meeting not only went well, but I received specific thanks and feedback after the meeting for the quality of my contribution.

Positive aspects on overall coaching
- " You were a consistently positive influence through the period
- " You showed very good listening skills - I felt that you understood
- " You always challenging my assumptions and my comfort zone to help me get to the crux of the issues
- " I was sceptical about phone-based coaching, but it worked remarkably well and the sessions were often very intense
- " The 'needs & priorities' tool was thought provoking, both for work and life overall - it helped to dig down to my fundamental needs

Things that could have been better
- " I think you could have pushed me harder to prepare the pre-session papers, which I stopped doing after the first month. While I recognise that it was my responsibility, I needed pushing to do it when I was busy at work. I sense that the effectiveness of the sessions tailed of slightly (only slightly) without the pre-call preparation. Perhaps you have a view on this?

LESS STRESS, MORE SUCCESS!	Moins de Stress, Vivre Mieux!
....for an easier , more enjoyable life.	¡Menos Estrés, Mas Exito!