Shadow Coaching
Shadow Coaching offers top executives and Board members the opportunity to take a close look at themselves in situ. The shadow coach joins you at your offices to help identify problematic dynamics and habits that impede effectiveness. It can be used to drive organisational change through shifts in leadership behaviour.
What typically happens in shadow coaching?
- Shadow coaching begins with meeting a CP coach who will seek out your ‘stories’- your strengths, desires, inspirations and goals. We like to get as rounded a picture of you as possible, from your management style and life philosophy to areas of concern. You will be asked “What are you hiding and what will enable you to have the freedom to play a bigger game? Who do you want to become? What’s challenging for you? Where do you feel the strongest sense of competing commitments?” Your answers will allow your coach to support your potential for a breakthrough.
- Once coaching dates and times have been agreed, your coach will start observing you at work, especially in meetings. This may be uncomfortable for you to begin with, but the feeling soon dissolves. Your coach won’t tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. He or she will simply observe and ask “Is this working well for you? For the organisation?”
- The idea is to allow you to take responsibility for your own power and use it as effectively as possible. Unless your coach observes something that s/he feels needs to be discussed immediately, you’ll have a debriefing at the end of each day in which your coach discusses his/her observations and concentrates on your goals in that area.
- You’ll also be given on-going guidance via email, follow-up meetings and/or telephone conversations.
We believe good coaching is built on trust and respect confidentiality at all times.
What are the practicalities?
Because we tailor our work to you, no two shadow coaching programmes are the same. However, a standard programme includes:
- One to five days of observation.
- A written report detailing your and the coach’s observations and perceptions. You’ll also discuss the findings and create an action plan of specific, achievable goals.
This service can be from just one day to five consecutive days, every three months.
For whom does shadow coaching work best?
Shadow coaching benefits both individuals and teams, and is for anyone who wants to be excellent at what they do. It has the most far-reaching effects on those who have identified a need to change themselves and are sufficiently self-aware to do whatever it takes to grow. Now.
It particularly benefits leaders, and aspiring leaders, responsible for their company or department vision, and is particularly powerful for those who have problems with their leadership and want to improve.
What long-term support do you offer?
We recommend at least half day with your coach a month after the shadowing has ended to see how well things are going for you. After that, we suggest a one-hour monthly session. CP coaches will typically also email clients to ensure they stay on track.
Anything else?
Dramatic, sudden progress – the “aha!” moments - can sometimes bring a new set of problems. Some clients uncover life-changing memories, a process which can initially be uncomfortable. Any insight that takes you out of the comfort zone is, in our opinion, exhilarating. We’ll guide you through the discomfort to somewhere lighter and freer than you’ve been used to. Remember – true coaching releases us from the heaviness of our history into the lightness of our being.
Most clients love what we do - they feel energised and empowered by our work together, so they tell us.
