What I have gained from being coached?

• Fulfilling my goal of carrying out voluntary work overseas - the coaching has allowed this to happen.
• Provides the opportunity to reflect on what I have achieved and what I want to achieve in the future in all aspects of my life.
• Demonstrated to me the importance of making time out for myself and not feeling guilty about this.
• The coaching is making me feel more positive about overcoming hurdles and achieving personal goals.
• My eyes have been opened and the independent support provided without having a bias view has been appreciated.
• I've created a road-map with which to plan the changes I choose to make in my life.
• I thought these changes were simply ones involving organising my life a little better, doing things I'd been putting off, taking on-board new activities, practical things to fill my day etc., but [to my surprise] I found myself examining emotional issues that were influencing my choices and/or my reluctance to move forward. This was a relevant, though unexpected, outcome of the coaching.
• The chance to explore buried parts of myself in a safe and trusting environment.
• The opportunity to explore my dreams and fears without judgement or empathy.
• Practice of talking about myself which is not something I do easily. Prefer to talk about others but coaching forced the spotlight on me and I was not let off the hook.
• Feeling like I am not alone.
• A language and visualisation to help me to understand where I am in my life.
• Without your encouragement and example I would have found it difficult to make my changes. Oh, I could talk about it [and I did, over and over and over again] but I was hesistant about taking a real step ... you may not be aware of it, but you've made a real and posiitive difference.
• You were firm without being bossy but it was essential that we'd had our face to face meeting at the beginning so that I knew you are a real, warm, caring and lovely person. That allows you to be professional and slightly cool/clinical and allows me to accept challenges from you because I know you are playing a role - an important role designed to help me. I wouldn't let a friend or family member ask me What are you going to do about it? and When are you going to do it? I'd tell them to leave me alone, but I will take it from a professional coach.
• I feel I benefitted from that one session and was absolutely amazed at how positive I was.
• I have made a few positive changes already. Applied for a new job and now have an interview this friday - total career change hopefully.
• I felt our conversation went well and I came away feeling positive about working with you.
• I felt very positive after the session because I felt like I had a bit more control over the direction my life was taking.
• After our chat you gave me something positive to work with and I was able to put a reason behind my negative thoughts. It gave me hope that I did have a choice in which direction my life was going.

What does my coach do well?

• Question me - Great use of the word "why" this in turn makes me question my actions / feelings and acts as a stimulant for further thought and discussion.
• Motivate - am finding the life coaching a positive experience. From the support offered, it motivates me into thinking of ideas and improvements on how to enrich my life and current position.
• I admire the way that Sara never once reinforces any negativity I express - it would be so easy to let me off the hook with a few words of absolution, but all the time she is completely aware of what she is saying to me and of the effect her words have. She never gives me an excuse to backslide.
• Expand my mind and support me in breaking the mould in life.
  Sara respects areas of my life or current problems that I do not wish to discuss at any given session, and I thank her for that.
• Provided a safe environment in which to talk about stuff hidden deep within myself.
• Showed me warmth but challenged me also.
• Discussed the confidentiality and conflict of interest/compromise issue up front, i.e. ground rules.
• Offered me some observations as an 'outsider'.
• Asked me how it could look from someone else's viewpoint, e.g. when I was caught up in my own grievance, asked me what the other side of the story might be - how could it look to my husband?
• Got me to think about other ways of handling myself in 'trigger' situations.
• Stayed with me throughout changing goals and an ever-changing landscape.
• Provided tools to visualisation techniques.

What could my coach do better?

• There can be quite long delays between sessions (telephone or face:face) I therefore think it would be worthwhile having more regular communication perhaps by e-mail on a weekly basis.
• Encourage clients to keep their own records, this is obviously in their own interest.
• Nothing - just keep doing what she is already doing.
• Because I trust and respect my coach I would like her to consider offering more observations. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in my own analysis and need someone to break my pattern, who perhaps has a different perspective.
• I sometimes felt like I couldn't see the wood from the trees in my own ramblings. Even if observation is not permitted in coaching, I would value it as it (1) helps me to break a disabling cycle, (2) offers other potential possibilities that I may not have seen. This of course may all be a cop out on my part!
• Investigate other tools that could be used outside of the coaching session.
  

Would you recommend your coach to others?

• Yes definitely.
• Oh, yes.
• Definitely. And I have already passed details on to quite a few people. It has been an extremely worthwhile and beneficial 6 months which I would recommend to anyone.
• I already have but I would then leave the individual to make contact if they wanted to progress.