Professional Coaching

Years of corporate experience informs my observation that senior professionals work very much as ‘individual experts or brands’ rather than as part of the professional service firm. Previous research underpinning the context is limited, although developing as the time for change approaches. Putting the individual ahead of the firm in this way leads to divisiveness…

Coach Supervision is becoming vital in the professional practice of coaching. Tender documents now ask for supervised coaches and often request a reference from the coach supervisor.  The CIPD report on coach supervision suggests that coaches and organisers have different views about the benefits of coaching supervision. Coaches are interested in making themselves more effective, while…

Welcome to students from Lycée D’ARTAGNAN – Nogaro in The Gers, SW France. Next week they will interview Sally Vanson in English about the similarities and differences of living and also running businesses in UK and France and the cultural differences between France and English speaking countries. They will then write up their answers and…

Whether a lawyer, accountant, junior doctor or professional coach, the definition of professional work is transient and depends on the challenges and make-up of the groups and a detailed analysis of professionalism and power. When examining the relationship between professionalism, knowledge, the state, social stratification, organizations, bureaucracy and social power (Abbot, 1988; Hanlon,1993; Macdonald, 1996;…

I spent this morning reading two journals from a professional development organisation. What started off as a curiosity and relaxing half hour with a coffee, quickly became a deeper reflective exercise. There were numerous articles about individuals which read as egotistical narrative CVs. Written with a huge ‘past’ orientation, they were celebrating the contributions of…

This short essay by Dr Simon Western addresses Jacques Lacan’s famous comment “don’t give up on your desire”. The first part discusses the meaning of this statement, and also how it is misread. The second part offers a coaching case study to show a practical application. “Don’t give up on your desire” is often misunderstood as a…

When coaching leaders, I often found that they felt a little dislocated, out of place in this fast moving world. The first task of my coaching work, focused on locating them, helping them re-discover their place, to feel more grounded and located in their networks. After which they were better positioned to take up leadership…

As big as your dreams are and as smart as you might think you are, you can’t do it alone. It never ceases to amaze me in the world of Coaching and NLP how aggressive some individuals can get about competing with each other when business is challenging. Providers revert to a 1980’s style of…