Tag: coachingstories
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Challenge
I’ve been reflecting recently on coaching and AI, and I think the issue of challenge is one of the biggest downfalls, as highlighted in this article. https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2026/ai-is-giving-bad-advice-to-flatter-its-users-says-new-study-on-dangers-of-overly-agreeable-chatbots/ Learning to challenge appropriately in coaching is a skill and an art. Challenging in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, can be damaging to the coaching…
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Change
Looking back, I see I’ve written a lot about change, and I came up with three reasons why. Firstly because coaching is about making changes. Our goals generally don’t drop in our laps – we need to do something, however small, to make them come to life. At its best, coaching is about the inner…
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Checking in
One tool I often offer to many of my coaching clients is a check in. It works like this. I ask them to choose a moment in their day for a quick check in. A point to take stock of how things are going. Crucially there’s no judgement, just noticing. The best time varies. If…
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Looking back
To move forward, it’s important to look back. Not in a navel-gazing “tell me about your childhood” sort of way. But a very practical opportunity to reflect on what we’ve done and why. It can be surprising to reflect on how far we’ve come. Not the big goals we’re still hoping to achieve, but the…
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Coming alive
One of the things I love most in coaching is seeing a client come alive. It’s hard to describe, as everyone’s different. Sometimes the first sign is something I feel myself – a sense of lifting or lightness as I listen. As a coach, tuning into my own feelings can really deepen my understanding of…
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Does flexibility suit you?
Some people thrive on options, others do better having just one thing to do. I was coaching someone today and we were coming up with a plan for her to look after her physical and mental wellbeing to help deal with work stress. She had a good sense of what worked for her (running, yoga,…
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The expert beginner
A concept that’s been cropping up in my coaching a lot lately is being an expert beginner. I came across it in a book about bridge many years ago, but it has stuck with me. The idea is that even when we’re new to something, we can be expert in how we learn to be…
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Why does coaching help?
Why does coaching make a difference? I was reflecting on that after a coaching session with Rachel Lee today. https://www.borntobebold.co.uk/ Everyone is different, but for me it comes down to saying two things out loud: – what I really want to achieve – what I’m prepared to do to make it happen And in theory…
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What’s keeping you stuck?
Seth Godin has a great question which I find comes up in so many of my coaching relationships. My version of this: Stuck is a state of mind, and it’s curable. Either You don’t know what to do. You don’t know how to do it. You don’t have the time or other resources. Some emotion,…
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How can coaching help?
In my experience everyone takes something different from coaching. Some people need to spend time thinking about what they want to achieve, and daring to dream. I’ve helped people to tune into what they want and come up with a plan to make their dreams a reality. Others benefit from developing their dreams into plans,…
Jessica Smith - Life, work and fitness coaching 