Notes from the Practice, January

Reflections from inside the work

Alongside longer essays, I’m be sharing monthly Notes from the Practice - writing that sits even closer to my day-to-day work.

Here’s one such reflection.

I used to struggle with the beginnings of a coaching relationship. I would try and remember the process I was taught. Spend a lot of time trying to recall and get it right, while remaining present.

And I’d feel frustrated or lost when the process I was following didn’t work.

At this point on my journey, I’ve come to think that starting a coaching engagement is like a Rubik’s cube. There are a few different dimensions to calibrate and align, and this is best done together.

For example:

• One colour to line up would be how you and your client actually define coaching. Are you planning on holding space while they are licking their lips at the prospect of you giving advice and direct instruction?

• Another may be the level of space, silence and thinking. Are they clear that your work might feel slower than the usual, day to day conversations?

• How deep are you expecting / prepared / qualified to go? And does that match what your client wants and needs?

• Another colour to configure would be challenge. How much do they want? What does that look like?

• And, honouring the wide, rich continuum of neurodiversity, how are you calibrating your coaching to your client’s preferred learning and communicating style?

Like a Rubik’s cube, this can feel giddyingly complicated at first. But, much like Justin Beiber, with practice comes fluidity and fluency. And with careful investment and the right attitude, things will fall into place.

One way the metaphor doesn’t quite match. I don’t think we can ‘solve’ contracting, like we can a Rubick’s cube. It is an infinite dance to constantly attune to.

I don’t believe us coaches or leaders can rely on simple A—>B processes in our work.

We are required to show up with an inner state of ease in uncertainty, and emotional availability to the person opposite us.

Working Together

Alongside my writing and the podcast, most of my energy this year is going into working more deeply with experienced coaches, leaders, and organisations who find their work getting more complex, more relational, and more demanding of use of self.

Here are a few of the ways we can work together:

Supervision for experienced coaches

• Advanced supervision group - Tuesdays, 9-11am (Zoom)
  For experienced coaches working with senior leaders, complexity, power, and edge.

• Advancing supervision group - Tuesdays, 9-11am (Zoom)
  A steadier developmental space for coaches growing into depth and challenge.

• Seasonal supervision in nature – Hampstead Heath (in person)
  An annual cycle of supervision held outdoors, working with rhythm, reflection, and wider systems.

Mentor coaching (ICF ACC / PCC)
Blended group + 1:1 pathways, or fully 1:1, for coaches preparing for credentialing and wanting their coaching to stay alive, human, and relational - not reduced to performance.

1:1 coaching & supervision
I also work privately with a small number of coaches and leaders who want a more bespoke, depth-oriented space to think, feel, and experiment at the edge of their work.

Organisations & internal coaching
Supervision, training, and workshop-based support for organisations developing internal coaches, coaching cultures, or leadership capability in complex systems.

Recent programs include introductory and advanced coaching skills for leaders, and broader leadership development programs.

Learning & open events

• Presence Under Pressure - a free, live, interactive masterclass exploring how to stay present in challenging conversations and moments of uncertainty, without collapsing, fixing, or over-controlling.

Looking ahead
Later this year I’ll also be running a small, in-person London cohort of CIACA - the Certificate in Advanced Coaching Approaches. It brings together many of the themes that show up in my coaching, supervision and writing: relational depth, challenge, systemic awareness, somatic presence, and ethics.

The Zoom pilot is now waitlist only. The in-person London pilot has 6 spots available.

For more details on any of the above, you’re very welcome to get in touch,

Warmly,

George