Esprit de Merci offers coaching, consulting and mentoring services, all of which are founded in collaboration and teamwork.  You and your team may benefit from one or all of these, and as leadership coaching is still a relatively new addition to the mix of development tools, some additional clarity is offered here.

Being a great leader isn't about having all of the right answers; it is about asking the right questions. 

As your responsibility increases, so will your priorities, stakeholders, and other demands on your time.  Finding the right balance is difficult to do on your own; the load gets heavy and it can be lonely at times.  Working with a professional coach enables growth and insight by facilitating opportunities to dive deep, offering an environment to think out loud and providing the tools to design. 

You are the expert in your life and work; the coach is a partner. 

The experience involves:

 

  • Clarifying desired outcomes - getting clear on what you really want to experience

  • Identifying and articulating aligned goals

  • Designing a plan of action to achieve

  • Defining metrics and mechanisms to chart progress and ensure accountability

  • Exploring options and building on lessons learned

  • Celebrating success and leveraging momentum to continue moving forward

 

what differentiates coaching from OTHER WORKING RELATIONSHIPS?

 

CONSULTING

Individuals or organizations retain consultants for their expertise. Generally, consultants diagnose problems, design solutions and sometimes participate in implementation.

With coaching, you are the owner in generating your own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.

MENTORING

A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on his or her own experience. Mentoring may include advising, counseling and coaching.

The coaching process doesn’t center around advice or counsel; it focuses instead on you and your team in setting and reaching your own objectives.

 
 

TRAINING

Training programs are based on objectives defined by the trainer or instructor. Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum.

Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by you or your team, with guidance provided by the coach. Coaching is less linear without a set curriculum.

THERAPY

Therapy deals with healing pain, conflict and dysfunction with a focus on resolving difficulties from the past that hamper emotional functioning in the present.

Coaching is future-focused. The primary interest is on creating actionable strategies for achieving your specific goals, with emphasis on discovery, action, and accountability.

 

Leadership coaching is similar in many ways to sports coaching.  While every endeavor doesn't necessarily involve a championship trophy, coaches are seen as experts who guide and direct behavior towards a goal. 

With leadership coaching, you identify the goal.  Coaches are interested in creating an environment for you to be true to yourself while also striving to be your best.  Coaches listen without judgement, adapt to changing circumstances and provide feedback and encouragement.  We share in the excitement of the success that comes when you or your team creates a plan and takes action to do your best work, making the most of your strengths and capabilities in any given circumstance.

 

How does the coaching process work?

A coaching engagement typically begins with a personal interview to assess the current opportunities and challenges, define the scope of the relationship, identify your priorities for action and establish specific desired outcomes. Subsequent sessions may be conducted in person, through videoconferencing or over the phone, with each session lasting a previously established length of time.

Because learning and change take time and personal reflection, you may be asked to complete specific actions between coaching sessions that support the achievement of one’s personally prioritized goals. Additional resources may be provided in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments or models to support your thinking and actions. The duration of the engagement varies depending on your needs and preferences.

The approach is designed around you. The coach incorporates discovery-based inquiry, proactive ways of managing personal opportunities and challenges, constructive framing of observations and feedback to focus towards success rather than problems.

 

Why work with a Certified Professional Coach?

The International Coach Federation (ICF) was formed in 1995, and is the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals.

Certified Professional Coaches (CPC’s) are those who have successfully completed rigorous training and evaluation through a program accredited by ICF.  Program curriculum includes training and mentoring requirements aligned with the ICF Core Competencies and Code of Ethics.