MacAdam Consulting Executive Coaching Organisational Development OD Ruth Smith UK South London Organisation Coaching Strategy

Executive Coaching

People can get themselves into a pattern of doing things the same old way; this gets the same old results. Sometimes it's difficult to work out how you want to change; what needs to change, what you want to move towards; what is stopping you and what would encourage you. It is often helpful to use the services of a coach to help you develop in relation to your personal goals.

There are many coaching models and I probably draw on a lot of them; part of my role as a coach is to choose when and how I draw on the many models so that it benefits the coachee. I work from the principle that the coaching relationship is for the coachee, and my role is to help create a relationship whereby they can develop in relation to their personal goals. I believe that an effective coaching relationship is based on mutual respect, empathy, truth and authenticity.

My style of coaching can be challenging, facilitative, supportive and at times directive (not often); I see my role as working to understand what is 'right' for the coachee at any given moment helping the coachee to develop their own understanding and choices.
I have coached managers formally and informally throughout my career as a HR professional and as an independent consultant. I enjoy working with individuals who have a desire to develop in their work role or in their personal life.

Some examples of the areas I have helped coachees explore are; helping managers step into the leadership role; preparing for and addressing organisational change; improving business performance; and addressing work-life balance. My current coaching clients include managers and executives from both customer-facing and business to business organisations.

I worked with Ruth directly for five years and have continued to seek her counsel ever since.
I have asked her to help me solve several business issues. Typically she starts by asking as many questions as is necessary to help me identify the cause of the problem. This method really helps in the diagnosis of the issue and then the cure. We would usually agree a cure together.

Again, Ruth would ask the right questions and challenge any conclusions until she knew I was happy with the outcome and comfortable with what we had agreed to do. Working out a business issue is not always easy with Ruth - as she asks questions that really challenge you especially if you have been guilty of making assumptions about other peoples behaviour before analysing your own, but I will continue to put myself up for the challenge as the outcome is always positive.

Andrew Knight; Regional Manager, GalaCoral

MacAdam Consulting Organisational Development Specialists