Interview with:Ann Lewis [annlewiscoach]
COACH
 | What types of coaching do you do? Who are your clients? I offer "Recover Your Balance - how to bounce back from bad times at work" as a book, an online programme with interactive coaching, and face to face coaching. This supports people who have been the target of workplace bullies, have lost their job, are in toxic workplaces, or in any other situation that unbalances them and reduces their effectiveness at work.
I also coach people who are new to leadership positions. Typically they're well-respected, capable professionals who need to get their heads around the people-management aspects of their role. |
| Can you provide a link to a site where we can get to know more about you, the type of work you do and/or the place where you do it? |
| How did you get into coaching? I was an HR professional for many years, finishing my HR career as HR director of a couple of major UK charities. I attended a coaching for managers programme before joining my last charity, and later asked the coach who provided that training to help us sort out some challenging team issues.
Watching him at work inspired me to train as a coach myself and to set up my own coaching practice in 2003. |
| Do you have innate qualities, or is it something that you learned? Oh, I'd say a mix of innate qualities, experience on the ground and good training. I came to coaching with built-in empathy and a love of watching people grow and develop. I'm quite intuitive and able to spot disconnects between what's being said and what might be going on in the background. And I was trained by the Academy of Executive Coaching in the UK - a challenging and very rewarding experience.
I continue to learn through regular sessions with my coaching supervisor, Miriam Orriss, from the UK's Coaching Supervision Academy, and through regular training. |
| Can you describe briefly the technique or methodology you use? I draw on a range of approaches and methodologies. My training was Gestalt-based, and my principle aim is to provide a space in which clients can develop according to their needs, goals and preferences.
I also draw on theatre-based methodologies that help clients understand how they bring and use their energy in the broadest sense, and how they can access balance and Presence.
I'm currently exploring transpersonal approaches to coaching that will help clients to discover their deeper sense of purpose and joy. |
| When the coach is confused or lost, where does he/she find a guide? It's different for everyone. Personally, I have an excellent coaching supervisor, who is able to find effective questions that help move me forward. I believe every professional coach should have this support to ensure that s/he maintains professional standards and continues to grow.
I have a core group of fellow coaching friends with whom I exchange ideas.
I read a great deal, and treat confusion as an opportunity to make a new breakthrough and find paths and opportunities that are new. |
| What must the person you are helping contribute? Coaching supports the client's development, so first of all, they must be willing to participate. No matter what they want to be different, nothing will happen without their commitment. It's important that they follow through on any actions or exploration they've committed to.
At the beginning of any coaching contract, our first aim is to reach a specific agreement about the outcomes the client wants from the coaching. At this stage we're also exploring the 'chemistry' between us. Either I or the client can say if for any reason we don't think the relationship will work. It's important to have the right coach. |
| How do you work on the emotional plane? I see emotion as an energy that can be positive or unhelpful, depending on how balanced or off balance the client is at any point.
'Recover Your Balance' works a great deal with energy at the physical, emotional, mental and 'spiritual' levels.
In leadership coaching, I encourage clients to bring feelings as well as analysis to our work together, exploring and developing emotional intelligence. I also use the Facet5 personality profiler from Consulting Tools (http://www.consultingtools.co.uk/personality-assessment/fa (...) ). In Facet5, an 'emotionality' profile helps show clients the degree of anxiety or unemotionality that they generally display. |
| How does one learn to listen? One of the most exquisite and effective ways I know is Nancy Kline's thinking environment, discussed in her books "Time to Think" and "More Time to Think". (http://www.timetothink.com/uk/) .
I have undertaken workshops in this approach from Nancy Kline and others, and while I do not always use the pure 'thinking environment' process, the learning for me is about how to create an environment in which people can think for themselves. |
| Both of the following are necessary, but how are dreaming and realism balanced? Dreaming for me is the foundation to anything worth doing in reality. Without a dream, action is undirected, wasted energy. But dreaming alone achieves nothing.
Maria Nemeth PhD, in her book "Mastering Life's Energies", describes perfectly the duality between dreaming, which she calls 'metaphysical reality', and what she calls 'physical reality', and she gives very practical advice on managing the difficult transition between the two so that dreams can be brought effectively into reality. |
| Is it necessary at times to reorient a person’s desires and expectations? I think my role as a coach is to help people define the best desires and expectations for them personally. These will be closely linked to their strengths and values.
A good coaching conversation will enable the client themselves to do any necessary reframing or re-orientation. It's not the coach's function to do this for them. |
| What are your personal relationships like with the people you work with? Supportive, challenging and profoundly respectful of the client and the very personal stories they share with me. Gently humourous but never at the expense of the client - we do have fun. And of course, completely confidential. |
| What is usually the main obstacle your clients face? It's a cliche, but ultimately it's often confidence. People who have been knocked of balance lose a lot of confidence and find it by regaining a strong sense of themselves, their strengths, values and past achievements.
People new to leading others sometimes struggle with the challenge. Confidence develops through self-awareness, through planning and trying out new approaches, and by learning how to manage others authentically. |
| How do you recommend selecting a coach? Should it be someone who has followed the path that he/she wants to? Should it be someone they admire? First, be clear about what you want coaching to do for you. A small business start-up coach is probably not the best choice if you want to run a marathon. Coaches increasingly specialise in areas that interest them, and in which they have expertise.
If you know people who've been coached, ask them for recommendations and talk to several coaches.
Check the qualifications and training of anyone you consider hiring. Coaching is still unregulated, and anyone can start a coaching practice.
Ask whether they have a supervisor - someone who can help them work through professional challenges, see when they are getting in their client's way, and challenge their blind spots.
Have a very clear idea of what outcomes you want from coaching. Many of my leadership coaching clients, for example, want to develop their self-awareness in terms of how they handle communication upwards, sideways and with their team, and to find ways to support their team effectively so that they get better results.
When you've thought about all of these, listen to your gut. If someone doesn't gel with you, they're the wrong coach for you, which doesn't mean they're a bad coach, just that the chemistry, or energy between you isn't right. It's worth finding the right person for you.
Finally, stop when the work is done. And when you need a coach again, don't assume that the last one is necessarily the best one for where you are this time. |
| 
586 visits Whohub
Ann Lewis
East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK
|
95592 interviews created
![[annlewiscoach] Ann Lewis](http://www.whohub.com/_pics/49415.jpg?1337206669)
INVITE YOUR FRIENDS