“I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.”
John Russell, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.

When you work with a coach, you give yourself a better chance of succeeding. You discover and build on your strengths. You fine-tune your skills. You notice when you’re getting in your own way – and then get out of it.

More and more organizations and individuals are using coaches to help them reach important goals. That’s because coaching works.

It’s Understood’s head coach, Sue Johnston, specializes in workplace communication. She coaches individuals and groups in person and by telephone, with e-mail support.

Communication is one of your most critical skills in business and in living. Effective leadership, successful sales calls, collaborative teamwork, productive meetings, and great relationships all rely on your communication ability.

Together, you and Sue will discover and build on your strengths to accelerate your progress towards your personal and professional goals.

What’s Communication Coaching?

by Sue Johnston

OK. I know you’ve been wondering. So I’ll tell you how you might work with a communication coach, specifically, me.

Getting started – The first step is a no-charge phone consultation where you and I talk about your situation and goals and, through a good conversation, decide if we can work together. If both of us feel there's likely to be progress, we'll develop our game plan and set up future calls.

Program format – We’ll work by telephone. Between our weekly calls, you’ll have e-mail access to me. Experience suggests it takes about three months to see lasting results of your coaching and have the learning securely take root in your life.

Program structure – The coaching process, itself, can come in many shapes and styles, depending on what's going on with you. I like to start by identifying the relationships that are most important for you to work on. That’s where you’ll see the greatest positive outcome from the work. We'll try to spot patterns of communication that are working for you and some that aren't. Next we’ll develop alternatives to those old patterns that haven't worked. Then you’ll look for ways to put these alternative behaviours into practice. It’s like a series of experiments. In the next session we debrief and build on what you learned.

A lot of human communication happens unconsciously. There are patterns we follow out of habit, things we say based on speculation about other people's motives, and stories we tell ourselves that are no longer useful. I work to help you become more conscious of the way you communicate, including your intention, how you think about conversation, the context of the communication, and the way messages will be received. You’ll learn new techniques, new habits, and new ways of thinking, so that you are understood and understand others.

Assessments and tools – I’m qualified to administer a variety of assessments. Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) is a good starting place for examining preferences around decision-making and processing information. It also sheds light on preferred communication style, and how that style works with other types. I also use the EQ Map, which helps you identify the interpersonal style that may help or hinder your communication. And the Leadership Practices Inventory is a survey your colleagues, bosses and reports complete that lets you know how they see your behaviour and communication.

There are work sheets and exercises and yes, there will be homework, though a more accurate term would be ‘weekly action request.’

Wandering off topic – The objective of our sessions will be to improve your face-to-face communication at work. Still, life-related issues can and do affect your work and your communication. I’m qualified as a life coach and good at it, but my expertise is in communication. If I sense what you need is pure life coaching, counselling, or therapy, you can be sure I’ll refer you to someone with that specialty.

Next steps – So if you like what you’ve heard so far, and you want to learn more, please contact me for a real conversation. I look forward to talking with you.

If you want to know more about what to expect here's a link to the IAC Code of Ethics...(it's also ours).

If you want to reach your maximum capability, contact It’s Understood.