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Great Podcasting Experience with Patricia Raskin – Just Google It.

Click the link below to listen to the podcast.

Mary with Patricia Raskin 11-7-15

Patricia Raskin interviews Mary O'Sullivan

Listen as Patricia interviews Mary

Google my podcast. On Saturday, November 7, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Award Winning radio host, Patricia Raskin. Patricia and I discuss the benefits of coaching as well as when people know when they are ready to hire a coach. Please take a listen, it’s only about 20 minutes, and well worth the time. Google Patricia to learn more about creating  your own podcast.

Below is a summary of some of the topics I covered in this podcast.

 

Discover How You Can Benefit from Professional Coaching – Google Me

By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL ~ Executive and Professional Coach

 

Are your Feeling Stuck?

Like a Kitten Up a Tree….?

Professional Coaching can help.

To begin the road to success, you want to get UNSTUCK.

What happens in professional coaching?

The coach asks you questions.  It’s a flexible process of  staying curious and using reasonable suggestions without telling you what to do.

The coach creates a partnership with you.  A partnership between you and the coach helps you creatively think through real solutions to real issues, as you define them.

We help generate a productive dialog. You set the agenda!

The coach’s job is to help you in the process of self- determined and self-directed problem solving or change, through a dialog between you and the coach.

What Does the Coach Do?

The coach encourages you to problem solve by asking questions, and fosters self-directed solutions and strategies

The coach helps you develop realistic, achievable outcomes that are within your control (goals that you want to achieve)

Do you have Too Much To Do?

Coaching can help you set your priorities.

How Do You Know Coaching is Right for You?

Start by  thinking about what you would like to accomplish, and what you changes you want to make.

When you have an idea of what you want, a professional coach can be useful in helping you to develop a strategy for achieving that outcome, and eliminating some of the obstacles in your way.

Since coaching is a partnership, you’ll need to be open to collaboration, and accept other viewpoints and new perspectives regarding your situation. Also,  ask yourself if you are ready to commit the time and energy to make some real changes?

If the answer is yes, then coaching is right for you.

What Professional Coaches Don’t Do

You won’t be on a couch, in a class, talking to Yoda, or listening to jargon

Coaches Don’t Diagnose

Coaches Aren’t “Teachers”

Coaches Aren’t Mentors

Coaches Are not Analysts

Coaches are not Consultants

How is Coaching Different from these other disciplines?

Professional Coaching experiments with and explores creative solutions to help you achieve your specific goals through brainstorming, challenging and supporting your ideas and actions.

It is a flexible, process, based on asking you specific questions that are tailored to your needs.

Professional coaching focuses on: your future, not your past; setting goals that work for you creating realistic outcomes, that you can live with, control and maintain; and help you with managing your personal change.

A Few Reasons You Might need  a Professional Coach

A new opportunity presents itself that is urgent, compelling or exciting –  a new challenge, or a new  goal

You discover a gap in your knowledge, skills, confidence or resources

You want quicker results in your career or business

You find that you lack clarity with various decisions you need to make

Overall success has started to become an issue for you

Your work and life are out of balance, creating stress and anxiety

Your strengths need to be highlighted, along with the best way to demonstrate them to the right people at the right level

Typical Coaching Topics

Time Management

Work Life Balance

Career Growth and Development

Dealing Difficult People on or off the job

Being Laid Off

Career after Retirement

Displacement by Divorce or Widowhood

Upcoming Family Event can Cause Stress

Feeling Stressed at Work or in your Business?

Time Management Issues?

Feeling the Winter Blues?

Find that Missing Puzzle Piece in your life, work, business or personal matters.

Typical Coaching Questions

What brings you to coaching today?

What? (Specifically)

What else?

In what way?

How? (Specifically)

What does this mean to you?

How do you know that?

Speak in Metaphors and Analogies

Metaphors help make the issue more tangible. (“I’m hitting a brick wall”)

Analogies paint a vivid picture to explore. (“I feel like a lamb to the slaughter.”)

Both express a good mental image of the issue to you and the coach, opening up a bridge to the problem at hand.

Why Ask Questions?

To clarify what exactly you wish to gain from the coaching conversation.

To bring better mutual understanding to the coaching partnership.

To encourage and promote mutual respect between you and your  coach.

To confirm that  the coach understands your needs and wants completely and is not misunderstanding you.

To focus on solutions and not problems.

To help imagine your future state, not focus where you’ve been already.

Remember: Success is not a Straight Line

Professional Coaching can Help Get You There