Interested in coaching with Penny? This page explains her approach and what to expect...

What’s my background?

The pathway to becoming a coach pulls learning from every part of my life and enables me to bring all of myself to each session.

As a qualified lawyer and accountant, I bring strong communication skills, the ability to present complex ideas in a simple and concise manner with a focus on goal setting and developing strategies to achieve them. It also brings an understanding of the realities of working in busy environments.

As a wife of 20+ years, a mother of three teenage girls, a daughter, sister, and friend I bring empathy, active listening, perspective, and an understanding of the reality of the challenges and joy from living a life that doesn’t always go to plan.

My love for the outdoors has taught me the ability to take small steps to achieve big goals,
resilience, motivation, and the power of a strong mindset.

A strong interest in health enables me to focus on the mind- body connection and how lifestyle choices can impact overall health and wellbeing. My knowledge of nutrition, exercise, preventative health, and importance of self-care is all crucial to holistic coaching. (I am currently formalising this experience by gaining a qualification in as a Health Coach)

Outside of coaching I have a portfolio of activities, including facilitation for teams, consulting on significant change initiatives in the public sector and leading high-profile pieces of work. Further information can be found on my Linkedin Profile here.

Coaching is an important strand to my overall portfolio of activity. For me, coaching is incredibly fulfilling and its an honour to work with brave individuals who are committed to improving their own lives and reaching their full potential. I gain a huge amount of satisfaction from being alongside clients as they make positive changes and achieve their goals. I’m also a person who is always interested in ongoing learning and growth, constantly learning new skills, techniques and strategies to help myself and clients achieve their goals.

What’s my coaching style?

I take holistic approach to coaching which means we will:

Focus on all of you: consider physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. My goal is for us to create a comprehensive plan that addresses all areas of your life.

Emphasise balance: help you seek balance in all areas of your life. This includes balancing work and personal life, addressing emotional imbalances, and finding ways to promote physical and spiritual health.

Personalise our approach: recognise you are unique and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to coaching. We will work together to create a personalized plan that addresses your individual needs and goals.

Be mindful and self-aware: work to develop these skills to gain greater self-awareness, reduced stress, and improved overall well-being.

Integrate different modalities: such as mindfulness practices, meditation, behavioural and neuroscience patterns, nutrition, and exercise, to create a comprehensive approach to your personal growth and development.

Be accountable: coaching is most about making changes and getting results, so I will work with you to set measurable goals, identifying steps to achieve them and develop strategies for overcoming any obstacles.

The actual coaching process – what’s involved?

1. First meet-up. This is a no-obligation chat where we talk about you and what you want. It’s also a chance for you to hear about me and my style. From there, we can both assess fit. I will recommend one of my colleagues if I think there’s a better person for you.

2. Agree on the package and the broad terms. Once agreed, we can book sessions online at a time that works for you.

3. Onboarding session to ask a range of questions to discover more about you, your context, what you are aiming for and why. This helps me tailor the approach to suit you. It’s also where we agree how we will work together, including establishing goals, how we will assess progress and how we will manage the involvement of any other people if necessary (e.g. your manager).

4. Coaching plan and sessions. I suggest a series of 6-12 coaching sessions, of an hour in duration. Session frequency is up to you though I suggest we meet every 3-5 weeks as this helps to get momentum and create a bit of a rhythm. Here is an example what can be included in your coaching plan:

a. Understand your goals and challenges
b. Address your current situation
c. Identify your values and priorities
d. Setting boundaries and limits
e. Developing your support system
f. Develop mindset and relaxation techniques
g. Time management and organisation
h. Setting realistic expectations
i. Improving communication and relationships
j. Review and reflection of time together

What does each session look like?

The structure depends on what you are focusing on, but generally we will:

Center ourselves; the aim being to be centred, connected and on purpose.

Explore what you’ve noticed as you’ve done your actions agreed at the last session. I may use a variety of questioning techniques to help you gain clarity and identify obstacles or limited beliefs that might beholding you back.

Agree together what is most important for you in the moment and agree an appropriate focus for the session. We will then explore that, taking time to slow down, assess your direct experience, your hunches and intuition. We may do some practical exercises depending on the situation.

Agree on take-aways and any actions.

Review the session and the overall coaching arrangement (not every time, but often enough to ensure we are on track).

Where will we meet?

Sessions are held online, or at an agreed venue near your work (if Wellington based). I prefer not to run coaching sessions at your workplace.

If you need to cancel a session, I require 24 hours’ notice to reschedule.

How do you get the most from coaching?

While coaching is an effective way of accelerating your development, it also represents an investment of time and money. Here are 9 ways to get the most out of coaching:

1. Give yourself permission to be in the unknown
2. Drive your own learning, always seeking what will best serve you, and ditching what doesn’t
3. Be open and curious about what comes up in the sessions
4. Keep observing your own responses/reactions in the sessions, and share these observations with me,
even if they don’t make sense at the time
5. Chose a good confidant to keep informed of your journey and let them know how they can support you
6. Prepare for each session - taking care of any possible distractions, getting set-up in a quiet space where
you won’t be disturbed, and getting clear about your intentions
7. Reflect your learning – it can be helpful to keep a written log of your sessions
8. Develop the habit of being direct and candid
9. Celebrate your breakthroughs

As coach, I observe the International Coach Federation’s Coaching Code of Ethics regarding professional conduct, conflicts of interest, professional conduct, confidentiality, privacy and continuing development. For more details on this click here.

Are you ready for coaching?

Here are some questions to consider before entering into a coaching arrangement.

Interested to chat more?

Use this link to book a 30 minute online spot with me.