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Tag: lifecoaching

Coaching: What is it + Other FAQs

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum potential” – Bob Nardelli, ex-CEO of Home Depot

 

Here are a few FAQs about coaching that future career and life coaching clients often ask me about on Discovery Calls:

⚡️ Coaching is a future focused, goal orientated process that helps you move from where you are now to where you want to be
⚡️ A coach is a facilitator, asking you questions to help you connect to who you are and what you need to be happy. From that space of clarity, change is a whole lot easier
⚡️ Coaching connects you to your true self – it helps peel back the ‘shoulds’ you grow up with that often signal a misalign with the true self and zooms in on the wants, the true energisers that motivate and excite you, whether your values, your strengths, your passions or your purpose
⚡️ Coaches don’t fix your problems like some magical wise owl – nor do they tell you who you are and what you should do. Instead, coaching empowers and helps you find the clarity and confidence required for change
⚡️Coaching clients are often initially stressed, confused, apathetic, frustrated, bored or overwhelmed but coaching helps change this fast – this may involve simple mindset mastery hacks and tools that dislodge limiting beliefs and thinking traps that keep many of us stuck, even the most outwardly ‘successful’ people on six figure salaries with mortgages that make your eyes water 🚿
⚡️While therapy helps explore emotions, some of which may keep us entrenched and stuck, coaching leverages emotions as a springboard for tangible change whether in your life or career. It’s about small steps and actions towards bigger changes that expedite true happiness and fulfilment whether landing your dream job, learning the formula for having difficult conversations, integrating new ways of managing unhelpful thinking traps that spike stress or achieving any kinda goal 🥅 (note, this may have included love triangles..)
⚡️Last but not least, for coaching to be successful you must want change. It doesn’t matter if you’re unsure if it’s possible or just damn sick of the pain of staying the same, you must want to upgrade your life ⬆️

If that sounds appealin’, get in touch for a free discovery call here!

3 Ways Coaching Helps People

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

Beige Minimalist 3 Top Tips Plant Based Diet for Beginners Instagram Post 3

 

“Attention energises, intention transforms” – Deepak Chopra 💫

Ever wondered why you’re unable to make change despite feeling frustration, boredom, anxiety or depression about your current life?

Here’s why 🤫

To make any big change in your life, you need to do more than recognise discomfort – you need to create the time, space and resources to get real clarity. From there, change becomes easy.

Ever wondered why people telling you what you should do rarely works? Because sometimes it comes more from a place of projection, protectiveness and bias than objectivity and real listening – truly sitting in the moment with you and really hearing what lies beneath is usually quite different, leaving you feeling heard, understood and pumped to uplevel your life.

This is exactly what I thought coaching wasn’t when I first started out. Honestly, I was hoping it was a quick fix involving talking to a wise owl who could help me cut corners and expedite change fast.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I heard it was being guided by the coach asking a series of questions to help me work out who I was and what I wanted, I thought it sounded like hot air.

Then we started practising coaching – and I ate my words fast 🤭

I quickly realised helping someone connect to who they truly are and what they truly want versus telling them what they should do, is where the magic happens.

I see this kind of magic happen daily with clients – whether midwives moving into project management, financiers moving into consulting, lawyers moving into coaching or graduates moving into advertising and beyond.

It’s not rocket science, but boy does it work.

As a wise friend on Mindline once said, really active listening is like developing a sixth sense.

So I say again – attention energises, intention transforms. Finding space to be truly heard and to deconstruct what’s really going on for you is an essential component to creating the intention required for change.

So if you’re feeling misaligned with your life or career, what’s stopping you from booking a free discovery call here?

And if you’re still feeling stuck, remember, nothing changes if nothing changes 💫

Still unsure? Here’s what a lovely client, Melanie Hartley said: “Coaching with Mel has been the most valuable investment I’ve ever made in myself”.

 

Why Management Consulting Can Feel like a Toxic Relationship

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

‘Management consulting is like a toxic relationship – you love the salary, status and perks, but you hate the intense workload, demanding clients, lack of work life balance and lack of praise’ – Career Coaching Consulting Client

Are you a management consultant, lawyer or professional who loves the highs of the job – the big pay check, the nice house and the social status but secretly hates the feeling of being stuck in the ‘corporate cage’ where you crave changing out of the ‘always on’ culture but love the big salary and feel trapped by a big mortgage and other liabilities?

Or maybe you’ve reached the pinnacle of your career, near Partnership, only to realise that all your efforts seem to count for nothing unless you hit whopping billable targets or you’re able to bring in new business.

Or maybe you simply don’t have the time to explore these niggling feelings and doubts – or you don’t know who you could talk to to discover alternatives that meet your wider needs?

Perhaps you’ve normalised feeling flat, frustrated or unfulfilled for so long that you’ve failed to notice the negative ripple effect your work is having on your mental health and your wider quality of life with family and friends?

Can you even imagine what it feels like not to have to be perfect every day at work, like you’re on a never-ending treadmill constantly fending off burn-out?

I get it – as a lawyer turned Career and Life Coach, I help smart, successful professionals working in high stress worlds design careers and lives they love – and much as your monkey mind may tell you this isn’t possible, I’m here to tell you it is!

Whether learning simple mindset mastery tricks to help reduce stress and optimise work life balance, learning how to develop boundaries and people please less, exploring career alternatives that thrive off your superb CV or managing wider life goals like love and relationships, I’m here for you.

It’s easy to boost hope and joy in life when you have the right tools and the space to explore what you really want, what your options are and how to reconnect with your strengths to strategise for change. It doesn’t have to be money or happiness – it can be both.

Check out a powerful example of one of many bright but frustrated career coaching clients I work with in the in the short video here.

What do you relate to?

What are your main pain-points?

And how committed to change are you in 2023?

If you’d like to explore how I can help you master your mind and re-design your career or personal life, drop me a message here for a free discovery call. Helping smart, successful professionals get unstuck fast is my superpower 🙂

Here’s what a recent legal client said:

‘Thank you so much for everything – I feel like you’re the best investment I made in myself in years. I feel much more connected to my true self and have more trust in myself than I have had in a long time. You have a real gift’

The Surprising Reason Coaching will Change your Life

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

Screenshot 2023 08 03 at 14.18.22

“Attention energises, intention transforms” – Deepak Chopra

Ever wondered, like the legal client below before we worked together, why you’re unable to make change despite feeling frustration, boredom, anxiety or depression about your personal or professional life?

Here’s why..

To make any big change in your life, you need to do more than recognise discomfort – you need to create the time, space and resources to get real clarity. From there, change becomes easy.

Ever wondered why people telling you what you should do rarely works?

Because sometimes it comes more from a place of projection, protectiveness and bias than objectivity and real listening – truly sitting in the moment with you and really hearing what lies beneath is usually quite different, leaving you feeling heard, understood and pumped to uplevel your life.

This is exactly what I thought coaching wasn’t when I first started out. Honestly, I was hoping it was a quick fix involving talking to a wise owl who could help me cut corners and expedite change fast.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I heard it was being guided by the coach asking a series of questions to help me work out who I was and what I wanted, I thought it sounded like hot air.

Then we started practising coaching – and I ate my words fast..

I quickly realised helping someone connect to who they truly are and what they truly want versus telling them what they should do, is where the magic happens.

I see this kind of magic happen daily with clients like the lovely client in the quote below who found coaching more powerful than years of therapy, management consultants sick of toxic work environments, midwives tired of emotions to financiers and creatives ready to change their personal or professional lives.

Screenshot 2023 08 03 at 14.10.52

As a wise friend on Mindline once said, really active listening is like developing a sixth sense and it should have a profound effect on the client.

So I say again – attention energises, intention transforms. Finding space to be truly heard and to deconstruct what’s really going on for you is an essential component to creating the intention required for change.

So if you’re feeling misaligned with your life or career and are seeking greater fulfilment, joy and inspiration in your life, what’s stopping you? As Einstein said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

I have a very small number of complimentary coaching discovery call slots remaining before Christmas if you’d like to hear more about how coaching could help change your personal or professional life, so if you’re sick of the status quo and want to start next year with a new lease of life, get in touch here.

Disclaimer: If you don’t want results, this won’t be for you!

 

The Surprising Similarity between Careers and Dating

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

5 Main Differences Between Dating And Being In A Relationship

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” – Confucius

Ever gone on a date you weren’t excited about to discover, well, it was a waste of time?

Ever sent in multiple job applications or done an interview somewhat half-heartedly to discover, shock horror, you weren’t successful?

Or maybe you’re struggling to excel in your current role (or even get through the day..) because your heart’s just not in it?

I always say there are multiple parallels between love and careers. If you’re not excited, it’s not the right one! What happens when we settle on a half-hearted love? Yup, it ends in tears. Careers are no different as I explain in my short video here.

Do not, I repeat, do not, settle with your career.

Feeing disconnected 5 days’ a week is a BIG DEAL and will affect your mental health and wider life whether your love life, relationships with your children, wellbeing or otherwise.

If you think you’re lost, confused, stuck – you’re not nearly as lost as you think, trust me. I see these feelings ALL THE TIME with clients who invariably become unstuck within just 1-3 sessions. Confusion, apathy and frustration may alarm you but they excite me (!) because they are merely signs of unmet needs and when you work out what you need to be happy, the rest is easy.

Don’t believe me?

One creative career coaching client thought she was totally lost job wise and was sliding into depression when we first connected. She was also worried her career joylessness was endangering her relationship. By session 2, she was a different person – with a 360 energy / clarity turnaround once she got clear on her values. She wasn’t remotely crazy or even that lost once she had the space to explore what was really going on – she was just in the wrong role in a misaligned work environment.

She now has her dream job for a leading fashion house in Amsterdam and feels truly seen, heard and fulfilled.

If that resonates, hit me up for a free discovery call and feel the anxiety reduce and hope spike!

As an ex-lawyer turned career and life coach who works with smart, successful people in high-stress jobs, my superpower is helping ‘confused’ clients get unstuck fast and reconnect with careers that make them truly happy, fulfilled and excited to get up in the morning.

Remember: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

#career #careers #job #interview #mentalhealth #wellbeing #work#finance #managementconsulting #consulting #lifecoaching#careercoaching #coaching #success #happiness #leaders#leadership #wellbeing #insurance #redundancy #HR #law#property #CEO #manager #lawyer #jobs #people

What’s the Difference between Coaching & Therapy?

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

The difference between coaching, counseling, mentoring and consulting - Savvy Self Growth

“I never cease to be amazed by the power of the coaching process” – John Russell, Managing Director, Harley Davidson Europe

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between coaching and counselling?

Or maybe, like me 7 years ago, your first impression of coaching was some wacky American self-help thing full of hot air?

That was until I started practising coaching and had to eat my words, fast.

Y’see, though coaching isn’t rocket science, it’s amazing the magic that happens when we have the space to really explore who we really are, how we really feel and what we really WANT versus what we feel we SHOULD do – the latter usually signals a disconnect from the true self and is often no more than a societal construct whether conditioning from our parents we assumed knew better than us or from those around us.

Ironic, really, given that real motivation, excitement and joy in life comes from doing what you really WANT to do versus what you feel you SHOULD do (the latter being a top 5 regret of the dying according the the bestselling author and palliative nurse, Bronnie Ware). That’s coaching in a nutshell – it helps you to connect to your most authentic self, which releases a huge energy surge so you can move from where you are now to where you want to be much faster than before.

That’s why leading professionals like Bob Nardelli, CEO of Home Depot say: “People, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities”.

And by people, I’m talking clients from all walks of life – managers, company directors, MBA students and downright cynics. Like my highly successful friend who was dismayed he couldn’t become a Partner at his FTSE 500 company without a coaching session. After an hour with the coach, he soon changed his mind.

If, like him 6 years’ back, you’re wondering what coaching is all about or how it could serve you with results based goods, check out the difference between coaching and counselling in my short video here.

And if that tickles your fancy, or you have any questions about it, drop me a line or book in a free discovery call here to learn more about how career and life coaching could uplevel your energy, productivity and success tenfold in 2023.

Be warned, though, while coaching and counselling are different beasts, there’s a reason why a handful of clients say they’ve got more out of one coaching session than years’ of therapy…

#coaching #people #motivation #energy #law #lawyers#managementconsulting #managementconsulting #property#insurance #thebar #barristers #chambers #HR #partners#managers #stress #mentalhealth #wellbeing #happiness #success#learninganddevelopment #personaldevelopment#peakperformance #relationships #communication #transformation#promotion #politics #careerchange #life #change #therapy#counselling #power #CEO #csuite #CFO #CTO #CIO #COO#support

Relationship Anxiety: What Causes it and When You Really Need to Worry!

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

Relationship anxiety: 15 signs you have it and how to handle it

‘Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life’ – Susan David PhD

Hands up if you’ve ever felt doubt, insecurity or the need for reassurance in a relationship? Cue all of us.

What causes relationship anxiety and when do you *really* need to worry?

What’s the difference between helpful and unhelpful anxiety in relationships?

How does relationship worry show up?

And how can we handle it?

I coach many life coaching clients on relationship pain-points whether work-related or romantic – in fact, it’s a favourite topic of mine, dealing with themes that go to the heart of what it is to be human – confidence, self-esteem, identity, values, communication, happiness, success and beyond.

The cost of poor quality or broken relationships is high, which is why it’s so rewarding teaching clients simple tools to overcome relationship challenges to minimise breakdown and optimise happiness.

A recent client mentioned the varied (mainly negative) advice she’d received from friends around her potentially impending divorce and one thing struck me – a real lack of balance, objectivity and hopeful guidance.

I saw something different to ‘let’s expedite the divorce’ / ‘what a d*ck’ / ‘things have ruptured so it’s game over after nearly 20 years’.

Underneath the anger and acting out was simply a breakdown in communication, a lack of tools around HOW to communicate effectively and a disconnect from their own selves since becoming busy working parents. Yes, that’s a few blockers but pretty resolvable blockers if there are enough shared values and vision for the future.

This is where coaching can be pretty game-changing, bringing awareness and balance to complex situations untrained listeners may be naturally more inclined to judge from their own frame of reference. This is what we call projection (!) which isn’t always helpful when we need to be heard and we want to connect to the truth in a balanced, non-polarised way.

If you’ve ever felt anxious in romantic relationships, wondered whether this is normal and what the difference even is between good and ‘bad’ anxiety, read my article below in Women’s Health. There’s a game-changing magic trick for dealing with anxiety in there which is as miraculous as it is simple. To read about this and the full article in Women’s Health, click here.

And if you’re looking to uplevel your relationships, whether in work or love, drop me a message to book a free discovery call here – I regularly help clients like these with tips to gain the clarity and tools to optimise dating, their relationships and love lives!

What’s stopping you from creating a life you love?

#love #relationships #success #happiness #lifecoaching #career#communication #stress #mentalhealth #cbt

Surprisingly Simple Stress Trick: How to Get Out of Your Head Fast!

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

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‘Faith is an oasis in the heart that will never be reached by the caravan of thinking’

Khalil Gibran

 

How often do you find yourself overthinking when you’re stressed?

Totally stuck in your head or going round in circles with no end?

It makes sense to think we can think our way around things but sometimes, getting out of our heads and into our bodies is the best thing we can do. Y’see, without learnt tools to master our minds, our brains are designed to keep us stuck focusing on the negative and continuing to do what we’ve always done. Not very evolved, hey?!

Case in point – a career coaching client who was so stressed she was really quite depressed and unable to move forward had a 360 about-turn when she took her focus off thinking about careers and instead reconnected with doing the things that brought her fun and joy in life.

All the things that took her out of her head whether cooking, drawing, running or seeing her friends.

And boom! Then the clarity came – from being more and thinking less. Like a counter-intuitive detour around stress. The renewed energy and clarity came from moving her body rather than just sitting in the stasis of thought. Ironic, isn’t it, that when we stop thinking so much, sometimes we unlock feelings that guide the way.

As the legendary Dr Wayne Dyer says: ‘Think less, feel more’.

What do you do that brings you joy and gets you out of your head? When did you last have this experience? And what were the results?

For me it might be things like travelling, local adventures, meeting new people, working in new cafés, or doing a new activity like paragliding in the wilds of Italy above. Connecting with free spirits in sublime nature is always a sure fire way for me to change my state and get clarity on confusion. Note – most of these things involve movement – as Tony Robbins says: ‘Motion equals emotion’.

What one change can you make today to get out of your head and into your body?

How would that feel?

And what’s the best possible outcome?

 

 

 

Executive Coaching: The Fortune 500’s Best Kept Secret

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

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“For years, CEOs of some of the most successful and largest companies have relied on executive coaches. Henry McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, and David Pottruck, CEO of Charles Schwab & Co., are just a few who rely on a “trusted adviser”

The Business Journal

Did you know that between 25 and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches to help their leaders peak perform? I was surprised this figure was so high — not because I don’t understand why successful companies would invest in coaching for their CEO’s and C-Suite — but because it’s one of the best kept secrets around.

These clandestine connoisseurs described an average return of more than $100,000, about six times what executive coaching costs them. That’s the equivalent of six round the world business class flights.

But that doesn’t explain why savvy business leaders invest in something that sounds suspiciously like mumbo-jumbo.

Maybe because “executives and HR managers know coaching is the most potent tool for inducing lasting personal change”.

So what makes coaching so special?

The answer is simple.

It’s because of what it’s not.

Instead of being another top down programme forced on over-stretched employees, coaching empowers people to develop their own solutions to issues and goals, with a dash of mentoring thrown in. This increases the chances of action tenfold.

In other words, it’s the missing link to high performance leadership success.

So what are the benefits?

“Workers at all levels of the corporate ladder are enlisting coaches for guidance on how to improve their performance, boost their profits, and make better decisions about everything from personnel to strategy”.

Whether strengthening business development, presentation and leadership skills or facilitating target attainment and peak performance, coaching increases confidence, self-awareness and resourcefulness, bolstering company growth, profitability and market share.

But if, like some initially sceptical clients, you still think coaching sounds a little like hot air, you might change your tune when you learn:

The business demand for coaching is nearly doubling each year. Out of the $80 billion being currently spent on corporate education, FLI Research estimates that $2 billion is spent on executive coaching at senior executive levels in Fortune 500 companies.

Not only that:

IBISWorld research reports that the size of the US and UK corporate wellness industry is now more than $8bn — and growing.

If you’re still not convinced, that’s ok. I had to see it to believe it myself.

But when I did — let me tell you — the idea of being a hot shot lawyer became far less appealing than helping professionals transform their lives and businesses.

Want to find out more? Book a discovery call with me here.

Career Mistakes or Regrets? Top Tips for Changing Jobs Without the Stress

Posted on by Melanie Pritchard

career coaching tips

“Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers”

M. Scott Peck

If you went to bed feeling anxious about your work week ahead in a job you dislike, or you’ve woken up feeling sick about another day in an environment or role that simply doesn’t fit you, don’t despair.
That fear is a barometer for much needed change and scary as taking the leap can feel, it’s much easier when you break it down into bite size steps.
If you relate to the above, check out my feature in @refinery29 in the link in bio, ‘I Changed My Career & Regret It. Now What?’, for the ultimate guide to making that big leap – and not looking back.
From the four steps crucial to avoiding career change regret to how to sell a misstep on your CV, it’s packed full of solutions to common pain points clients fret about whether midwives, financiers, lawyers to graphic designers and marketeers. The pain is often the same and the paralysis analysis can often feel crippling without simple steps forward.
Here’s a teaser:
Don’t dive in headfirst. Whether you’re considering changing careers for the first time or feel that a recent change isn’t right for you, step one is making sure you don’t rush your next decision.
“The most important thing in the transitional phase,” says Melanie, “is not to panic and just jump into something else quickly because you can. You need to get clear on what you need to be happy and what your key frustrations are. Because if you dig beneath frustration it’s usually a barometer for exactly what you need more of.”
Read more top tips to career change via the link in my bio and feel the stress dissipate 🪴
Remember, you don’t have to get it perfect, you just gotta get it going ✨

#career #fear #stress #job #wrong #coaching #careercoaching #happy #life #happiness #peace #fulfilment #joy #hope #change

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