confidence
coaching case study

My client  was working in two roles when we first met, struggling to balance work and home life. Self-care was low on their list of priorities and there were issues about not spending enough time with family (both in terms of parents and children). They felt overloaded with work and were frustrated with not being able to concentrate on home commitments. They also felt stagnation in their career despite being incredibly busy.

My client had excellent performance in the two roles they were employed in and had very high standards for themselves. They preferred one of roles more but felt pessimistic about what could be done to improve the situation. 

There were also challenges around feeling low confidence, high self-consciousness, being very open with colleagues, when perhaps they weren't the right people to open up to, feeling anxious and behaving in a highly compliant way, at times without their needs being met. I measured my client's behaviour using the NEO PI-3 psychometric assessment both at the beginning of coaching and then again, after my client had worked on their behaviours and thoughts at their last session.

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I guided my client to work on goal setting and decision-making around their career. There were many push and pull areas in terms of what was keeping my client in their jobs and what was uncomfortable and was spurring them on to want to go. Over time, my client realised that one job was very undermining to their health and was causing significant stress and so my client resigned from it. This left the second role which my client preferred but once they began to just work in this space they realised that it just wasn't giving enough scope for professional development, which was something they realised they highly valued. 

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I gave my client a copy of the Workbook to increase confidence and we also discussed what good leadership looked like. They had a view that it was about who was the most dominant rather than who could influence and bring stakeholders with them, which had made my client feel that they could never progress and be a leader. We talked about what good leadership was about i.e. influencing, compassion and implementing change so that my client did feel that they had the potential to become a leader.

Time was also spent on confidence particularly the negative effects of ruminating on what they believed were other's opinions of their performance, which was causing my client to feel inhibited. They spent considerable time comparing themselves to others and later felt depressed for not having achieved more. My client found that their confidence increased when they analysed and accepted their career choices and when they recognised and acknowledged their own achievements.

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They chose several stress management techniques around reading and listening to music to support them with stress at work and at home. Rather than 'offloading' to colleagues about their issues and concerns they were was now tuning in more to their own emotions and not always requiring reassurance from others but being more self-reliant and self-reflective.

After consideration during coaching sessions about their career, my client both applied for and was successful in obtaining another role which was much more suited to their skills and career aspirations. They are now able to focus on family and self-care as they have more time to do so.

They are now working in another organisation where their skills are a good fit and where they feel valued and supported. My client has committed to keep working on their self-belief. They no longer focus on comparing themselves to others.

They also believe in doing the best they can as being a true measure of success. Overall, my client's confidence has significantly increased at the same time as other areas of their behaviour such as anxiety, depression, over-sharing, self-consciousness and compliance has decreased.

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My client is considering returning for coaching in the future to put their leadership capabilities into practice.