Context

Client is a senior manager in partnership development at a global financial services company. He had been with his employer for three years after previously holding CEO and other senior executive positions in the travel industry. He was nearing fifty years of life and was questioning what now and which direction he should head.

Coaching Approach

We worked together over a 12-month period with 13 sessions. We started by exploring his values and strengths. Right from the start he invested time in the exercises set, reflected deeply and came to sessions well prepared with a clear intent on making progress towards his goal.  He was introduced to the ikigai framework which resonated well, and he used this to analyze potential intersections between his values, strengths, what the world needs and what he could get paid for both inside and outside the company. As we progressed, he used his ikigai as a narrative to engage senior stakeholders within the company to ask what he could do for them and explore options for future projects and roles. We used a strengths assessment towards the beginning and end of the engagement to measure progress against key metrics.

Outcomes

The key outcome from the coaching engagement was the shift from disorientation to clarity of purpose. This enabled him to navigate situations and opportunities and not waste energy or feel anxious about things he now recognized as not aligned with his purpose. It gave him a much clearer narrative to speak to his talents and engage more effectively with others, in particular it positively changed the way he works with his leader. He secured a secondment working directly with the Country Manager which allowed him to work with more purpose. He now feels increased levels of patience and less urgency about things which need to be fixed. Some results measured included a 45% increase in self-compassion, 42% better stress management, 38% more empowerment and 18% improvement in perceived work-life balance, despite his increased responsibilities. Most importantly he developed a sustainable, guiding framework for the long term.

Coach Feedback

“When I first met Richard, I was a bit overwhelmed and rudderless, and not clear on where I was headed.  He very carefully and thoughtfully introduced me to some concepts, including Ikigai, that I immersed myself in and emerged with a completely different mindset.  I am now on a path of achievement that I actually wouldn’t have believed 18mths ago, and the lessons that Richard has shared I continuously reflect upon.  Richard has such a way of allowing you to self-discover, and I feel the result is that the lessons are concreted more securely.   Thanks a million Rich!”