In this first episode of Season 4 of The Coaching Question, we introduce the theme of the season - Transactional Analysis (TA) and its application in coaching.

We find that TA offers a valuable lens for coaching, and in this episode we briefly share some of the core ideas offered by TA and highlight how these can support clients to deepen their self-awareness and gain new insights.

Listen to this episode to understand where TA is positioned in relation to other coaching approaches. We share our perspective on the nature of TA, which encompasses both psychodynamic and in-the-moment techniques. TA reflects the importance of how behaviours learned and decisions taken in the past influence our behaviours and actions in the present. Given that TA involves an element of acknowledging the past, we also clarify the distinction between coaching and therapy.

You’ll learn how TA can be practically applied in coaching sessions as we introduce the concept of the Parent-Adult-Child ego states, and how, by raising awareness of these in coaching, clients gain insights into their patterns of behaviour. Transactional Analysis offers a very valuable framework for coaching, helping clients to gain self-awareness, challenge limiting beliefs, and develop new strategies for personal growth.

In this special episode, we chose to reflect on endings in coaching. Gregor was one of four coaches who contributed to an article on this topic for Coaching At Work, and we wanted to take the opportunity to think this through together on our podcast.

We talk about the emphasis that is placed on the start of coaching engagements, and the importance that is placed on the results that are achieved. Yet, ending a coaching engagement well is a topic that appears to have received less attention, but is crucially important. Listen in if you’d like to learn more about how we can best end coaching engagements.

About the article:

Further to a webinar on ‘Ending Well’, organised by APECS (The Association for Professional Executive Coaches and Supervisors) in November 2021, there was a general recognition that very little had been written on practices related to ending with coaching clients. Wanting to address this topic further, four coaches who had attended the webinar penned an article for Coaching At Work. This has now been published in the May 2022 edition. The intent of the article was to start an inquiry, which may lead to further research that could define and propose best practices within the profession.

Resources:

Coaching at work - https://www.coaching-at-work.com/

APECS - https://www.apecs.org/

In this episode we consider the relevance of leaders integrating coaching skills into their day-to-day work. We reflect on coaching as a mindset and an approach, which can be seen in the way they behave. We discuss some examples of coaching skills that a leader may begin to introduce to their repertoire, such as developing a coaching presence, creating space for others to think, active listening and demonstrating curiosity.

Coaching is highlighted by McKinsey as the number one skill citizens will need in the future of work.

Listen in to this episode if you are interested in learning more about cultivating a coaching style of leadership in your organisation.



Resources:

Mckinsey article - “Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work”: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work

Logical levels of learning: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/lead/logical-levels.html

Reference for Nancy Kline’s Time To Think Pairs process: https://cdn.southampton.ac.uk/assets/imported/transforms/content-block/UsefulDownloads_Download/BE99E9F85CF5447B8537AE3625B93814/Instructions-Thinking-Pairs.pdf

WAIT acronym - Why Am I Talking?