Is Coaching Right for You?

Our Steps to Coaching

As you hit the trail with your coach, you can expect the following waypoints along the journey:

Schedule a 15 minute call with our founder, Mark House, to determine if our coaching services are right for you!

1. Orienteering

Initially, a contracting meeting for the purpose of clarifying expectations takes place.

Your Coaching Goals will identify desired skills, measurable outcomes, with initial milestones, and timelines. We also identify the key business challenges? What business goals need to be achieved? What culture-specific leadership competencies define success? We also establish clear agreements regarding confidentiality and guardrails for the journey.

2. Wayfinding

You engage with our coach in an in-depth dialogue of relevant issues focused on identifying areas for improvement.

A Developmental 360 can inform the process. We believe in collecting input from interviews, but this can be supplemented by other 360 instruments that you or your organization have used in the past. The interviews include the leader’s peers and stakeholders, a human resources manager, and always the leader’s supervisor. We leverage an organization’s established values and competencies or our own empower set of guideposts.

3. Mapping out the Trail

We create an Action Plan that includes strengths, developmental targets, and effective strategies for personal change.

Alinging your vision and the key objectives of the business will be a Map/Action Plan that focuses on behaviors that drive results. We recommend that at least one of the specific goals be shared with your supervisor for their support and feedback on progress. This also helps keep the supervisor engaged in the process without disrupting the confidentiality of the coaching relationship.

4. Hiking the trail together

You and your coach/trail guide meet on a regular basis for feedback and reflection.

Regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings, we share new observations or questions that have developed since the last session. The focus is to provide a safe-haven for the leader to describe and discuss real performance opportunities and approaches that they are using. The coach supports that discussion by asking powerful questions, helping see a different perspective, and connecting insights from other feedback gathered. This environment is key to help the leader achieve the results they set out in their Coaching Map. 

5. Celebrating “Peak bagging” and Sustaining Success

Approximately six months after the initial feedback session, an abridged version of the 360 feedback performance appraisal is conducted.

These assessment results assist in evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching process. Continued development is determined and aligned with updated business goals. Sometimes the coaching is extended to work on related or different performance goals important to the leader. Our focus is to provide self-sustaining skills within a year.

A “Coaching approach” is the fundamental building block of all our programs.

Coaching helps you find the trail and pathway forward that you know, but it may not be clear. You may have dropped your compass, or have lost the blaze to the trail you were following, or at a junction of trailheads that go in very different directions. It often feels like The Pit of Despair from The Princess Bride. Rather than “telling” you the easy answer, we create an environment where the wilderness begins to feel more encouraging, and those paths point you where your next footstep should go. This stance keeps us grounded in what you, your team, or your organization need to continue to grow.

 

Thumb – Counseling/Therapy.

Coaching emerged from the Positive Psychology of Carl Rogers, and uses the same stance of questions and listening, assuming there is “nothing to fix” in you or your teams. We are not Therapists… but we can work alongside them.

 

Pinky- Consulting.

Deliverables and process-focused, consulting uses answers from proven methods… that probably will not work for your unique situation. We rarely do this, and if we do, it is a separate engagement.

 

Index – Life Coaching.

The deeper questions of “why am I doing this” and “where does this take me” can show up. Certified in the Designing Your Life and Positive Intelligence proven approaches, we can provide these frameworks, and… they are not the typical engagement we start from.

 

 

Ring Finger – Mentoring.

This is advice – the answers that friends and neighbors give you, books that provide “easy answers.” Sadly, they are not you, and are not in your situation. While our coaches are very experienced and often can suggest approaches, we stay true to what you really want

 

 

Middle Finger… Leadership Coaching.

Surprisingly this is what we do. It is a blend of all of these, with a primary focus on how you are delivering value in your work context. What is getting in your way, what is within your control, and how can you use these to align you and your teams? Simple – not Easy.

 

 

Mark's skills and talents in eliciting the best in leaders through a Socratic approach stick, and live with you long after coaching ends.
Global Consulting Tech Lead
Mark's skills and talents in eliciting the best in leaders through a Socratic approach stick, and live with you long after coaching ends.
Global Consulting Tech Lead
Global Consulting Tech Lead
He has an incredible amount of experience coaching people at all levels. His breadth of knowledge and networking with people in his circle make him all the more valuable.
Global VP Tech Leader
He has an incredible amount of experience coaching people at all levels. His breadth of knowledge and networking with people in his circle make him all the more valuable.
Global VP Tech Leader
Global VP Tech Leader
Prior to meeting Mark, I was very suspicious of the value of Exec Coaching in general. Was I ever wrong! It only took a few meetings to see the value. He has taught me SO MUCH and helped me in my career countless times. Every time I have a challenging situation, he’s the very first person I think of to call . Understanding how to build relationships and how to understand the politics of the role - is invaluable. And finally, having a completely safe person that NEVER judges m e - is fantastic! He cares about his clients a LOT.
CTO SVP Global Software (1500 engineers)
Prior to meeting Mark, I was very suspicious of the value of Exec Coaching in general. Was I ever wrong!  It only took a few meetings to see the value. He has taught me SO MUCH and helped me in my career countless times. Every time I have a challenging situation, he’s the very first person I think of to call. Understanding how to build relationships and how to understand the politics of the role - is invaluable.  And finally, having a completely safe person that NEVER judges me - is fantastic! He cares about his clients a LOT.
CTO SVP Global Software
CTO SVP Global Software (1500 engineers)
If you feel stuck or want to better understand yourself and what your ideal job/life looks like, this DYL course will get you started on that journey while also helping build a support network of like-minded individuals. Highly recommended!
Millennial - DYL Workshop
If you feel stuck or want to better understand yourself and what your ideal job/life looks like, this DYL course will get you started on that journey while also helping build a support network of like-minded individuals. Highly recommended!
Millennial - DYL Workshop
Millennial - DYL Workshop
The DYL Workshop provides a structured way to read the book and do the exercises. The program creates expectations, timeliness, and social commitment to do something otherwise solitary activity.
Gen Z - DYL Workshop
The DYL Workshop provides a structured way to read the book and do the exercises. The program creates expectations, timeliness, and social commitment to do something otherwise solitary activity.
Gen Z - DYL Workshop
Gen Z - DYL Workshop
New tools with three new life scenarios. A better understanding of the successes I have already had in prototyping. And the concept of gravity problems and anchor solutions is useful language for things I have been struggling with. And hearing from others thinking about redesign is helpful.
Senior Government Leader - DYL Workshop
New tools with three new life scenarios. A better understanding of the successes I have already had in prototyping. And the concept of gravity problems and anchor solutions is useful language for things I have been struggling with. And hearing from others thinking about redesign is helpful.
Senior Government Leader - DYL Workshop
Senior Government Leader - DYL Workshop
Mark's DYL workshop presented an opening for me to explore basic questions about how I want to live vs just running through my days. It created an intentionality, an agenda and a support system to honestly explore these questions. I have literally moved forward toward my goals during this workshop on things I had been talking about for years. Now I am taking action!!!!!
DYL Workshop - Senior Tech Leader
Mark's DYL workshop presented an opening for me to explore basic questions about how I want to live vs just running through my days. It created an intentionality, an agenda and a support system to honestly explore these questions. I have literally moved forward toward my goals during this workshop on things I had been talking about for years. Now I am taking action!!!!!
DYL Workshop - Senior Tech Leader
DYL Workshop - Senior Tech Leader
Mark is a seasoned executive with an unwavering passion for the "human ” side of an organization. Time and time again during his tenure, Mark advocated and championed projects related to human capital development. He made sure that his direct staff and some of his peers received the appropriate leadership coaching on a one-on-one basis. This program had the most positive influence on my organization and my career.
CTO and VP Technology Vendor
Mark is a seasoned executive with an unwavering passion for the "human” side of an organization. Time and time again during his tenure, Mark advocated and championed projects related to human capital development. He made sure that his direct staff and some of his peers received the appropriate leadership coaching on a one-on-one basis. This program had the most positive influence on my organization and my career.
Tech Leader - VP
CTO and VP Technology Vendor
Young software developers who are also managers are prone to being head-strong and in need of coaching. At first, I didn't like the things I was hearing from Mark, but he really was challenging me to be a better manager and better direct report. My relationship with my boss (who also attended the class) has never been better as a result of Mark's efforts, and I feel I acquired new skills that help me lead and coach my reports.
Senior Director Technology Vendor
Young software developers who are also managers are prone to being head-strong and in need of coaching. At first, I didn't like the things I was hearing from Mark, but he really was challenging me to be a better manager and better direct report. My relationship with my boss (who also attended the class) has never been better as a result of Mark's efforts, and I feel I acquired new skills that help me lead and coach my reports.
Tech Workshop - Tech Leader
Senior Director Technology Vendor

For Daily Leadership Inspiration,
Check Out Our Blog!

empoweringLEADERS believes that integrating music with business is empowering and helps people achieve success.

Get hands-on with our empower methodology with our daily blog, leadingwithmusic.com.

Our founder, Mark House, shares daily leadership lessons by paralleling his personal anecdotes with those of some of music's greatest legends. Each quick read is paired with a YouTube track for an extra layer of enjoyment.

Read more about our empower methodology.