Coaching

An individual might choose to work with a coach for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:

• Exploring your leadership and management style
• Enhancing personal motivation and accountability
• Navigating inter-personal dynamics
• Achieving greater sense of efficacy
• Seizing a professional or personal opportunity
• Leveraging your strengths to accelerate results
• Generating a compelling vision for your career and making plans to get there
• Managing work-life balance
• Adapting to new roles and responsibilities
• Identifying and removing barriers to personal and professional progress
• Creating or dealing with change and transition

• You may work with a coach for up to six (6) sessions, each lasting approximately 1 hour.
• Sessions are confidential and may take place in person or over the phone/Skype, preferably every two weeks.
• Limited email access to the coach is available in-between sessions for urgent matters.
• Coach and coachee will determine a meeting schedule at the onset of the coaching relationship.
• Cancellations must be effected at least 24 hours in advance, except in case of emergency; otherwise, the missed session will count as one of the scheduled six sessions.

Some considerations in selecting a coach and assessing fit are as follows:

• What are the coach’s background and qualifications?
• What is their approach? What is their availability?
• Is the conversation going well?
• Do I feel comfortable with this person?
• Am I more aware of my strengths and resources after our conversations or do I feel overwhelmed by my flaws and shortcomings?

A valuable question to ask yourself is, “can I partner with this person to reach a goal that is personally meaningful to me?”

You can access the profiles of Coaching at Carleton coaches here.

All Coaching at Carleton coaches adhere to the ICF Standards of Ethical Conduct. They respect “the strictest levels of confidentiality with all client information unless release is required by law” (ICF Standards of Ethical Conduct). In other words, all the information you share with your coach is strictly confidential to the full extent of organizational and legal obligations. When you contract to work with a Coaching at Carleton coach, the boundaries of organizational and legal confidentiality will be discussed with you.

Information that will be shared for reporting purposes is:

• the division you work in (i.e. Finance and Administration);
• whether you are staff or faculty;
• the number of sessions you attend; and
• the general topic discussed

Upon entering into a coaching relationship with a coach at Carleton, you will be asked to sign an internal coaching agreement. This agreement outlines the time commitment, your personal ownership over the coaching relationship and the results you desire, and the coach’s commitment to maintain confidentiality and abide the ethical guidelines of the International Coaching Federation.

You can find a sample agreement here.

Coaches value honesty and they strive to remain open, authentic and transparent in service of their clients. If the coach ever says or does something during coaching sessions that upsets you or doesn’t feel right, you can address the issue with the coach or the Professional Development Officer.

In order to sign up for coaching at Carleton, simply browse the list of available coaches and send an email inquiry to the coach of your choice. The coach will get back to you within a few business days to set up a time to meet for an introductory session.

Please reach out to us at learninganddevelopment@carleton.ca for any further questions or inquiries.