FAQ's
General
Open All Close All- What is coaching?
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Coaching is the act wherein a specialist, called a “coach”, partners with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
- What is executive coaching?
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Executive coaching, also known as business coaching, is an expansion of the coaching methodology shown above in which organisations seek to liberate the true potential of key employees through the overcoming of hurdles and developing of new levels of awareness and action with the assistance of an experienced executive coach using specific tools and skills tailored to the corporate world.
- Who can benefit from executive coaching?
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Anybody within a business can benefit from executive coaching. There are however key areas that executive coaching can add the most value to a business environment by focusing in the following critical business areas;
- Support for future leaders and senior executives.
- Fast Track.
- Talent shortages.
- Fast organizational growth.
- Behaviour must be changed quickly.
- Delivering long term organizational development.
- Supporting expatriate moves.
- Developing valuable human assets.
- What are the benefits of executive coaching?
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There are plenty of benefits to be gained from executive coaching. Properly executed coaching that is both timely and efficient can mean increased ROI for a business, increased effectiveness, clarity, focus and motivation of leaders and managers. And those are just some of the things that you can get from executive coaching. To find out what you can expect as an outcome in your particular situation please ask us to call you for a discussion.
- What is the first thing that you need to know about your coach?
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The first important thing you need to know about your coach is whether or not you feel comfortable with him/her. Following from that, we would suggest finding out if the coach is certified and accredited, and if they have worked with other reputable clients before. Knowing what these clients have to say about him isn’t a bad idea, either.
- What makes an effective coach?
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There are many things that can make a coach effective. The bottom line is, an effective coach should be able to create the awareness shifts you need and move you into new action.
- What should I expect from my coach?
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The first thing you need to remember about your coach is that he’s there to help you unleash the possibilities that exist within you. In order to do this there must exist a high level of trust and some of the critical elements of that will be the establishment of confidentiality, non-judgement and honesty. He’s role is also to stretch and challenge you into new action and so he needs to be bold in his interaction with you. But also remember he is there to serve you in the highest sense.
- What will my coach expect from me?
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Coaching is a two-way process. The simple fact is that the more you put into coaching the more your will get out and therefore commitment to new possibilities is important. Being honest with yourself and your coach is also critical; if you try to fool your coach you are only fooling yourself.
- What is a mentor?
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A mentor is someone who has a high degree of professional experience and knowledge in a specific area of the business environment and uses it to lead the client to new decisions and awareness in that specific field of expertise.
- What is mentoring?
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Mentoring is the process by which a mentor imparts his/her knowledge and experience in the specific discipline in question. The mentor will often explain how it has been done or could be done from a position of having experienced the issue/challenge during his career.
- How different is mentoring from coaching?
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There is a big difference between coaching and mentoring.
Coaching is about facilitating the client to answer their own questions and important questions posed by the coach. By doing this the answers are more personal and relevant, and therefore much more likely to impact the individual. Opinions and personal experience of the coach should never be part of this process.
Mentoring is hand-on dissemination of specialist knowledge or experience of the mentor (an individual with honed skill in the selected industry or field) to the mentee. This done by the mentor answering the questions of the mentee as well as assisting the answering of questions on specific topics with opinions and personal experience.
Both of these skills have difference places that they will add value in the workplace. - Where does coaching take place?
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Preferably coaching should take place away from the office environment in a quiet and private location where there will be no interruptions.
- Is there any difference between a veteran coach and a new coach?
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To know the difference between the two we would firstly suggest that you look at their ICF certification level (for more information of the difference levels see below). As with any skill the difference between those that are relatively new versus a veteran are effectively the level of use and knowledge of that skill and the efficiency of the process.
- Should I be coached on a subject I already know something about?
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Yes. A coach’s role is to help you to see current situations or issues from new and empowering perspectives. That goes for new as well as old topics or subjects. If fact if you have heard of the phrase ‘can’t see the wood for the tree’s’ then you will know that being so close to a subject can render you blind to new and different possibilities relating to it. Seeking the skills of a certified coach will shift these stuck situations.
- How do I select a coach I can work with?
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Again, this will depend on you. We would always suggest that you speak/meet with at least 2 coaches (see our selection of certified coaches). At that point it is about selecting the coach with who you feel affinity, trust, connection and whom you think will be able to move you into new and challenging new action.
- What is a certified coach?
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A certified coach is someone who has undergone formal and specific training on coaching and passed the relevant examination. There are many schools of coaching out there so it is important to know what school the certification was gained in. We would suggest that as a minimum you should know if the course is accredited by a coaching governing body, such as the International Coach Federation.
- What is the International Coaching Federation (ICF)?
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Founded in 1995, the International Coach Federation (ICF) is the leading global organisation dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification, and building a worldwide network of credentialed coaches.
You can check if your coach is a member if the ICF by visiting the website.International Coach Federation - What is an accredited coach?
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An accredited coach is a coach who has gone through the screening process of an organisation (such as the International Coach Federation) that has established a set of guidelines and standards. This is done in order to ensure that the coach meets the minimum standards, and is competent, confident, and knowledgeable.
- What is CPCC?
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CPCC stands for “Certified Professional Co-active Coach”. This is someone that has trained and certified in the Co-active Coaching model through the Coaches Training Institute. This a very well respected certification from one of the strongest and most established coaching schools.
- What is ACC?
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The ICF Associate Certified Coach credential is for the practiced coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training; a minimum of 100 coaching experience hours; and at least eight clients, among other requirements.
- What is PCC?
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The ICF Professional Certified Coach credential is for the proven coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training, a minimum of 750 coaching experience hours, and at least 25 clients, among other requirements
- What is MCC?
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The ICF Master Certified Coach credential is for the expert coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training, a minimum of 2,500 coaching experience hours and at least 35 clients, among other requirements.
- What is the benefit to me and my organisation to working with an ICF Accredited Coach?
HR Professional FAQs
Open All Close All- Why is coaching a good way of improving efficiency within an organization?
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Coaching is about facilitating the executive to finding the quickest route to the best outcome. Without a skilled coach the individual could possibly find their own way to the desired outcome, but the cost along the journey could be many times higher in time and money then with the specific intervention of an experienced coach.
- How can businesses benefit from executive coaching?
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Having your key personnel challenged in the confidential and safe environment established in a coaching relationship is a powerful way for any organisation to benefit quickly from the real skills these people can bring to the work environment both as leaders and managers.
- How do I find out if my business can benefit from executive coaching?
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Arrange to speak and or meet with one of our skilled staff who will be happy to give you a clear and quick response as to whether coaching can add value to the specific situation your are facing in your business.
- What industry sectors are best suited to get value from coaching?
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Coaching works effectively across all industry sectors. The reason for this is that it is not about using specific industry knowledge to create the quantum shifts in your leaders, its about developing their awareness and ability to act on the skill and knowledge they have gained whilst working in their chosen industry sector.
- What is the cost of executive coaching to my organization, and what will it include?
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The cost of senior level coaching across the world varies dramatically from around $8000 to $35,000 and upwards for a 6 months coaching program. Also you can expect the contents of the coaching program to vary dramatically. At Woodthorpe Wright Associates we will provide you with a clear and realistic proposal that will include a cost that will be safely within this range once we have had a chance to discuss in a some detail the specific requirements of your business.
- How can I measure the ROI of my investment?
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Woodthorpe Wright Associates currently measures coaching ROI using a specifically designed tool. We have measured ROI of more than 30x the initial investment with our current global clients. For more information on this tool and how it can prove the effectiveness and the great value of professional coaching in your organisation please contact us. Info@woodthorpewright.com
- Over what time period does coaching happen?
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Our experience within the Middle East has lead us to believe that the minimum period that someone should be coached is 6 months. Within the time period you would expect the interface time to be between 18 – 24hours of depending on the agreement in place.
- What feedback will the organization receive from the coach working with my employee?
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Within the confines of confidentiality with the coachees, the organisation will receive feedback in the form of a meeting directly with the coach where generic and process aspects of the coaching with be discussed at the half way and end points of the program.
- When should I consider coaching for someone in the organisation?
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As a development tool, coaching is one of many potential offerings available to HR professionals when seeking ways to develop talent within their organisation. In our experience coaching is most effective at senior levels of management when there is a specific need that cannot be addressed by any other offering. When you need to tailor the requirement in situations such as;
- Support for future leaders and senior executives.
- Fast Track.
- Talent shortages.
- Fast organizational growth.
- Behaviour must be changed quickly.
- Delivering long term organizational development.
- Supporting expatriate moves.
- Developing valuable human assets.
- Why should I consider coaching for someone in the organization?
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Your senior people are important assets to you. You have invested time and money to develop them in order to make sure you are getting the best from them. As you would do to any asset critical to the smooth development of your business you will want to make sure that they are focused (on the right stuff), motivated, engaged, fulfilled and mentally fit to continue to deliver on future goals and objectives in a consistently changing marketplace.
- How is leadership development and coaching connected?
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In all of the Leadership Development that we do coaching plays a critical role. From the style of delivery in our leadership development programs to the one-to-one executive coaching that supports our programs research shows that a coaching approach is much more effective in delivering results and impact.
Woodthorpe Wright Associates FZ LLC FAQs
Open All Close All- When was the business established?
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Woodthorpe Wright Associates was established in 2004 and was the first specialist executive coaching company to open in the Middle East.
- Where is Woodthorpe Wright Associates based?
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Based in United Arab Emirates we have 2 offices in the emirate of Dubai.
- What markets does Woodthorpe Wright Associates WWA serve?
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With 7 years experience in the Middle East region we currently work and serve all of the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC) namely United Arab Emirates (Dubai & Abu Dhabi), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar. We also serve Levant such as Lebanon, Jordon and Syria as well as most of Africa including Egypt, Kenya and South Africa.
- Where does Woodthorpe Wright Associates have coaches
based in the region? -
Our coaches are predominantly based in United Arab Emirates, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However we also have coaches based in Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Kenya and Lebanon.
- Who are the people behind Woodthorpe Wright Associates?
- Why should I choose to work with Woodthorpe Wright Associates?
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- Regional focus. Our passion lies in developing leaders within this region.
- Regional experience and knowledge. All our coaches have lived and working in the Middle East for at least 5years.
- ICF aligned. All our coaches are members of the ICF.
- Qualified coaches. All our coaches have qualified in ICF accredited professional coaching courses.
- ICF code of ethics. We have all signed up to abide by ICF minimums of standards and ethics around coaching.
- Experience. We have a good selection of experienced coaches from ACC to PCC. (Nic is currently the only PCC in the region)
- Continuous development. All coaches in our business are continually developing their coaching skills and knowledge through professional coaching courses.
- Established. We were the first true Coaching Company set up in the Middle East with 6 years operating experience in this region.
- Proven. With testimonials to prove our track record we work with the top businesses in the world like Barclays, HSBC, ABB, Inmarsat, Nokia, GSK etc
- Results. Companies come to us because they have seen or heard of our ability to deliver solid results on coaching objectives.
- 10+ Coaches. We now have 10+ professional coaches located around the Middle East region.
- Passion. We all share the passion we have around coaching. This is what we do best and we love it!
- Who are some of the previous clients of Woodthorpe Wright Associates WWA?
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View a our Clients list and Testimonials here.
