overviewSometimes life is just really difficult. Being a mother, a partner, a daughter; being surrounded by family or even alone, all of these different but individual situations we find ourselves in can, at times, bring enormous complexity and challenge. Put an incessant global pandemic into the midst and things only get harder. Throw a senior leadership role into the middle of that and it makes things harder still.
A trait that many people share, but particularly those with a tendency towards self-criticism, is to perceive that things feeling difficult is evidence of our own inadequacy. In these circumstances, self-doubt, Imposter Syndrome, anxiety and a loss of confidence can all follow, even if it is the objective difficulty of a situation that is the root cause of these feelings. Sustaining the energy to care for ourselves and our families whilst simultaneously being a leader in an organisation has become more and more challenging. Here, it’s helpful to make a distinction between endurance and resilience. Both are valuable traits. Endurance is where we dig-in, grit our teeth and hope we can last the distance. Resilience, on the other hand, derives from the self-awareness to understand the things that drain us and the things that replenish and nourish us. In building that resilience, it is vital to find an environment that is both safe and challenging where we can find that nourishment and solidarity but also deepen our understanding of the habitual patterns that we use in managing our lives and building relationships. Group Coaching can create a space where this balance of safety and challenge is allied to the opportunity to explore the similarities and differences in how other successful women go about dealing with life’s hurdles. who is this for?
BENEFITSThe work has many interconnected benefits, which will be slightly different for each individual. Outlined below are 4 significant benefits but there are, potentially, many more.
- Developed self-awareness - Awareness of others - Creation of a powerful support group - Pragmatic work and life improvements Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, is to develop the self-awareness of the participants. Understanding the habitual patterns that we have in engaging with the world in general and at work in particular, gives us the ability to spot where those patterns serve us well and where they don’t. Secondly, gaining awareness of others and empathy for their habitual patterns enables us to make better choices in our interactions. Being able to spot where peoples’ perceptions and responses are different from our own is a foundation for developing our ability to engage and manage relationships with others. Thirdly, this kind of group invariably creates a strong, deep and intimate set of connections and thus a network that is an ongoing source of insight, confidence and mutual support. In addition, there are often profound learnings from the experience of others. Fourthly, through the course of the sessions, we will explore some live, tangible business challenges through collective discussion that will, hopefully, make a pragmatic improvement in everyday life and work. what we coverIntroductory 1:1 Session Session 1 - Beginnings Outcomes, ground rules & contracting. We will start to lay the foundations for psychological safety and begin to develop the intimate group dynamic. Session 2 - Who Am I, Who Are You? Self-awareness and awareness of others. We will use the Parent-Adult-Child model to understand ourselves and how we respond in our relationships, both in and out of work. Session 3 - Dealing with Difficulty We will look at when our thinking, feeling and behaviour goes awry in response to difficulty, in particular considering Imposter Syndrome. 1:1 Session Session 4 - Energy & Resilience Examining how our Autonomic Nervous System (our fight/ flight vs our rest/ digest states) impacts our mood, our energy and our way of being in the world.We will also consider introversion & extroversion. Session 5 - Leadership & Personal Brand Understanding our individual style of leadership, getting curious abouthow other people experience us, and developing the ability to flex that when needed. Session 6 - Endings, So What? Consolidation and what's next.We will reflect on personal development throughout the programme with a group feedback session for each participant, this is generally a profound and moving climax to the Programme. Consolidatory 1:1 Session Between every session, you will receive a personalised email with reflections & insights on your work and progress. You will also receive a bespoke monthly video recording on the key models and tools used in the following session. You will also be encouraged to engage in some ‘extra-curricular’ activities, including regular journaling, pre and post-session reading or watching short videos. What our alumni say"I started the coaching sessions with Famn with very little understanding of what it would be like. Would I be tested or exposed in any way? Would it simply be a bunch of people moaning about their jobs and their own issues?
What I found is they are a forum to explore different ideas and theories and apply them to our real lives. That may sound a bit academic, but in every session, each of the 7 participants would draw upon personal experiences that showed us that, even though we are all very different people, we have all experienced similar reactions, complex relationships and been stuck in repetitive patterns that don’t serve us well. To really understand how we react in certain situations and find ways to overcome issues has been a powerful outcome of these sessions. While I initially approached the group sessions with apprehension, they quickly became a space of true support, honest reflection and they have helped us all to develop an understanding of each other and most importantly, ourselves. There have been delicate discussions and there have been tears. Amazingly, I have seen participants become visibly more confident in themselves and more positive about their position in life as the coaching sessions have progressed. I admit that I have found some of the discussions or rather self-analysis uncomfortable but always feel better, different and enlightened at the end of them." SVP, London Insurance Market and Famn Group Coaching Alumni 2020 |
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