WHAT IS COACHING?
Coaching is a thinking partnership.
As a coach, I offer you curiosity and creative challenge to promote deep thinking about your current situation. I trust that you hold the answers to your own problems and by asking you artful questions, you discover your solutions.
We do not delve into the past as you might in therapy, although we sometimes use your past experiences to educate your future ones. I do not offer you solutions, answers or suggestions as you might expect in a mentoring relationship. Instead, coaching holds space for you to generate really powerful thinking that is led by you, for you.
"the quality of your coaching experience is based on the quality of your relationship with your coach."
ABOUT YOUR COACH
GEMMA NORTH
If the quality of your relationship with your coach is key, let me tell you a little bit about myself and what you may expect in our coaching sessions together.
I am a wife, mum of one, step-mum of three and dog-mum to a black Labrador. These roles are precious to me and am proud of all of the resources that I pour into them. In addition, I am a business owner and coach. I often find juggling all the demands and responsibilities of work/life overwhelming, so I find ways to prioritise myself, in order that I always have a full cup to pour. Some days are more successful than others!
My CORE values are:
CREATIVITY - a need to colour in my life at every given opportunity to avoid stagnancy and complacency. Enjoying and celebrating the power of creativity in all walks of life.
AUTHENTICITY - a vow to trust myself and what I need along with valuing others' pursuance of authentic living.
RESPECT - honouring my self-respect, holding people to my standards of respect relationally, and my offering of respect where it is deserved.
CURIOSITY - a desire to use all the senses to uncover all the opportunities. Leave no stone unturned.
HONESTY - a promise to myself and my loved ones that I am transparent and trust-worthy. Prioritising honest conflict over dishonest harmony.
My previous career was as an actress and I found success on television in programmes such as Peaky Blinders (BBC), The A Word (BBC) and Ackley Bridge (C4). I also founded and ran a theatre school for 5 years, facilitated drama workshops and coached people in performance confidence.
Many of the skills that I acquired as an actress and drama facilitator, I now bring into my coaching work, such as;
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Empathy and inclusion
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Actively listening without judgement
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Observation
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Confidence and self-esteem*
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Critical awareness
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Collaboration
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Character analysis
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Acute concentration and focus
*Confidence and self-esteem is of particular interest to me in my coaching work, predominantly because it is so subjective. I found that many people assumed I was a confident woman because I could perform a Shakespeare play, take rejection well and hobnob with television bigwigs. That confidence was not my confidence, it was merely a confidence; a confidence borrowed and mimicked so that I appeared to be who people expected me to be. Now, I have found a comfortable confidence. It is a confidence that is mine and mine alone. It is based on my worth and values and it is non-negotiable.
It is my belief that when we discover this comfortable confidence, decision-making becomes simpler, negotiating the juggle becomes swifter and your boundaries become firmer yet kinder.
This is what I hope I can help many others access too.
My style of coaching is empathetic, energised and compassionate and my desire is that you leave each session feeling stronger, clearer and lighter.
