Coaching in action
Sometimes, tough talking is what it takes, discovers coach Kim Morgan as she meets with her client Liz* for the final time…
Session three…
It was my final session with Liz. She had been trying to decide whether to take voluntary redundancy or remain in the safety of her long-standing secretarial job. Liz had warned me from the outset that she was ‘not a fan of change’. As I waited for Liz, I thought to myself that she would probably have turned down the offer and decided to stay in her job.
But when Liz arrived at my office, I noticed immediately that she looked different. She had a sassy new haircut, and her appearance was more ‘put together’. She had new glasses, too – and she was holding her head high. I commented on how good she looked.
Liz smiled and thanked me for the compliment. ‘I have lots to tell you. So much has happened since we last met,’ she said.
Then she sat up tall in her chair, smiled at me, and announced, ‘I am reinventing my life. I’ve taken the voluntary redundancy and am planning to go travelling for a few months before deciding what my next job will be. I may even go to university and retrain as a nurse or a physiotherapist.’
‘Whoa… rewind, please! How did all this happen in the past couple of months?’
Liz said that she had more or less decided that she was not going to take voluntary redundancy, but then something had happened that had changed everything. She had overheard a group of colleagues talking about her. Liz took a deep breath and said, ‘They were laughing about me, too, calling me a “dowdy old workhorse” who would be in this job for the rest of her days.’ ‘I’m so sorry you had to experience that,’ I said. ‘Well, please don’t be!’ she replied. ‘It was like a smack in the face, but it was also a major catalyst for me to decide to take the redundancy and make changes. The thing is, I recognised that description of myself and, in that split second, I thought to myself, “Life is short, and I want to start making the most of it”. I went straight to my laptop and sent an email to HR accepting the offer.’
I was amazed and impressed with Liz. ‘Wow, kudos to you for responding in the way you did when you could have just hidden away and felt bad about yourself.’
Liz thanked me and reminded me that she was a “t
