Amana Walker reveals how coaching has helped people in the travel industry. Names have been changed to protect the client’s identity.
Kate has been a homeworker for a couple of years, and although she has changed homeworking companies a couple of times, she now thinks the one she is with is right for her. I wanted to understand whether the fact that she has moved around has really been about the company, or was it about Kate?
At our initial session I asked Kate what she wanted from her job – likes and dislikes, strengths, priorities. It gave me the opportunity to see her aims and it was a chance for her to be really honest about how she is doing. I am always completely impartial.
It turned out that Kate is a good saleswoman and loves the independence – but she missed being with a team to bounce ideas off, discuss business and get advice.
This has caused drops in Kate’s motivation levels, productivity and sales. She often lost her focus with distractions. When she did get a call from her company’s support team it was to discuss sales, which didn’t drive her to succeed.
Kate booked a series of coaching sessions by phone and e-mail so she didn’t have to leave her office.
Each session we talked about any stumbling blocks, any times when she got distracted and why it happened and I gave her some easy techniques to use that would get her focus back again.
Before long, Kate set herself some stretching targets and I dared her to beat them. Kate surprised herself – she went for it and hit them. As her performance and drive became more consistent, I felt that she didn’t need me anymore.
Kate realised she’d flitted between companies because of her disappointment with how she was doing. She just couldn’t stay focused, didn’t sell well and left.
She learnt that when you take control of yourself, your actions and behaviour, you can be a success anywhere.