Frequently Asked Questions

Am I an Athlete?

You might be confused or uncertain as to whether you should call yourself an athlete or not.

Here’s the surprise – yes, you are an athlete, for two reasons:

Firstly, the word itself. if you think about the Olympics, arguably the pinnacle of achievement for sportsmen and women, every single person who participates there, from those doing clay pigeon shooting to snowboarding, bowls, track and field events, tennis, archery, wrestling … everyone carries the title of being an Olympic athlete, regardless of the sport or activity.

But perhaps you aren’t quite at the Olympic level yet.

So secondly, there are many levels of exercise and sporting activity. Some people might find it a stretch to apply the term “athlete” to some of these, but I don’t, and neither should you.

There are 4 levels of participation in sport:

Professional paid athletes: At this level, generally, athletes have an array of professionals on their support team to assist them: coach, manager, dietician, psychologist, motivation coach and possibly more.
Serious, dedicated amateurs: These are athletes who spend a great deal of their time trying to get to the top, win, be the best, get super fit or achieve great feats of endurance. These athletes will have full time jobs alongside their dedication to sport.
The casual participant: This athlete enjoys sport and/or exercise, and may well be competitive but really does it for fun and often, and sometimes predominantly, for the social interaction as well.
Non-participants: Hmmm, well actually at this level we have the group who don’t participate, but they would like to; they don’t because of variations on the theme of “fear” – fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of not winning, fear of not being the best or good enough, fear of it being too hard. If you participate in any form of exercise whatsoever that takes you out of the category of being totally sedentary, then as far as I am concerned, you are an athlete.

Who should have Executive Leadership Coaching; does it apply to me?

Contrary to the old corporate and business world, where executives were only a select few individuals in the upper echelons of large companies, these days the designation ‘executive’ applies to a wide array of people. There are still the executives in companies today, as well as people at all levels of management who are leaders and have potential for promotion to executive level. There is an even broader group of people in business today, the self-employed, small business owners, and entrepreneurs who are also all executives and leaders in their own right.

What format does a coaching session take?

The coaching session is a one-on-one conversation, of around 60 to 90 minutes and preferably takes place face-to-face if geographically possible. A further possible hindrance to a face-to-face meeting is the need to comply with Covid lockdown restrictions if applicable at the time. Coaching venues can be arranged either centrally or at the workplace, although for executives it is preferred to meet away from the workplace. Coaching across distances and borders occurs via online video software such as Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, or Teams.

What is the frequency of the coaching sessions and when do they take place?

Jon is completely flexible timewise in an endeavour to allow the client to fit their coaching session into their schedule. For example, even with an 8 hour time difference between the UK and Hong Kong coaching sessions occurred regularly and comfortably.
Initially it is advised that coaching happens once a week in order to properly kick start the process, and to maintain the momentum. The coaching involves being given ‘homework’ activities and exercises, including the very important ‘thought processing.’ These take some time to complete and so coaching sessions are then moved out to occur once every 10 to 14 days.

How many coaching sessions will I need?

There is not a set answer to this question that applies to all. Whilst there is a definite overall structure to the 9 phases of the coaching programme, each person is a unique individual and it is against this that a unique, custom built coaching programme is prepared for each person.
Generally speaking it is advised that no less than 6 sessions are necessary for individual coaching engagements, after which the client will already be achieving tangible results, or be on their way to resolving issues and blockages.
Significant and life changing advancement for executives and leaders will require anywhere from a 3 to 12 month programme, depending upon the specific circumstances and requirements of the individual.

What is your policy on confidentiality?

In the same manner as is always quoted by medical doctors and lawyers with regard to client confidentiality between doctors and patients, lawyers and clients, the same applies to Jon’s coaching. Once a coaching engagement has been started there is complete confidentiality in everything that is shared during the coaching sessions. This is absolute.

What’s the difference between a Life Coach, Executive Coach, and a Counsellor?

There is often confusion in people’s minds between these three. Very briefly and simply, here’s a way to differentiate:

Counselling is a talking therapy that involves a trained therapist listening to you and helping you find ways to deal with emotional issues (mental health, physical, life trauma). You are encouraged to talk about your feelings and emotions. The therapist can help you gain a better understanding of your feelings and thought processes, and find your own solutions to problems. They will not usually give advice or tell you what to do.

Life Coaching is focused on your personal effectiveness and development, working typically on areas like increasing your confidence, working to achieve your personal goals in relationships, interpersonally, socially and your overall wellbeing. The coach empowers the individual to move themselves forward, teaching them invaluable life skills and tools and supporting them to achieve their goals.

In the past Executive Coaches were specialists who worked only with leaders and clients at a senior level and this may still apply in some areas today. However, executives today are looking for two key enablers from their coaches: self-awareness and interpersonal skills. This includes analytical, systems, emotional, and spiritual intelligence, as well as many of the factors described above under Life Coaching. All of this is included in Jon’s executive coaching programme, and is applicable to a wide range of executives and leaders, as described in the FAQ: Who should have Executive Leadership Coaching; does it apply to me?

Rather than engage in individual coaching sessions, my team/company would prefer to have you give a talk on your Executive Coaching Programme – is this possible?

Yes, this is very much a possibility and available. Please contact me at either jon@centresphere.com or on my website and we can discuss your specific talk requirements. Jon is an Inspirational Speaker and has given talks and lectures at numerous businesses, schools, and sport organisations on a range of topics.

Is coaching successful; how do you measure a client’s success?

There are four answers, or areas, in which this question is answered:

The first answer is that it is often difficult to quantify a direct cause and effect result from coaching. Coaching produces far reaching and wide ranging results, and often the most important and noteworthy successes are not immediately tangible. These intangibles, the way that people think and approach others, business, and life, sometimes take time to germinate and be converted into positive outcomes.
The second answer is that post coaching engagements, from studies carried out across many industries and countries, show that as many as 97% of clients would recommend coaching to others, a sure sign of success. In other studies organisations say that they show an 86% return on investment from coaching. Others claim in the region of 40 – 60% increased productivity.
The third answer looks at methods that are used during the coaching engagement. During Jon’s Executive Coaching Programme a process of discovery and unpacking is conducted, which helps the client to clarify their areas of immediate need, and desired outcomes. These form the framework for the creation of specific goals and milestones. Jon customises the client’s coaching sessions, together with hands on support and monitoring, to help you achieve these.
The fourth answer applies where a client may not have any specific and immediate needs, and is more focused on gaining insights about themselves, or to ramp up their level of leadership skills. At the end of each coaching session a method of applying ‘homework’ tasks and a feedback loop is applied. Each new coaching session begins with an assessment of progress and success since the previous session, and level of readiness to continue.

Does online video coaching work; is there a difference to being coached in-person?

The answers to these questions are yes, and yes. Coaching via online video conferencing software definitely works. There has been no decline in the successes of Jon’s clients through this mode of coaching, and as Jon is an international coach this has been the mode of coaching for the vast majority of his clients.
Nevertheless, the honest answer to the second question is also yes, there is a difference. It is well known that as much as 60% of communication is non verbal. It is very useful to be sitting in the same room, face-to-face with the client, which greatly enables the observance and reception of other signals and communication coming from the client. Not having the sessions in-person therefore has the potential downside that these signals and the communication of non verbal messages could take much longer to be transmitted during the overall coaching engagement.
However, there are also additional benefits to a client choosing online video coaching, such as to reduce extra travel time, cost, and complying with Covid restrictions. The bottom line is that it is important to apply the best and most convenient methods to ensure that the coaching can proceed, day or night, at work or at home.