Today was a long working day but at the end I felt very happy. My role involves a great deal of staff engagement for the organisation, communicating and asking for information, teaching and supporting the development of leadership and management skills and coaching individuals to improve performance.

Sometimes it is very tough, especially when coaching members of staff through difficult times for them. I came home late and after my evening meal started to have painful foot cramps. It feels like my body is saying "Enough stress and work, if you don't listen, then this is what you get!"  We need to listen to the messages from our body because body and mind are linked and interdependent. When I ignore my body, it lets me know big time! I need to rest, sleep, eat and drink properly and luckily I have three days holiday booked next week. Think I will book a massage or other treatment to spoil myself...

A Passion for Coaching

The advances of neuroscience are so fascinating and have a big impact on our understanding of how our brains work and why we feel and behave the way we do. What is heartening is growing evidence of the brain's plasticity. This means that the brain has the capacity to adapt and change according to circumstances. This not only means that the impact of brain damage may in time be reduced, but it has implications for our capacity to change our behaviours and manage our emotions in ways that make us more successful in life.

I have always had faith in our ability to change as I have seen what can be achieved through coaching. People can grow in confidence and self-esteem, learn to be more self-aware, manage difficult emotions during challenging moments and become more positive. Changes may come over a period of time and in small increments, but in the long term can be powerful and life-changing.

Coaching helps because it provides a trusting confidential relationship where an individual can talk out loud, reflect on issues and be guided to new ways of thinking with someone who is non-judgemental and is able to be objective as well as caring.

I am privileged to be able to teach an accredited  ILM coaching course to NHS managers. They are caring people who are highly motivated to improve their leadership skills and the knock-on effect will be to ensure staff feel supported and motivated to provide good patient care.