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Coaching FAQs

Problems, frustration and cost caused by ‘people issues’ are often a result of missed opportunities, months – maybe years ago.

When disciplinaries, grievances, long-term absence, resignations and burnout happen, it creates an immediate distraction that didn’t necessarily need to happen.  

Whether it’s ineffective, albeit well-intentioned, historic management or simply business-as-usual getting in the way of investing in people, it’s usually preventable.

The key is to embed a collaborative, loyalty-building, coaching culture UPSTREAM of any potential issues. 

A little investment now, can make a huge difference later.

Find out how, below.

A coaching relationship is a professional one, aimed at enabling you to explore any current challenges and opportunities that you care to cover. Coaching exists to create a constructive, challenging environment which is also safe and supportive. You are always in control of what is discussed, and there are no non-negotiable tasks that you must, or must not, complete between sessions. It aims to empower you through awareness and responsibility.
Coaching is not the same as counselling, mentoring or training. The various coaching methodologies that we may follow are designed to enable to explore your various options in the context of your current situation, as well as defining realistic goals and next steps for you to carry out between sessions. The following generalisations may help to put coaching into perspective with regard to other types of support. It is often described that counselling is looking into one’s past, whereas coaching is about the ‘now’ and the future. Mentoring, tends to be a process where you work with someone who knows your industry and/or specific challenges and they provide guidance on how to proceed. Finally, training is exactly what it says; the provision of facts about a particular subject.
Should we, acting reasonably, believe that counselling or any other type of mental health intervention is appropriate, we will make this clear – but please note that we are not mental health practitioners and any such decision will be made on our generalist professional judgment. Likewise, if we believe that training or mentoring would be a better option for you, we will discuss this with you.
CareerSpace works with organisations and leaders who care about how results are achieved, not just what is achieved. Our clients are typically values-led, integrity-driven and curious about how culture, leadership and performance intersect. They understand that investing in leadership is not about fixing people. It is about creating systems and environments where people can succeed.
One of the benefits of coaching is that it is flexible, and can be done in a number of ways – formally, informally or a combination of both. We’ll decide the best way for this to work for you, depending on your routine. Formal coaching tends to be sessions of 45 minutes to an hour and can be done online or in-person. If we are coming to your premises, we ask that you find a quiet, private space, but we recognise that interruptions are inevitable.
The first session will focus on the expectations around coaching, the context of your current situation, and some initial goal setting. Subsequent sessions (which we recommend are at least a fortnight apart) will enable us to get into more detail and explore your potential yet further, while agreeing milestones and activities to achieve them. Many of the finer details about how we will work together will be finalised at this first meeting.
Organisations that invest in psychologically safe, well-led environments see tangible returns, including: – Better decision-making. – Higher levels of engagement and retention. – Stronger collaboration and accountability. – Reduced burnout and unnecessary attrition. By addressing leadership, culture and behaviour at their root, our work supports organisations to avoid the hidden costs of disengagement, conflict and constant churn. This is not an abstract investment in development. It is a practical, commercial approach to improving performance and long-term sustainability.
Our approach is personable, collaborative and supportive. In short: • We will not tell you what you should do. • We will listen. • We will challenge thoughtfully. • We will create space for honest conversation. • And we will support you to lead in a way that is sustainable, human and effective. Above all, we want you to enjoy the experience, as this puts you in the best mindset to make real progress. We love providing this service and we genuinely want you enjoy it too.
Absolutely. We will discuss this at the outset, but everything we discuss during sessions is confidential, which will allow you to explore all facets of your current situation. The only time we will ever inform a third party is if we believe that someone is at risk of harm, or if there is any legal reason to do so. As accredited coaches, we undertake ethical and professional supervision sessions with other qualified practitioners. We may discuss the circumstances of your situation with them, but will do this anonymously. If you have any specific concerns over confidentiality, please let us know and we can discuss.

Innovative career coaching

CareerSpace was founded in 2024 to offer an innovative approach to career coaching, which we describe as a “Gym membership for your career”.

It is an in-person support group, where regular meetings help you explore your career options in a collaborative and sociable way. 

You benefit from the collective experiences of others while following a personal development framework that also underpins the importance of your personal well-being.

CareerSpace typically supports professionals with 15+ years experience in managerial and director-level roles, particularly with a wide-ranging skillset.

Our most frequently asked questions are below.

Career Session FAQs

CareerSpace is all about the power of a group – a ‘hive mind’ where everyone helps everyone else out, all while exploring your skills, values and motivators using our framework of activities and carefully curated exercises. Through developing a supportive network that meets regularly, you will learn from each other’s experiences, build connections and uncover opportunities that you may not have considered. We adapt our sessions to the needs of the group, meaning it doesn’t feel like a formal course or restrictive agenda.
Once we’ve checked that this is the right type of programme for you, we hold an initial orientation session via Zoom or Teams. This gives you the background to what sessions will involve, and starts your thought process. We will discuss the four pillars of our framework, and give you some exercises to take away and think about. Subscriptions are then monthly, just like a gym membership.
Our sessions are holistic, covering everything from informal, friendly discussions to the use of career development tools and techniques. We also take time to focus on the most important aspect of your life: your wellbeing, which is especially important when you are undergoing a period of change and uncertainty. In short, our sessions are a mixture of may complementary elements of career searching and personal development.
We are accessible, accepting and welcoming. Our sessions are best suited to anyone who has 15+ years of experience in professional roles and has come to a position where they want to explore their next steps. Given the structure and content of the sessions, it would unfortunately not be the optimum environment for those early in their career or recent graduates. However, we are always happy to provide separate one-to-one sessions, or mentoring to anyone that would benefit.
Once you’ve expressed your interest in an event, we will contact you to discuss your situation and verify that CareerSpace sessions are appropriate for you. We will then hold a one hour ‘induction’ call by video meeting to bring you up to speed with what to expect and give you some initial exercises to undertake as well as providing you with some topics to consider in advance of the first session. We look forward to meeting you in person at the first session, where we’ll do everything we can to make you feel welcome and included in our friendly group.
Details to follow
We are a startup business located in the West Midlands, and so will be running scheduled sessions in and around the Birmingham, Warwickshire, Worcestershire area initially. Locations are based on demand, so please contact us if you are interested in joining a group and we can let you know what we have that is suitable. If you are a business looking for outplacement services, again, please call us for a discussion, as these can be arranged anywhere.
In a word, ‘no’ – but… we can provide you with an environment that enhances and increases your network, visibility and confidence to find the role you want. We are not a headhunter or recruitment business, and therefore we do not place candidates into roles. We provide a space in which you can explore your potential, feeling supported along the way.
We get it. Exploring your options, job hunting, career searching – whatever you want to call it – can be daunting and even uncomfortable. And this is why we set up CareerSpace. We wanted to provide an environment where those issues aren’t a problem, and somewhere where you can share the highs and lows, while benefitting from a friendly group who understand your situation. Our underpinning framework always provides further practical support to build your confidence both within sessions, but also when ‘selling’ yourself, whether that’s in an interview, on your CV, or while building your network.
Yes. We don’t like networking either. Well, that’s not quite true. We don’t like awkward networking – especially those environments where you walk into a room full of people talking and looking important. Our sessions are manageably small, collaborative and supportive, and one of the key elements of our framework is a method of ‘warm networking’. This is where we support you in making useful, constructive connections with people, industries and companies that will help you expand your career horizons. It’s much less awkward that cold networking.
Yes. Our core offering is our regular CareerSpace sessions, but we are happy to arrange one-to-one sessions on an ad hoc basis, or more regularly. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
We do. If you are a company requiring this, please contact us for more information. We can provide dedicated sessions for groups of people, or integrate them into our existing timetable of events.