There are plenty of reasons why people seek out a Coach for themselves. But when might it be a good idea to suggest professional, certified coaching to someone in your life? Perhaps there is a friend, a colleague, a direct report, a team, workgroup or a family member who could benefit from a coaching partnership to support them in achieving their goals in a genuine way with long lasting impacts.

Following are some symptoms or indicators that could signal someone could benefit from coaching.

Could we talk about goals (and habits) for a moment? Specifically, why do they seem so hard to achieve? Could it be that we’re thinking too big or too broadly? Ambitions like “be happier” or “be more successful” can be tough to realize because they lack detail and actionable elements. You may find that even reasonable goals are challenging to achieve without the addition of sustainable and attainable — so small and reasonable you almost don't know they’re there — habits.

Congratulations! You got your well-deserved promotion and have gone from being an individual contributor into a management position.

I’ve helped guide many career coaching clients through the transition to becoming a new manager. Here are 4 key things I help my clients remember as they step into the challenges of a new leadership role:

Increasing research is showing just how often women — especially BIPOC women — are not promoted up the corporate ladder as much as men. It’s time to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and aim to be qualified, rather than overqualified, for the promotions we deserve while being our own best advocates for ourselves.

Here are some ways you can do it:

You have a strong, capable inner voice that has the ideas, opinions and answers your company would benefit from hearing, but it’s in competition with another inner voice, one that doesn’t speak up for fear of making a mistake and embarrassing ourselves.

Here are some ways I encourage the leaders I coach to find and use their voice:

Paid time off is a prized benefit that employees negotiate for. Sadly, many people don’t utilize this benefit once they have it. We are aware that time away from work is good for us. But preparing to disconnect and reconnect from work is in itself, more work.

Here is my extended vacation prep checklist, hope it helps you prepare.

Here are some of the changes I made that have helped to make a significant difference in productivity.