(Episode 121) Coaching in Academia – Part 2 – Real Stories, Real Impact

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:00:00

Quick Content Note in this episode we explore coaching in academia, including how it supports leadership, career development and well being. Our conversation touches on emotionally sensitive topics such as personal and professional transitions, experiences of low confidence, navigating vulnerability, neurodiversity and challenges related to academic culture and job security. While these topics are discussed in supportive and professional contexts, some listeners may find aspects of the discussion personally resonant or emotionally impactful. If any of the issues raised concern you, please look after yourself and seek support if you need it. Resources and support links are available in the show Notes.

Intro [: 00:00:47

Welcome to the Research Culture Uncovered podcast where in every episode we explore what is research culture and what should it be? You'll hear thoughts and opinions from a range of contributors to help you change research culture into what you want it to be.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:01:07

Hello and welcome to the Research Culture Uncovered Podcast. I'm Heledd Jarosz- Griffiths, a researcher Development Advisor here at the University of Leeds. In this two part special we're exploring coaching in academia, a topic that's becoming increasingly important for supporting leadership, career development and wellbeing in higher education. In part one we talked about what coaching is, how it differs from other kinds of support and some of the models coaches use in their practice today. In part two we're getting practical and personal we'll hear real experiences of coaching in an academic environment, the kinds of challenges coaching can help with and how it's contributing to researcher development, leadership growth and even cultural change in university. I'm absolutely delighted today to be joined by three brilliant guests who will be bringing their own unique perspectives on coaching in academia. First up we have Harriet Boatwright, an Organisational Learning partner in our leadership and Organisational development team. Harriet Co leads the university's internal coaching pool and is an ILM Level 5 accredited coach with around 5 years of coaching experience experience both inside and outside the university.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:02:22

Her coaching style blends curiosity, a gentle challenge to help people gain new insights and make meaningful changes. Next I'm joined by Dr. Caterina Peressi, an Associate professor of Marketing Practice at Leeds University Business School. Katharina has been coaching since 2019, is professionally qualified through the ILM program and combines her academic expertise with coaching to support both students and colleagues. She's passionate about helping people tell their own stories and navigate their paths with confidence and authenticity. And finally we have Dr. Andreea Bordianu, a Lecturer in Accounting at Leeds University Business School. Andreea qualified as a coach in 2022 and integrates coaching into a personal tuting and and staff development work.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:03:14

She focuses on inclusive future focused education and is committed to helping people build confidence, adapt to change, and thrive in evolving professional landscapes. So would you all like to say a communal hello after three? One, two, three. Hello.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:03:33

Hello.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:03:34

Great. Thank you. Now, before we dive into your experiences, I just wanted to share a little bit about my own connection to this topic. Now, for me, coaching became really important to me during a time of big personal and professional change. So quite a lot happened to me all at once in a year, and I went through a separation. I had some serious health challenges, which really kind of shook things up for me, and it was a really tough time. But it also really pushed me to kind of reflect on what mattered the most and to think about how I wanted my life and my career to look going forward. And that reflection kind of moved me from working as a postdoctoral researcher to my current role as a research development advisor.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:04:21

I started exploring coaching, both personally and professionally as a way to try and navigate this transition and to rebuild some of my confidence and figure out what I wanted to do next. And I actually had the privilege of working with Katharina as my coach during that period. It's absolutely lovely to see you again today. Great to have you on the podcast. I think at the time, my confidence was quite low, and I felt like I really wasn't working to my full potential. And through that coaching, I was able to really explore some of those feelings and explore some of the fears that I had, and actually to start really embracing who I was, to feel proud of my achievements and feel more empowered. And I think one of the biggest messages I had actually was to really be kinder to myself. And for me, that was really, you know, it was quite a big turning point.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:05:12

And, you know, I can't believe I'm here today as a podcast host. I would never have believed I would have had the confidence to be able to do this. So, you know, and that is down to a lot of the coaching I had. So, you know, thank you to Katarina. It was absolutely fantastic. You know, I've experienced that firsthand. It was such a powerful tool. And, you know, as I've mentioned in part one, that I'm also in the middle of working towards my own ILM level 5 coaching qualification.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:05:39

And it's such a powerful and amazing journey. So, without further ado, I'm really looking forward to hearing about all your stories today. And so, to start us off, Harriet, could you share first? You know, what really kind of drew you personally to coaching or to supporting coaching in this kind of academic setting?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:06:00

Yeah.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:06:00

Thank you, Heledd. And what a Lovely route into coaching, like so much in there that I'm sure we'll pick up on today as well. So my route into coaching, really thinking about from a really personal perspective, I've been in a role for probably about 15 years. I had started to pick up some of the people development in that role and part of that was looking at strengths and values of colleagues and also as a result, you do that for yourself. And I think for me there was a real moment where I realised I wanted to do more of what worked towards and in my strengths and values and really starting to do that reflective piece around, well, what could that be for me? And an opportunity did come up to train to be a coach, to support the organisational development and professional learning team at the university. And I took it, fully embraced it, loved the journey. And for me there was something about using those strengths to then amplify the impact for others. And I think that coaching is a really good example of how we can use our strengths, how we can work in our values to support other people to do the same.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:07:07

And that's often some of the activities that we look at within coaching. So, yeah, really grateful for the insights that it's brought about.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:07:16

Well, that's fantastic. Thank you so much, Harriet. I can absolutely resonate with the values and strengths. I think that was a real starting point for me as well. And I really like start with values. Exploring what your values are I think is a really good starting point. Caterina, I'd love to hear your story next.

Caterina Presi [: 00:07:33

For me, really, I came into coaching almost in a serendipitous way. It was like an encounter. I attended a workshop as part of my personal development and I immediately fell in love with it. I saw that it clicked with me and I saw the great potential it would have to help empower my students, be who they are and achieve their goals. So when the University of Leeds partnered with the University of Huddersfield to offer this qualification, I just had to apply and I have to say, it's one of the best things I've ever done. I enjoy the course and I enjoy being a coaching today, so I'm very happy with it, absolutely.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:08:10

I can hear the absolute passion coming through in your voice and just, you know how much of a difference it makes. I'm definitely with you on that journey. Andreea, would you like to share what's about your interest in coaching?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:08:22

For me, it's been a long journey coming. I think I started becoming quite interested in delivering training during my undergrad studies, which was very weird because everybody up until that point told me I'm no good with humans and I'm supposed to be an accountant and that's why I was doing an accounting degree. But it immediately became very clear to me that I'm really passionate about training, about coaching and more broadly about how we learn and how our brain works. And I know that due to my studies, my career took me some other ways, but I always knew that I want to do something related to this. I just didn't know what shape it would take whatsoever. So when the course was promoted and me and Caterina were the in the first batch of this course in between University of Leeds and University of Huddersfield, I was like, you know what? I'm just going to try it. Although it was coming at a very, very busy time. I was at that time Director of PG Studies.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:09:28

We were in the middle of the pandemic and towards the end I also got pregnant. So on top of that, I've done a coaching degree, but for me, I just jumped to it because I said, okay, I have been dreaming about doing this all my life, so let's start now. And the course kind of clarified for me that I really liked coaching and it confirmed that I want to be involved in coaching, but it also gave me a clear starting point into that, in the sense that immediately after that I became an internal coach within the university.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:10:06

Wow, fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing that journey. It was really lovely. So. So in part one, Sian talked about how coaching was starting to become more visible during her time in academia, but it wasn't necessarily widespread. And I've kind of noticed that at Leeds it's definitely becoming more present, but the experience, I think maybe across the university might vary depending on people's roles, areas or maybe even their career stages. Harriet, could you kind of let us know about, from your perspective, how far reaching is coaching now across the university that any particular areas or career stages that it's really taken hold?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:10:46

Yeah, it's really interesting, Heledd, isn't it? And really interesting Sian's point around how it's almost been a bit of a slow burner, really. There's been some evidence of coaching in academia, but I definitely think there's an increased visibility, certainly thinking about our institution. So with the internal coaching pool that the lovely Andreea and Caterina are part of, and we're so proud of them, we've got around 25 at the moment that do a variety of CMI and ILM qualifications. So we've got at the moment, for the last year, so probably April To April, we had around 60 coaching, well over 60 coaching relationships across the board. And within that, we've seen a really good uptake and a really good level of interest across both professional services and academic spheres. But we're definitely seeing an increase, almost an exponential increase, really. And when I think about why that's coming about, I think one thing is definitely around growing that pool. So we have colleagues like yourself, Heather, who will be coming in in 2026, who are really starting to not only work with colleagues as coaches, but then support those people to share their stories and to share the impact of approaching coaching.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:11:57

And so what we're seeing now is more people are coming out through word of mouth, really seeing the credibility that comes with getting support through our coaching networks. So, yeah, I think there's a way to go. I think we've got a lot more that we can do as an internal coaching pool. I think for me, the destination is that kind of coaching culture space, which is that really systemic approach to coaching. How can we build in that continuous development that measuring of impact not only for individuals but for the institution. So I think that's the dream for us. That's the direction of travel. And with the support of that internal coaching pool, with the support of the key sponsors for coaching here at the university, that's where we would love to take.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:12:39

Take it. I mean, there's other arms to coaching at the university. So we do some leadership training. So our connected leadership program has a elective module around optimising a coaching approach to leadership. Because what we're talking about here specifically is the coaching relationship, almost that one on one. But the other things to consider around coaching is the style and the approach that we take. So Andreea and Caterina both mentioned there about integrating coaching into their teaching, using it as a way to empower our students. So, you know, it might not necessarily just be the one on one, but that kind of more endemic approach to coaching.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:13:14

And we're really proud of that as a team of coaches here at the university. So we're seeing it, like I say, increasing in popularity. And I think some of that is coming from the amazing work that our coaches do to support people to talk about the fact that they've been to coaching and the impact that that's had on them both personally and professionally.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:13:34

Yeah, I think that's absolutely fantastic. I think in terms of the, you know, the cultural change, I think there is a huge shift just across the sector in general anyway. And I think particularly, you know, you mentioned about not just within the one to one coaching relationships, but it becoming a wider part of the other workshops and other courses that we're running and even within those kind of career conversations that people might be having or just to kind of implement that kind of coaching style of conversation. And even within our workshops, you know, I've spoken in a couple of episodes recently about, you know, enabling researchers to feel heard, so actually opening that space within a group and how we can implement some of those coaching questions within that kind of space as well. So I think it's incredibly powerful and impactful. So, yeah, and it's great to see that the coaching pool at Leeds is growing and I'm really excited to be part of that as well.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:14:27

Just to add, if that's okay, you mentioned about the workshops within Researcher, Developer and Culture. I think within leadership and organisational development, there's so much within our leadership development programmes, within our personal development programmes, where the approach is very much a coaching style. So again we're seeing it. It's kind of got those threads across a lot of what we offer from a development perspective at the university. And those threads are starting to tie together to really see and bring together a really strong story around the power of coaching.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:14:58

Thank you for bringing that in, Harriet. So I think, you know, when I went through coaching myself, I mentioned about my own kind of career transition and I think one of the biggest themes for me was really kind of trying to figure out who I was professionally, you know, trying to identify what my skills were and what my strengths were after leaving research and really how to kind of rebuild some of that confidence. So, Caterina and Andreea, if I come to Katarina first, when you're working with researchers or academic staff, you know, what kinds of themes or challenges do people tend to bring into coaching in your experience?

Caterina Presi [: 00:15:33

One of the things that I like about coaching is that you get to meet people from across the university from different job title, job levels. So it's really nice to have that variety within that. I see that some of the most common themes really evolve around negotiating the complexity of academic life. Career, professional career within the walls of a university can be quite uncertain, particularly in the last few years. I think we can see that. So I tend to coach about career progression and direction. Often people may feel stuck and I cannot help them unpack what it means to them and how they can move towards a more authentic and confident way of being and working. I think that those are the key themes in my experience in the few years.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:16:20

Yeah, no, thank you for sharing that. I think it is that kind of career progression. I think you're right. It's so complex within this environment, you know, which direction do you go? Because you know, there are so many. But a lot of people aren't always fully aware of it either. Andreea, would you like to share?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:16:37

I'd like to echo what Katharina said. I think it's just wonderful. Coaching for me as well has been an experience of meeting wonderful people across the university and we really do have a bunch of very good staff at our university who are absolutely amazing. So, you know, I've been coaching some absolutely great individuals. I think there is a little bit of a stigma sometimes approaching coaching that you might actually have a problem and that's why you're coming to coaching. And I want to demystify that now. All of the people that have been coming to us for coaching are absolutely brilliant, absolutely great. But as any other person, we, we might face a little bit of a hurdle or a little bit of a challeng in our career profession.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:17:24

And I have been coaching both academic and professional services staff and the challenges that they bring can vary quite a lot, especially from academic to professional staff, but also within the academics, kind of like a cohort, but there is a common thread. They all want to perform at their best and this can look different from person to person. Some are looking to overcome specific hurdles such as, I don't know, just having a better relationship with the manager or becoming more organized in their workspace. Others are aiming to progress in their careers, whatever that might look like, maybe moving to a different department, maybe actually staying within the same department, maybe just going to a different grade. And some are exploring new opportunities altogether. So some might want to change career or they might want to jump into a different university, or they might actually want to develop a business on, on their own. And I know that in academia normally we just want kind of like a prescribed way of looking at things and we kind of want to work with tangible things because we are researchers and we are evidence based and so on. But to support these goals, I actually found that we often work with things such as building new habits, shifting mindsets, increasing self awareness, boosting confidence, or improving soft skills such as negotiation.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:19:05

So we might do a little bit of work, kind of like the research or the academics are being used to. But normally what we do in coaching is helping with this part of what I call being a human.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:19:20

Absolutely. That's a really, really nice reflection there, Andreea, Especially that last point about, you know, being human. And I think really one important point that you said about Kind of demystifying it that you know, coaching is just when you, to come to coaching is just when you've got a problem or an issue in that or, you know, that's why you've gone. And it really isn't about that is, you know, every. We all, you know, hit these hurdles through our lives and just helping to kind of have that sense space to really think and explore your own solutions and come up with your own options and find that kind of path forward for yourself. So thank you for all those reflections. So Harriet, you know, in terms of the broader themes across the university, could you add to anything that Andreea or Caterina has said?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:20:06

Well, I did start to panic slightly because I thought, oh my goodness, they've done them all. But yeah, so fantastic lists about what we see coming through the kind of application process for coaching. There's a couple I would add and I think Andreea might have mentioned it a little bit there, which is around the transition. So sometimes people can feel quite stuck and they can't, you know, they're often looking through quite a narrow focus from a career perspective. So there's something in coaching, around bringing in that creativity to really see kind of a non linear approach that somebody might want to take to their career and to the point around the creativity that can bring. You know, sometimes people are coming in with kind of a one approach to how they might think this particular thing through. But for coaches that's about really opening up their eyes to stretching, making it a little bit, taking them out their comfort zone really and getting them to think in different ways. Sometimes that's using models, sometimes it's as, it's as simple as offering silence.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:21:03

Offering silence to a client who is used to being offered advice or told what to do can be sometimes scary. So we have to be very mindful how we use silence. But you know, in the right situation with a client, it can be a really empowering, really something to kind of boost their agency and that decision making in that choice. And the other thing I was just going to mention as well is change. So change is kind of a standard agenda point in the world these days, isn't it? And I think something that we often see within coaching is people coming sometimes because they want to support other people with how to get through change. But as a coach, what we're often looking to do is so how do you manage change? What's happening for you in change and what do you need? What support do you need? So change management can be a really key point. I mean, one thing I would say that is really important, is that often what people come into coaching for isn't necessarily what they leave with. So as a coachee, what you think you need, and ultimately, when you are sitting down with an expert listener who is not there to solve, by the way, they're there in service of you.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:22:14

So, you know, please don't be surprised if you're a coach in training or if you're a coachee coming into this relationship, that what you go in for isn't always what you leave with in a really lovely way. But, yeah, that's definitely something to consider. But the themes that the coaches brought in there are very indicative of what we're seeing more broadly across the organisation.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:22:37

Yeah, it's brilliant. Thank you for all your reflections on that. I think it really does show how widespread or how diverse, the kind of different challenges that people may come in with and how that can change as well. You know, just within one kind of coaching session, it can be like you start with one thing and then you end up with something completely different. So it's just. It's the beauty of coaching, really, isn't it?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:22:59

Just to add in Heledd often, you know, something really helpful around that kind of early contracting stage is the question, what else? Because it can really help for someone to come in with one particular goal, say, or one particular idea of what they want from coaching, but to really help them kind of look beneath some of those layers and decide, is that a real challenge for you? And we continue to do that, to go through coaching. So when you mention there, it can even change within a session, you know, and our sessions are generally an hour, so within that, that can change. And a lot of that's based on the comfort and the alliance that we create as coach and coachee. But, yeah, just to add in that, yes, they are asymptomatic of the things that we do see within coaching, but it's quite far reaching what you might come in for and how a coach might support you to understand what the real challenge is.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:23:49

I think that's a really great point. Thanks for that addition. Another area I've been thinking a lot about is how coaching can support colleagues whose ways of thinking might not fit that kind of traditional mold, especially sort of neurodivergent colleagues who might simply work slightly differently. And, you know, something I've become a lot more aware of recently, and even within our workshops, people are a lot more open about, you know, having ADHD or having autism and really speaking more freely about it, which I think is Absolutely fantastic. It just gives people that space just to feel, you know, that they can actually be who they. Who they are and express themselves. And I'm just wondering, you know, in the coaching conversations, you know, are you seeing this coming up a little bit more and, you know, are you having to think about how you adapt your coaching styles to support colleagues? You know, you know, are there different approaches that you might use? Would you be able to kind of elaborate on that? Harriet or Andreea? Harriet, would you like to start on that?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:24:45

Yeah.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:24:46

Happy to come in. Yeah. I mean, what I would say is we are seeing a lot more people sharing the fact that they are neurodivergent. And what I love about that is they are showing up to coaching as who they are. And I think that's what we ask as coaches is come as you are, we will meet you where you are and what you need. And I think, you know, it is. Neurodivergence itself is diverse. So actually, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:25:16

And one of the key tenants as a. As a coach is in those early stages, especially that rapport session, to really be asking, how can I show up to support you? What do you need from me in order. In order for you to be your best version of yourself in these sessions, to get the most out of them? And so I think for us as coaches, everybody who sits in front of us is unique and might need something different from. From us. Having said that, there are certain things that I've done more recently to support colleagues who've shared with me that there's particular things that are more helpful and others that are less helpful. So think about some specific examples. So for some clients, I offer slightly longer sessions because it gives them slightly longer to support them in terms of processing what's happening, what's been spoken about and any reflections, because it's quite a reflective process. And also flexibility with timings in our contracting.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:26:12

So contracting is really important within coaching, but really at that contracting stage, getting to the kind of nuts and bolts of what people need in order for that contract to be helpful for them, and using clean language. So being really clear with people about what we're asking, reducing the assumptions that we're making, maximising our understanding as coaches. And also coaching can be quite a structured and quite a formal process, but for some people, they need more fluidity. So really, as a coach, getting to understand your coachee, meeting them where they are, understanding what flexibility you do have as a coach in order to support them, because again, it's about in service of them. So doing what's right for us is not what's going to be right for coachee. And the other thing I would add to that is the reason that we have a rapport session is to really sense check if our style and approach is right for somebody. And sometimes it's not. And sometimes we know that at the rapport stage and a coachee can go back into the pool to be matched.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:27:12

Sometimes we get into the relationship and realise actually we're not necessarily being able to support them in the way they need to. So for us as a coaching pool, we can really lean on each other in the diversity that we've got within the pool to really to support others. So, yeah, that would be my reflections.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:27:30

Yeah, that final point, I was going to bring in myself about your own personal style of coaching, that it might not necessarily fit your coaches and just to kind of be mindful of that. I think, yeah, you're absolutely right. Exploring that in the rapport session, particularly, you know, even things like how do you like to receive feedback or how do you like to work with any tools and stuff that I might present you with, you know, and it's that, it's that open conversation I think about, about that and I thought it was wonderful. Yesterday we had a coaching conference with all, everybody from the coaching pool and Leeds. And again, it's an opportunity for us to come together as coaches and understand what each other's strengths are as well and what we can offer together. Andreea, would you like to come in?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:28:13

Yeah, I'm definitely still learning about it. And yes, I found the conference yesterday, and especially the keynote speaker, being especially insightful into some of the social stereotypes that we have created around this and the fact that in, in coaching we have to be very mindful about that. I was actually really fortunate that my first, very first client when I was building my practice hours for my coaching qualification was neurodivergent. And I genuinely mean fortunate because it was such a valuable learning experience for myself as a client coach. It really helped me to become much more intentional about how I built the report and the contracting that Harriet was talking about, not just only for the neurodivergent clients, but with everyone. So one of the first things that I have asked to this client was, what does being neurodivergent look like for you? Because I think it might look different for every person and how can I support you better? During our sessions and through these questions, we kind of had a conversation that led to some very thoughtful adjustments for that person. So we agreed to take short breaks every 10 minutes because the person needed it. Then they asked me to gently prompt them when their thoughts started to drift away.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:29:50

And we also aligned on a coaching style that felt for the client, truly collaborative. So for them, it just meant all the time walking alongside them rather than pushing them towards the goals. Something which is anyhow at the heart of the coaching, but it requires often a little bit more of my patience, a little bit more emotional attunement, a little bit more flexibility, and generally for me, open mind and a curiosity towards how that person's brain really works and what that means for her in terms of thoughts, emotions, experiences, and so on.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:30:38

Thank you, Andreea. That's such a lovely reflection there. Harriet, you want to come in?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:30:44

Just to add, I was on a session a few months ago talking about neurodiversity effect firm in coaching. And it was all around embracing that diversity and I think embracing it within our own coaching community, we have coaches who are neurodivergent. And I think for me, as a coaching pool, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves. We have a responsibility to better understand and to also know our competencies. So we will have limits of our competence as well. And knowing when actually we're not the right coach for somebody. So I think is an echo, really of some of Andreea's points around how can we be open and curious with our coaches to really understand and such fabulous questions there to really understand what does our coachee need from us?

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:31:29

So, yeah, yeah, thank you for that addition. Wow. Yes. So in terms of, you know, thinking about the power of coaching, you know, really mentioned it was really transformative for me during that kind of career change. And it. It just gave me that safe space to really think through my thoughts and connect ideas that hadn't really kind of pulled together before. So maybe, Katharina, if I come to you, what makes coaching such a powerful tool for helping people grow professionally or as leaders?

Caterina Presi [: 00:32:00

I think that coaching is a wonderful tool for reflection and it can help people really to find solutions that resonate with them and also within their context. As Eric mentioned earlier, what works for me might not work for others. So it's really important to start from this point of listening and reflection in what we do in coaching before we take any step forwards. I think coaching is essentially a positive tool about what can be done with what we have and what we can reach. So if we think about leadership, then leaders can really benefit from coaching as part of their continuous learning. To announce the ability to inspire, inspire to Motivate and to connect with their teams. I think that's very important. When I think about leading and coaching, I cannot help but thinking that leading from an authentic place and with purpose is a really beautiful thing.

Caterina Presi [: 00:32:51

And I hope that coaching can help leaders achieve that place. To continually aim to become better at being authentic and to be inspiring for their team and supportive as well.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:33:04

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Caterina. Andreea, would you like to come in?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:33:10

I was actually thinking about this yesterday with some of the colleagues at the summer coaching conference. And I think one of the reflection points that I had was that there's something incredibly powerful about making sense of your own thoughts, feelings and experiences alongside someone else. Having someone to hold space for you really listen, reflect things back and kind of act as a, as a mirror can shift mindsets and can spark just very meaningful action. For me, I think coaching creates clarity, builds self awareness and it often leads to those aha moments that kind of feel almost magical. So I think clarity can help people focus and make much better decisions within their workplace or for their life, whatever they might need in that moment. Self awareness, I think it allows us as leaders to understand the impact that we have to play on our strengths, to improve our weaknesses, and to manage our relationships a little bit more effectively, to create those connections that I think most of us miss at this moment. And those insightful aha moments are kind of like the creativity that Harriet was discussing about. But I think that those moments are actually leaders of change and shifting perspective and unlocking solutions and actually inspiring you to go into action.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:34:52

So yeah, I really think it's a powerful tool, not only because I am a coach, but because I have experienced coaching as well myself. And another reflection that I had yesterday was even I, as a coach, I still need coaching because of how powerful the tool is and because it helps me make meaning of some of my experiences as well. Despite the fact that I have the skills of asking my own questions, I still need somebody else to kind of guide me and structure me and take me through that process and sometimes reveal parts of myself that on my own I cannot see.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:35:34

Yeah, I think that's a really important point. You've just spot the end. That, you know, it is a continual process, isn't just a one off thing. And actually, you know, it is to have that space to be able to explore things. Even as a, as a coach who's got the tools, you know, you need somebody else to hold that space for you sometimes. So yeah, I think that was a really good point. Harriet, would you like to come in.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:35:54

Yeah. Just a couple of things to add, really. There. I would say what I think coaching does for leaders and for professional growth is to really recognize and celebrate the importance of continuous learning. So that idea that actually this is an ongoing journey, there isn't really a destination. We don't wake up one day and go, yes, we've reached where we should be. There is that constant kind of curiosity and kind of peeling back of, you know, Andreea said about peeling back kind of who you are and really seeing that through the eyes of somebody else or with the support of the lens of someone else. I think the other thing that I think is really important of coaching is it, for me, it shows the power of showing up in your vulnerability.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:36:37

So that ability to sit within your own vulnerability, to look, to understand it, and to then take that and translate that into being more authentic. So to Katarina's point around the importance of authenticity, not only in how we are, but also in our roles in our leadership and actually sitting with that vulnerability and feeling safe in a space like coaching, to be able to look at that vulnerability, to understand it, and to get lessons from it. So, yeah, for me, I think it offers the safety that people need to sometimes look for in the corner of things that they haven't looked at before.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:37:17

That's great. Thank you, Harriet.

Caterina Presi [: 00:37:19

Caterina, I just love so much what Harriet said about vulnerability, and I have to echo it because I think it's very, very powerful. And what we discovered that we are all vulnerable and we're all human. And so I think that an organization that has culture embedded is an organization that is essentially empathetic. And we need to understand each other. And it's a really beautiful place from which we can grow and be authentic and be better. So thank you, Harriet, for bringing that up.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:37:48

Yeah, thank you for that addition as well. So in terms of. So Katharine and Andreea, you know, have you any of your coaches, like, shared feedback on how coaching has helped them or have you got any examples that you could comfortably share, you know, anonymously? Caterina, I'll come to you first. Sure.

Caterina Presi [: 00:38:07

Actually, it's lovely to hear what people say at the end of your coaching because it's kind of come first full circle, and so you have an idea of the impact that you. So my coaches have mentioned a number of things. For example, they mentioned how my questions help them to find answers that we'll carry forward when forming and maintaining relationships. So it's not something that stops to the session or the problem that they brought into the sessions, but it really is something that they bring with them afterwards and I think that's a lovely gift that can give people. They say that it helps them think in detail about what skills they already have and how to set the will in motion about getting them used to their full potential. So we have a lot of potential in ourselves and sometimes coaching can really help to bring it forth and to make you appreciate also who you are and what you have already because we are very rich human beings. And also they mentioned that experience is what Andreea referred to her haha moments or light bulb moments through conversation or there are small exercises that we do. So it can be actually a lot of fun to be part of a coaching session for both the coaches and the coach.

Caterina Presi [: 00:39:12

I think.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:39:14

Yeah, that's great. I think I've obviously coaching training at the minute and my sort of first coachee, I witnessed her having that one of those aha moments and I was like, couldn't contain my excitement. I was like just calm down. You know, this is about her. But it was just, it was just. I felt really, really great to have been part of that to enable her to kind of find those ways forward. Yeah, it was really great. So yeah, definitely on it with that one.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:39:41

And Sandria, would you like to share?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:39:44

Yeah. I. Across the coaching relationships that I had, I received quite a bit of feedback. I think one of the things that I want to go back on before I actually, with your permission, read some of the written feedback that I have received recently, which I think is kind of all compassing of all the previous feedback that I have received as well, is the fact that we as coaches, we cannot have an impact on the coaches life without them showing up vulnerable, without them being willing to do the work, without them being ready to actually put into action some of the things that we agree in coaching. So while this might be a feedback for my practice, I actually think that it is a feedback for how coaching works in general and also a feedback that the person gives to their own work that they're carrying through coaching. So with that in mind, I'm just going to read a few lines. I have truly appreciated your thoughtful approach, especially the way you challenge my ideas, assumptions and actions in constructive and social supportive manner. Through the coaching sessions, I developed a deeper appreciation for an understanding of the importance of reflection.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:41:11

You have a natural ability to sense when I'm facing difficulties and you have consistently offered guidance and encouragement just at the right time. I've developed the personal resilience toolkit and have been able to reflect deeply on my Career trajectory. You provided me with the same space to explore various options and alternative pathways, helping me to make more informed and confident decisions. And the reason why I like this feedback is because it's actually highlights the essence of the coaching relationship, but it also shows that you might come with an issue such as career trajectory or being unclear about your career trajectory, but the work that has been or the real impact has been more in enhancing those reflection skills and actually developing resilience afterwards. So I think for me this is really, really beautiful as a feedback. It comes from the beginning of the relationship and it goes to how it carries on even after the coaching relationships because they have that toolkit, they have the skills and we have that in mind. We are trying to help us as coaches, we're trying to help our coaches to independently then solve similar issues. This doesn't mean that they won't need us, but we also try to equip them with that.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:42:38

That's great. Thank you for sharing some of those as well. It's really nice to hear that. Harriet, have you got anything to add?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:42:44

No, there's just a couple of things I was going to add around the type of things that people might come for. So we've got kind of the transition. Sometimes people can feel quite stuck and I've seen people come in feeling quite stuck and moving into roles where they're really flourishing. So that idea of right job, right people, right time, so really for, you know, where somebody starts in their career might not be where they're, might not necessarily be on the path that they originally thought. So really thinking creatively and as Andreea said about thinking about the different opportunities available and other things we find is the rediscovering of confidence. You know, confidence can be a thing. You mentioned it helice earlier on and it is actually that rediscovery. It's not about giving something to the coachee, it's about kind of almost the architect that helps them to dust the kind of sand away.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:43:30

And so there it is, you know, it was there all along. And I think one of the things we have as coaches is a true belief and a faith that our coaches have the answers that they need. What we're there to do is to create an environment in which they can kind of rediscover them, engage with them, re engage with them again, recommit to them potentially. And something else that we see a lot coming through coaching is communication. So thinking about communication styles with other people really starting to build that self awareness around how it might land with other people. What tweaks they might want to make, what kind of relationships they want to have, and supporting them to think that through. And when we say support, we also mean an element of challenge. And as we talked earlier, we think about individually with the coaches what kind of challenge and what level of challenge.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:44:15

But it's really important, as Andreea said, about holding up that mirror and helping them to see themselves and really starting to think about actually, ultimately who and how do they want to be? And as coaches, how can we create the right environment, the right tools, the right resources to support them, to find their way? So it was just to add in some of those things that we do see come through coaching generally, but at the institution as well.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:44:39

Yeah, that's great. Thank you. So in this next part, we're going to go explore a little bit more about us as coaches, our coach, well, being coaching supervision, because it can. As a coachee, we've talked about vulnerability, we've talked about emotions coming to surface. These sessions can become quite intense emotionally, just, you know, when you're on the other side of the table as a coach, actually holding that space for somebody. But it does have an impact on you as a coach yourself. So I just want to ask the question, how do you as coaches look after yourself, especially when the sessions can feel quite emotionally demanding? Caterina, come to you.

Caterina Presi [: 00:45:23

For me, it's really important that I take a moment after each section to go over my notes, to write down my ideas and that steps, points from the conversation. Really taking that moment to, you know, to just reflect and maybe sit some time in a bit of silence. It kind of helps to settle my mind down because during the coaching session, I have to be very alert, you know, listening very actively, thinking about the next steps, thinking around to understand how to understand better. So it's quite intense, an experience from a coach perspective. So having a quiet time afterwards, maybe a cup of tea if I'm at home, I maybe take a little walk around my small garden, like taking the moment to appreciate what just happened and appreciate the person that was sitting in front of me. I think that's very important.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:46:12

Yeah. Thank you for that. Andreea, would you like to share?

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:46:17

I have to be very honest. It's definitely an area I'm still working on and I will continue working on. I am a very empathic person, and that means that sometimes I face challenges in setting boundaries around how long a coaching session lives in my mind, even if the coaching session has already ended. So sometimes an issue might linger in the back of my mind and I watch A podcast or I read an article and I think it might be useful for a client, or I might do that in the next session and where I might actually have a personal experience, and I think, oh, I have revelation, and then I take it back again. So I still, on a personal level, think that I need to put better boundaries in place. But when that happens to me, I just try to acknowledge it and consciously set a time to reflect. For me, that reflection time is not always the best. Straight away after the coaching session, I find it that I need day or two to process.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:47:28

So it might need. I need to set a time later on consciously, and make time in my calendar to do that. But I have to do that so that it doesn't overtake ongoingly or on a continuous basis, my mental and emotional space. Because, once again, my nature is to be quite an empathic person and kind of ruminating about whenever I see an issue and trying to solve different problems. This is why I'm a researcher as well, trying to solve things. But what I found very helpful is talking, of course, in confidence with a buddy coach or going to supervision sessions, because that gives me the space to process through those thoughts and feelings and also maintain a healthy perspective. So, once again, coaches also need coaching.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:48:27

Yeah, absolutely. I think really brings that point home, doesn't it? And I completely resonate with what you're saying there. So, Harriet, you know, in terms of, you know, Andreea touched on coach supervision there a little bit. You know, how important do you think that is for the internal pool or even externally? And what does that good supervision kind of look like for you?

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:48:48

Yeah, it's pivotal. It would be my view. I think it's for so many reasons. I mean, ethically, in terms of our practice, in terms of our safety, as Andreea mentioned there, you know, the kind of emotional load that can come with coaching if it's not supported. Well, so, I mean, just to speak through some of the functions really, for supervision. So we have three core functions for supervision, one of which is formative, which is actually as a coach's development. So what's our development and learning looking like? How do we review our coaching practices? So how do we anonymously take our client into the room with us and talk through with a skilled supervisor about what's happening in those spaces? What skills are we using, what are we noticing? And also for the supervisor to provide feedback to us, to build our knowledge, to build our skills. So supervision is really pivotal for our development in practice as coaches, but also the normative element, which is around the Ethical considerations, guidelines, professional standards that we have as coaches.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:49:47

So we do have professional standards to uphold. We have an ethical responsibility to our clients and also to ourselves as coaches and to our institutions. There are legal and organisational boundaries as well. So a supervisor will really help us to kind of surface any of those normative elements within our coaching. And then there's also the restorative, which is a little bit what Andreea was mentioning there, which is around how do we keep our well being at a good level in order to show up for our clients. So thinking about our well being, thinking about the experiences that we have in our coaching relationships, having a safe space to then go and share those again anonymously, but really have some support to work through those if we think about ourselves as instruments. So if I was coach, we are instrument in that space. One of the most pivotal things we can do is look after ourselves.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:50:38

And I think for me, things that I do to look after myself as a coach. So I meditate daily. So that's something I started probably six or so years ago now. I have weekly yoga practice. I do a lot of grounding. So before and after coaching sessions I'll do grounding exercises, some of which is breathing, some of which, like Katarina is being outside and just feeling the ground beneath my feet, whether that's the grass at home or the park at work, or, you know, the pavement outside the office where I've been doing the work. So I think that's been really important for me. But what I would add on all of that supervision predominantly is one of the ways that I would support myself.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:51:21

But what I would add about all of those is they can be done in the moment, actually. But the idea is how do we build the reserves? How do we develop the habits that mean that we can access that well being, that safety, that sense of peace quicker in the moments that we need them. So for me that is an ongoing requirement that we should have. Not just wait for it to become a problem, but actually really build that into our practice. You know, we talk at Leeds about, you know, the requirement within the internal coaching pool is to coach, but it is also to have cpd. So it's to develop ourselves, it's to keep up to date with skills, it's to be really inquisitive, to continue to be curious about the process, but it's also about supervision. So there is an ethical requirement for us to have supervision to support our practice. And there is a mix of group supervision and one on one supervision.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:52:16

And we're also working with Huddersfield at the moment, because we do quite institutional coaching, looking at bringing in peer supervision, which is a little bit what Andreea mentioned there about kind of speaking anonymously with other coaches about what's happening, happening for us. So, yeah, I think for me, the short answer is supervision is essential.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:52:37

Absolutely. Well, thank you for all those reflections. So, in terms of Caterina and Andreea, you know, what have you learned about yourselves through being coaches?

Caterina Presi [: 00:52:46

Oh, that's a. That's a very good question. I feel that I have developed a lot through coaching. I feel that I change, that I'm part of the process and is a continuing moving river my journey. I think in simple terms, I'm a better listener and I can ask better questions, more useful questions. Harry talked about the power of silence in the coaching and it's learning to sit in that silence and to feel the richness of silence. I think that's something that I've learned a lot about myself, that perhaps I wasn't able to do so before. I also learned that to help, I do not need to have all the solutions at hand.

Caterina Presi [: 00:53:31

And that, to me, gives me honestly great hope. Yeah. So I think that's the biggest change that coaching has given to me. It's given me hope, hope to be able to help better.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:53:43

That's really lovely. Thank you, Katharina. Andreea.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:53:48

Coaching has taught me how easily it is for. For my brain to trick me, and that in many ways this is actually meaning that it's working efficiently and has shown me that there's always another perspective on things and another way of looking at the situation. The whole experience has reinforced two important lessons in my life, to be honest, that I've been lucky to learn from other people. One from my PhD supervisor and longtime friend. Now, he said to me, I remember in the first year of my PhD, you never truly know what someone is going through. So in one sense, I think I'm much more tolerant because of coaching. And the other one that I've learned from a brilliant coach and sociologist and mentor, I dare to say, which I've met on a personal development course which I took in Romania, because I am Romanian. And that is that everything is a resource, no matter if we perceive it as positive or as negative or kind of meh, it still can be a resource if we reflect on it, if we are keen on learning from it, and we are keen of actually looking at how can we do things differently the next time.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:55:16

So all of this has changed me as a person. I like to think that for the better, other people around me might not believe the same because it might have made me a little bit more inquisitive and asking much more questions in there. But it has changed also the way I interact with my colleagues. So I don't take things as personally as I used to because I have always in the back of my mind I never know what they're going through and I can be kind and ask them, you know, what's really going on over there. But it also has changed my report with the students because right now I try to understand more about how they learn. I try to understand much more what they are going through. I try to understand their experiences. And my teaching honestly has been about taking all of that and then delivering the knowledge content in the way that it actually fits them in that moment.

Andreea Bordianu [: 00:56:20

And it has changed my, my personal tutoring a lot right now. My approach to tutoring is very much coaching based. I try to establish a goal with my students. I try, we try to work towards something that they believe it is valuable rather than waiting for a problem to happen. So it's loads of changes over there due to coaching and also some of the values that I had beforehand that have been strengthened and tell me that coaching was right for me in, in that sense.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:56:55

That's fantastic. Thank you. Yeah, I was just thinking actually what's, what's actually what have I learned so far from my journey? And I think it's, it's the questions, you know, asking questions in a slightly different way. And I find, you know, I'm trying to do it with my children and to better manage my relationships there and their behaviors. But actually the, because I take a stop and a pause and I think how can I reframe this question so it doesn't come, you know, I'm trying to pull out the why questions and go with oh well, what, you know, the what questions and the hows just to kind of. And it does, I've noticed, you know, it does have a. It changes the tone and it actually then changes their response and the interaction and you know, obviously it's not going to work all the time with the, you know, my little five year old, but you know, it does it and I think even just across the board with colleagues as well, I'm just thinking about how you phrase things and you know, it just pitches things in a completely different way and in a different space. So in a.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:57:52

Harriet, you know, in terms of, you know, how you're supporting colleagues and, or you coaching across the university, you know, how has that changed your own work or the conversations that you might be having as well.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:58:03

Yeah, I think for me, being a coach makes you more open. I think it encourages you to stay curious for longer. You're more reflective generally and I think you rush to offer solution a lot slower than maybe previously. And I think for me, the kind of holding space for people and creating a space where people feel safe is really important. It's really important in our offer within organisational development, to make sure that when people are in that development space that they feel supported. And I think that is something that I am appreciated for, but I'm continuing to learn and grow in that space as well. And I think I am a lifelong learner. I love learning and I think the power of feedback in this space as well, the willingness to give it, the ability to receive it.

Harriet Boatwright [: 00:58:58

And I've written down everything as a resource. Like what a fantastic kind of summary of our experiences as coaches, as coaches in life more broadly. So, yeah, I think for me, even though I felt coming into coaching that it was amplifying a skill set that I already had, I think the awareness and the impact of understanding what that does for other people continues to want me to learn more. So I think for me it has changed me, but I think it's changed me at a depth. It's brought a kind of breadth of learning that maybe I wouldn't have had I not become a coach and continued to develop that practice through cpd, through supervision, through meeting with amazing colleagues like the coaches on the session today. So, yeah, really grateful for having coaching in my life and I'm sure people that come to sessions with us are super grateful of that approach most of the time.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 00:59:58

So, building on that and looking ahead, Harriet, you know, what's your big hope for the role of coaching is I could play in academic life.

Harriet Boatwright [: 01:00:07

Yeah. I think for me, coaching is kind of a human. It's very much at a human level. So I know we talk about academic life, but actually how can we help people to understand the what, how and why of who they are, what they do. And I think I mentioned earlier around this kind of systemic approach. How do we build that in with, you know, it's been awesome to listen today around how we are empowering our students through the kind of personal tutoring, through the lecturing experience, how we're supporting fellow colleagues, how we're supporting staff within development and using that coaching skill, how we're supporting our leaders. So I think for me, not just building the coaching kind of the one to one, but also that coaching approach and that coaching style within the organisation and the value that that can really bring. So I think for me, having a means by which we can provide a space for people to pause, to reflect, to really uncover what they're bringing to their role, what they're kind of needing from their roles as well, and I think coaching can really deliver that for them.

Harriet Boatwright [: 01:01:18

So just more of it. Heledd.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:01:23

Andreea, do you have anything to add?

Andreea Bordianu [: 01:01:27

I think that what I hope from coaching is that it can help us have a better world in a deeper sense. But, you know, immediately I hope that it help us to have a better academic life altogether. I have been thinking quite a bit about connection and connectivity, not just in the technical sense, but in how we relate to each other. So I would love to see that coaching, it's creating stronger connections across universities, across schools, across disciplines and just makes us much more connected and creates that feeling of belonging, but also is leading towards healthier relationships. And it helps staff to feel happier and more fulfilled in their roles and overall that we're all learning how to be more tolerant, open minded, kind to each other and so on. And if we reach to that point, I will have to seriously consider what is left for me to do.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:02:37

Katarina, would you like to come in?

Caterina Presi [: 01:02:40

It's hard to add to that list. It's quite a good list we've got already. I definitely like the approach of Harriet. Just more coaching, right? That would work, yeah. It's also about developing more the coaching culture at the University of Leeds in session, but also trickling out in all our activities, like micro coaching interventions, they build empathy, they build an acknowledge of vulnerability, of being kind. Generally. I'd love for us to do this both for staff and students, and I'm just going to bring here the point of students, really, to coach students, to listen to students, to believe in their potential and to be open to the potential of young people. That is very different from ours.

Caterina Presi [: 01:03:26

The teachers are a lot older often, so we need to listen to the new generations. And so if I have a big hope, it's for the University of Leeds and coaching really to help the University of Leeds to be young at heart and keep on hoping and to keep on growing and learning.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:03:44

I absolutely love that. Thank you, Caterina. So finally we're coming to the end of our conversation today, so I just want to end with a bit of a fun, fun end to it. If you could just capture what coaching has meant to you personally, professionally or within the university, in just one word or short phrase, if possible, what would that be, Caterina?

Caterina Presi [: 01:04:08

I'd go with inviting the next step.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:04:12

Great.

Andreea Bordianu [: 01:04:13

Andreea, in the spirit of the question of have been a little bit fun, I might have to go with deep chats, big shifts, occasional existential spirals.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:04:28

Thank you.

Harriet Boatwright [: 01:04:29

And Harriet, I wish you'd come to me first. Now. Heledd my word is movement. And I think for me that's around that coaching as catalyst for personal and professional development. You talked about that as we started the session and we see that as coaches and we've experienced it. So yeah, movement.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths [: 01:04:48

I think that's a really powerful word. Wow. Well, thank you so much for sharing all your experiences today. It's been absolutely delightful to be having these conversations with you. It's been really rich. The conversation has. And I'm sure our listeners will take a lot away from this and have a lot to reflect on and really consider whether coaching, you know, is for them, whether to become a coach or to experience coaching as a coachee and to really see how it can shape, you know, a better research culture and, you know, a better academic life or even life in itself. So I'd just like to say thanks again for joining us today and to our listeners and to take care and we'll see you next time.

Outro [: 01:05:31

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