Barry takes a person-centred approach to his executive coaching practice. As an experienced coach, his aim is to raise the client's own awareness of what lies beneath the topic presented, their feelings towards it, and what may be happening within themselves and in their systems. Starting with an unconditional positive regard towards the coachee, Barry applies an understanding of the psychological dimensions of coaching and practices within the spirit of Gestalt to pay attention to how things are.

He applies a knowledge of systemic dimensions, transactional analysis, and psychodynamic practice to the agenda. He combines these with a practical knowledge of the nature of executive agendas from his extensive coaching experience and his own career leadership journey.

Coaching Model

Applying a CLEAR model, Barry listens deeply and aims to create a safe and confidential space for senior executives to address their agendas. He facilitates the client’s process through the cycles of awareness, towards action if possible or simply to a place of awareness and understanding. His skillful and largely non-directive approach to exploring critical questions, his approach to providing insights from sharing aspects of self, his challenges and practical feedback combine to provide a highly professional executive coaching engagement.

Coaching Process

Contracting is of critical importance to agree objectives, roles and accountabilities, and key logistical questions. His process typically starts with an exploratory session, sometimes including a 3-way meeting with the coaching sponsor, followed by 4 to 6 sessions of approximately 90 minutes. Barry regularly checks on progress against contracted objectives and will aim to disengage with a final review of the engagement. Diagnostics can play a part, but he believes that they simply provide a perspective that may be useful as an input to the coaching conversation.

Barry has an appreciation for senior executive agendas and the challenges of their roles.  Boundaries of confidentiality and ethical practice are core to his practice.

Team

Coaching

Barry’s team coaching practice has its foundation in his professional executive coaching. After working as an executive coach with senior executives for over 10 years, he understands the role that team leadership and team effectiveness play in the delivery of personal and organisational objectives. He combines his experience with his professional team coaching training to deliver sustainable improvements in team performance and effectiveness.

Coaching Model

In applying a CID-CLEAR model, Barry’s engagement with teams is based on a robust contracting process, followed by discovery and intervention. He establishes supportive relationships with the team lead, contracting with them on the objectives for the project in the first place and agreeing an approach. By contracting in turn with the team collectively, Barry aims to establish a trusted role in service of the team and an environment for every member to engage safely. In exploring each team’s environment, his discovery process often seeks input from other stakeholders and influences in the system.

Team Coaching Process

His approach is to work with the conditions in the team that impact of team effectiveness while being aware of systemic influences. He facilitates the team in identifying the key topics and areas of focus for the team coaching work to follow.

He will typically debrief the team and leader on key feedback and inputs gathered from the team themselves. Diagnostic tools and surveys may be recommended. Appropriate interventions such as themed workshops, focused exercises, executive coaching for key members, embedded involvement in team operations are typically drawn on to address the emergent nature of the engagement. He prioritises structural issues that may be beneath team challenges over interpersonal dynamics, while recognising that the interpersonal can sometimes be more apparent and more attractive to address. Although sometimes highly concentrated on key topics, engagement with the team can extend over several months to reflect the evolving themes and the change processes that take place.

Barry’s personal style is to apply a heightened sensitivity to happenings in the moment, to bring his observations to the attention of the team and to engage through skillful questioning, challenge and raising of team awareness. He may partner with coaching colleagues to bring richer dimensions and diversity to both the discovery and interventions.

Diagnostics

&

Psychometrics

Barry is an experienced and accredited user of  psychometric tools and assessments.

• Insights Discovery

• Emotional Capital Report  (ECR & ECR 360)
  

• Envisa 360
  

• Team Diagnostic Survey
  

• Team Connect 360

Psychometric assessments may be used as inputs to the coaching process, providing additional perspective on the coaching topics, building the awareness of the client, and sometimes accelerating the client towards effective outcomes.