The Big Blue Box ‘Unlocks Potential’ – we provide coaching that facilitates change and supports development - for individuals, and for the people, the leadership and the culture within organisations.

Coaching is the foundation, and we also now include Mentoring and facilitation of Peer Advisory Groups, based upon coaching skills.

The Big Blue Box is a small business, and Chris Dyson is our only coach.

• What you see is what you get – Chris Dyson is our only coach and we don’t subcontract or employ associates

• Professional - Coaching is the foundation  for everything we do

• Independence – being outside the organisation, objective and confidential, enhances openness and trust, empathy and real understanding. It builds engagement, motivation and impact

• Experience - Chris has a career founded in operational roles leading to Managing Directorships, and numerous years consulting across sector and organisation types. Chris's experience now includes over 20 years full-time coaching experience

• Style - oriented towards resolving and improving performance within a ‘business’ or organisational context, our style is based upon trust, Independence and real understanding, it is facilitative and catalytic, can be challenging and even directive when necessary

• Method – from a business leadership background it is results, impact and outcome-focused 

• Almost without exception the first thing our clients remark upon is: We listen. The immediate benefit of being given a ‘jolly good listening to’ is fundamental to our way of working. This can be a powerfully cathartic process, effectively enhancing self-awareness. It provides the basis for our ongoing support.

• Approach - Emotional Intelligence is our main focus

Our coaching client organisations are found across varied sectors, but are usually established organisations (often 500+ people) with the structures, procedures and issues that arise in those situations. We have worked with clients in public and private sectors and in the charitable/voluntary sectors too.

It is our contention that whilst particular organisation, profession or sector experience may give some comfort to the project sponsor, the objectivity and independence, wider experience, style and chemistry are far more important – and effective with the coachee.

As a generalisation, our coachees tend to be busy people with busy complicated lives. They are mid-life and mid-career, they have responsible roles and are ambitious and career-oriented.

They are ‘time-poor’ and often under stress, which is insidious and many cannot see how stressed they have become; they struggle to balance their conflicting pressures.

They are also looking to learn, to change and to move forward. They are facing the need to adapt and let go of some familiar ideas. Skills needs or other characteristics which were overlooked earlier in their career could now be barriers to progress.

Our coachees are leaders, managers or professionals within organisations. They have titles such as CEO, Founder, CxO,  Managing Director, Director, Senior VP, VP, Head of…

They could be:

• People making the transition from ‘professional’ to ‘manager of professionals’
• People in 'first-time' leadership roles
• People preparing for, or taking on a significant promotion
• Mid-career people looking for change
• High-potential people looking to achieve more
• Senior managers wanting to improve specific skills
• Leaders needing an independent 'sounding board'

A coaching session is sometimes the only place in their world where the coachee can be entirely open and honest. The privacy and confidentiality of the coaching session enables the coachee to discuss issues from wider areas of their life than just their immediate job role – allowing the ‘whole’ person to be coached.

Because we are supporting people within organisations we tend to find that our coachees are complicated and often have a lot of ‘baggage’; their needs are intertwined. An individual’s coaching project is often made up of several issues each of which needs to be unravelled, prioritised, explored and considered.

These are some of the issues that are addressed in coaching sessions:

• Time to think – Many of our coachees reflect upon the simple benefit of having time to stop and think. Indeed coachees frequently remark that our sessions have opened up conversations and topics that they have never spoken about before. Reflecting on the sessions afterwards, many coachees observe that this is one of the powerful outcomes – time to stand back and gain some perspective, to make a plan. To have a few minutes of peace
• Self-awareness – being able to be aware of one’s own feelings, and behaviour, to see and hear oneself as others see and hear you. This area can often bring the greatest insights from the simplest and most obvious sources, for many issues the solution is hiding in plain sight.

This is also an area where the greatest care and time may need to be invested. Increased self-awareness and understanding of oneself is the key to much personal development and change

• Interpersonal skills – how to get along with others, perhaps how to manage difficult relationships, this often highlights the changes that the coachee needs to make.
• Stress - Coachees are often stressed and struggle to balance their conflicting pressures. Coaching will raise their awareness of their own pressures, reactions and behaviours around stress and the choices that they are making
• Personal effectiveness – this is often a request for observation and feedback and could generate initiative in areas such as managing priorities, planning and knowing where they want to go, engaging with others, gaining some clarity of purpose. It could be as simple as becoming aware of a ‘focus on detail’, on a ‘task’ at the expense of the ‘team, the individual or themselves
• Managing people – from Leadership and having a flexibility of styles, to becoming adept at influencing. Sometimes just listening and becoming more self-aware are the key requirements that make a difference
• Managing upwards – how to manage a boss
• Managing ‘the interface’; Coachees have complex lives and often find themselves at an interface between say a boss and a team of direct reports, strategy and operations, work and home, silos within their organisation. They have to manage the tensions and conflicting demands. Coachees often find themselves having to manage the complexity of having to manage different sets of ‘rules’
• Managing politics – how to behave in a complex culture and hierarchy. A promotion can introduce an individual to an increasingly competitive culture, in a hierarchy
• Becoming strategic – making the transition from operational roles to ones where there is less certainty and timescales are longer
• Work/ life balance – how to be more effective at work and have time to enjoy a home life
• Self-Confidence - For many, confidence levels are low. A few are out of touch with their reputation and the impression they create, perhaps self-awareness is low and stress is increasing
• Having a plan for themselves – ‘There must be more to life than this?’ Duty, pressure, expectations, stress and commitments all help to reduce the coachee’s time and focus upon themselves. Coachees can come into a coaching conversation without a plan of their own and find themselves at variance with what they are doing, and where they are going.
• Career plans – helping people through considerations around their career, perhaps changing direction or moving on, or preparing for promotion. For some it can be recognising their real strengths, for some it’s removing a barrier
• Behaviour change - Many are seeking a change in the behaviours and thinking that are required as they are promoted. They have questions such as: ‘How do I manage my boss? How do I become more strategic? How do I manage political issues? I need to manage my profile and reputation, or I want to have plan and vision for my future career’
• Tools and techniques – sometimes it’s helpful for coachees to explore specific tools and techniques; these could be as simple as listening, learning to think differently, making decisions, planning, exploring what it means to delegate, or being a leader.
• However, I am often careful when a coachee comes with their own prescription, I would want to be sure that the correct solution was being applied

Our process is variable, flexible and dependent upon the needs of the individual – of course! However, as a starting position we would initially consider:

• Just 4 coaching sessions are offered - to focus on delivering results quickly, avoiding procrastination
• Each session is of indeterminate duration – not timed, each is as long or as short as they need to be, not cut off at the crucial moment!
• Planned series – with regular dates planned for each future session as the series begins, building commitment, pace and engagement
• Chemistry test – in the first meeting - either the coachee or the coach can withdraw from the project if either feels for whatever reason that the ‘chemistry’ is not right
• Contract - clear 3-way (coachee, sponsor and coach) understanding around confidentiality, focus on the coachee, measures, outcomes and objectives
• Chronology - the coachee's whole story is explored and understood. Frequently this is a cathartic and catalytic phase - an ‘Ah Ha!’ moment - as insights are obtained
• Current situation – understanding ‘where are we now?’
• Clarity and choice - where does the coachee want to be, what are the options and what are the real objectives?
• Commitment and change – motivation and a direction are clear – often needs to involve others - to support or adapt
• Evaluation - identifying where the outcomes, impacts and results can be seen, seeking feedback, and reviewing and following up after a while

We offer four coaching sessions for a number of reasons. Each of the sessions is of indeterminate duration and dates are prearranged at the start of the coaching engagement.

We support key individuals who want to make a step change. It is a short-term engagement. Having only four sessions tends to focus the sessions towards achieving an outcome and encourages the coachee to engage.

Because the coach is independent of the organisation our coachees find it easy to establish rapport, trust and confidentiality, and the contract defines the extent on confidentiality. This enables the coachee to ‘open up’ early in the conversation.

Insights frequently occur within a few minutes, perhaps because we achieve a calm, open and reflective, safe environment.

I have worked with panels of coaches where some of the practitioner’s approaches are founded within specialist fields such as Therapy, Occupational Psychology or NLP, or other schools of thought.

My coaching style is founded upon experience rather than any set of tools and techniques or school of coaching; it tends to be practical, pragmatic, flexible and eclectic. When I have researched coaching I find that within my style there are elements that could be attributed to many different sources.

I don’t adhere to or exclusively favour any of the popular coaching ‘Models’ such as GROW or FACTS, nor am I a practitioner within NLP or hypnotherapy for example.

One of the approaches that I do tend to use is Emotional Intelligence (EI or sometimes EQ) and often find that this provides some structure through which the coachee can understand their progress.

Self-awareness – a starting point on the EI journey is, in my view an essential skill for the coachee to develop. The conversation will often focus on exploring the coachee’s experiences to provide insights and enhance self-awareness.

TA or Transactional Analysis provides a useful framework for understanding communications and relationships.

I don’t have a prescription or a standard process that requires a particular tool to be used. I favour an approach that centres on enhancing Emotional Intelligence.

I tend to find that people have often been exposed to various psychometric tools during their development, my approach tends to facilitate the extraction of value from these earlier surveys – bringing them into a wider development/ action plan and context that the coachee can begin to use.

The key to coaching’s success often rests with the coachee’s willingness to engage, and that, in turn requires the right ‘Chemistry’. Some of the indicators for the success of coaching are:

• The coachee may be nervous, excited or even apprehensive when introduced
• The coachee has done some preparation, perhaps bringing a note book, a CV, previous development reports and action plans, an organisation chart
• There is a preparedness to trust – I am familiar with the need for the coachee to explore and establish my credibility, qualifications, approach, but this guardedness and need for information and certainty should dissipate fairly quickly
• The coachee may want to understand the organisation’s briefing, but they should also have their own agenda and the two may not be the same
• The coachee will often start telling their ‘story’ early in the conversation, perhaps even before some of the formalities have been completed
• There will be openness and honesty – a willingness to explore issues frankly, the coachee will talk openly, perhaps touching on issues that have remained unspoken for some time. A coaching session is a good place to really ‘open up’
• The coachee may use phrases such as ‘I’ve never told anyone this before…’ combined with the body language that confirms this. There is a lack of defensiveness, perhaps a willingness to be accountable, to take responsibility for their behaviours, their mistakes and the events in life and their consequences
• Genuine emotions can be displayed, quietly
• The coach should feel able to ask more probing questions and begin to challenge. There is a willingness to accept a challenging question calmly and thoughtfully and to answer honestly, whether agreeing or disagreeing
• The coachee begins to reflect and ask questions as they seek to understand. There are often long pauses for thought as challenging questions are posed
• There is a preparedness and recognition that the time has come to make a change. Previously strongly held views are modified and the ‘other point of view’ is recognised
• Motivation for change begins to grow - the ‘discomfort’ of being where they are is greater than the ‘uncertainty’ of change, the coachee begins to be honest with themselves about the reality of their situation
• Preparedness to be courageous and make decisions, this is often a significant moment when the coachee has reached a decision and becomes calm and certain
• The coachee finds that the stress and tension and fearfulness of the consequences of making a decision are reduced. There is a feeling that a weight has been removed.

Yes, there is sometimes a difference between the coachee’s expectations and those of the organisation about the coaching project’s outcomes. This should be explored within the Contracting discussions.

I am often given an outline or brief for the project, expressed by the organisation which may define some expectations, evidence and the background to the project.

Similarly, the coachee may have a set of expectations. It is not unusual for the coachee to focus their objectives on their job, career, and immediate development needs. However, their view and objectives may change considerably during the coaching sessions and their real objectives should be explored early in the conversation.

As a general rule, we take the view that the ‘real’ client is the coachee and it is their interests that are paramount. Our initial focus will be on delivering a result for the coachee.

In almost every coaching project the outcomes could be seen as a Win/Win for the coachee and the organisation, even if the actual outcomes achieved were not intended or foreseen.

The coaching conversation and process is dynamic and flexible, sometimes unpredictable, and the power of the coaching process is its ability to facilitate substantial change where there is willingness.

It is helpful for the organisation, and the coachee, to remain open-minded about the precise outcomes and objectives of a coaching series.

So, in a healthy coaching environment, all parties’ positions should be flexible and understanding of differences at the outset, and equally flexible and open-minded to the outcomes.

I have been presented with some situations where I have had to consider the appropriateness of coaching as an intervention, or my appropriateness as a coach.

Any coaching session should be entered into with an anticipation of success and should ultimately be rewarding and enjoyable. There are times when this prospect may be unlikely and it could be advisable to consider declining the engagement, or an early withdrawal.

These are some of the conditions and circumstances when engagement should be questioned.

• The Chemistry Test

The Chemistry between coachee and coach, (and the organisation) is a key part of the engagement process. It is multifaceted and largely intuitive but ‘the relationship’ needs to have ‘chemistry’ to be effective.

Our coaching engagements are subject to a ‘Chemistry Test’. This is a two-way decision-making process: can the coachee work with the coach, and can the coach work with the coachee?

There can be a failure to achieve a satisfactory level of chemistry for either the coachee or the coach and either could withdraw should they feel uncertain for whatever reason. A failed ‘chemistry test’ would be a significant reason for not engaging.

The chemistry needs to be working in both directions, it is perhaps possible for one party to be content whilst the other has reservations, but experience indicates that, when honest, both parties will feel the same about the existence and quality of chemistry.

• Lack of Chemistry

I have withdrawn from coaching projects because I did not feel that the right chemistry existed even after the session had commenced. In part, this is about an increasing gut feeling about whether I can work with the coachee as the situation emerges, whether I feel I can help, and whether I feel they are continuing to engage.

• Lack of Engagement

Our style of coaching is designed for a short-term relationship – not long-term therapy and it requires the coachee to be actively engaged. If this positive approach to the project is not evident then the coach would consider withdrawing.

• Mental health issues

I have been introduced to a coachee where it became clear that there were significant mental health issues that would have made any coaching style intervention difficult, if not impossible.

In one case, the coachee was in tears soon after the start of the first session and continued for the whole session. The coachee told a story of their early childhood and adolescence that was shocking. I referred the coachee back to HR and informed HR that alternative professional help should urgently be sought. It is interesting to note that this introduction was made by the organisation’s HR team and the coachee’s manager, who thought that coaching was the solution, failing to consider a mental health issue. I also took specific independent professional advice in these circumstances to ensure I was acting correctly.

I have also worked with other coachees where we were all aware of some mental health issues but had agreed to continue a short-term coaching assignment because the coachee felt particularly able to discuss issues in the sessions and some significant progress was achieved.

• Capability

I would not engage with a coachee if I felt I could not coach a particular requirement or issue. For example, there may be occasions where specific economic sector expertise may be required (education and academic) where my background does not match.

It is, in my experience, very unusual to be asked to coach someone on a narrow or specific list of competencies or skills. Most of the outcomes and actions result from questioning and insights rather than direct input from the coach.

• Legality, ethical and morality issues

There have been a few occasions when issues outside the scope of coaching have been identified, and a legal or moral duty comes into play. I have for example often encountered bullying within an organisation, impacting upon a coachee. I have also identified conduct which could indicate that there is fraudulent and possibly criminal activity within an organisation.

In these circumstances, the coach would have to consider the benefit, duty, impact and responsibility to report such issues to the organisation and to consider the effect upon the coachee.

Coaching’s professional bodies are now producing guidance, policies and codes of practice.

• Personal relationships

In my view, a coaching relationship must be based not only on willing engagement and chemistry but also on independence and objectivity.

A coachee should feel absolutely under no obligation to engage with a particular coach, and vice versa, and neither should have any undue influence over the other.

I suspect that many coaches would feel uncomfortable coaching people with whom they have a pre-existing, close friendship or relationship. Coaching a family member would be difficult. A coach must be very careful to retain independence and appropriate distance, protecting themselves and others, should either side be in a vulnerable position.

I think I’m able to coach because I enjoy it, it’s highly rewarding and I’m passionate about it.

I didn’t set out to be a coach, I discovered it as my consultancy practice evolved, and I found myself having more and more conversations with people on a one-to-one basis that utilised my personal qualities, values and experience.

I think the factors that enable me to be effective as a coach are:

My life experiences: particularly the difficult times.

My career experiences: I find that all the broad experience I have had in my career adds value to my coaching. I can call upon all these experiences as a resource in the coaching conversation.

My coaching experience: I have some 20 years of coaching experience so have encountered many different situations; I can look back and see how my style has evolved.

It is very helpful to be able to share something of one’s own experiences with the coachee. This can help understanding through metaphor, and build rapport through empathy.

In my learning, and reflecting upon my ‘style’ I have an eclectic approach, taking thoughts and ideas from multiple sources to integrate into a personal tool kit. This enables me to have an evolving, flexible style and approach.

I feel certain factors are innate and perhaps difficult to learn, perhaps a good coach just needs to have certain natural skills and aptitudes

In my case I feel I have a natural ‘intuition’ – a ‘gut feel’, and I use it constantly. I rely upon it heavily, facilitating my judgement and decision-making. It is possibly the single most important factor contributing to my capability to coach – in my view.

I talk about and share my feelings readily in the coaching session. And I allow and encourage the coachee to be honest about their feelings. I think this helps them to build their self-awareness.

Interpersonal skills are essential, and I would suggest that ‘listening’ skills are vital.

Feeling able to make a Challenge is an important factor in my style. A coach may be one of the few people in the coachee’s life who can ‘say it as they find it’.

There is an ‘experience curve’ effect in the deployment of coaching.

• Understanding how coaching works – if participants have never experienced coaching then they may not understand how it works
• Constraints – some cultures(often those at an early stage in their deployment) are likely to tightly control, overview, check upon, report, review and process manage coaching Whilst this is entirely understandable, the control of the process can limit the degrees of freedom within which coaching should be allowed to perform. Trust is required even if openness is constrained by confidentiality
• Coaching is ‘touchy-feely’ and difficult to define, attribute cause and effect relationships and possibly difficult to evaluate. Some cultures are concerned by this image of coaching
• Expecting simple solutions or quick fixes - Sticking plasters may have been tried on complex problems without trying to fully understand the causes of the problems. Get to the cause of the problem
• Last resort – for some coachees their long-standing issues have been overlooked, put in the ‘Too difficult’ listing, misdiagnosed, and left unfinished. Coaching may sometimes be ‘the last resort, the last opportunity’ before a disciplinary and performance management approach is employed. Consider deploying coaching earlier
• Maximise performance or minimise weakness – coaching can be effective in either direction but perhaps is targeted at overcoming negatives rather than enhancing positives Coaching could be focused only upon the weaknesses but can have a greater impact when focused upon maximising a balanced performance
• Inappropriate briefing - In the initial project brief the coaching requirement may have been pre-simplified (to a defined set of competencies for example). Delivering coaching against such a brief may not be effective. The lasting solution isn’t always what you think it might be. Consider coaching as a more powerful solution, capable of identifying the cause of a problem and resolving it. Coaching is good at getting to the root causes and fixing at that level
• Setting the pace – coaching is good at solving problems, it just takes time. The journey has to be facilitated at a pace that the coachee can manage. When dealing with people; and understanding the drivers and causes of their behaviours, there can be complexities that require some time for the coachee to explore
• Allowing time – it’s not usually the organisation that has problems permitting time for coaching; it’s usually the individual coachee who does not permit themselves sufficient time to prepare for reflection and practice after the coaching session. Organisations should prioritise and support coaching and ensure that the individuals permit themselves to attend!

I focus on coaching individuals on a ‘one-to-one’ basis.

I don’t focus on coaching for teams, I feel that coaching for the whole of the team, as a single unit, is a different skill set and style.

However, when unpicked, what may appear as ‘Team Coaching’ may be ‘individual coaching for a group of people’.

Consider a working definition:

‘Team’ coaching

This applies to a sports team such as a football team. All members have clear interdependent roles, common objectives and there are common skills needs and shared attitudes. The performance of the whole team depends upon cooperation, integration

‘Group’ coaching

This applies to several individuals who tend to work as individuals and are not ‘co-dependent’ for performance. They may not actually work together but may have similar roles and perhaps share a common overriding objective but each is individually responsible for a part of the whole, e.g. a Board, or regional managers.

I am cautious about providing coaching for a team as a unit as I suspect that particular coaching needs may be better addressed at the individual level, developing skills from varied individual starting points and attitudes, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach for a team.

I provide coaching for Groups, where the coaching is delivered at a one-to-one, individual level, addressing the diverse development and support needs to bring each person towards their potential.

This approach will enhance individual performance, and thus improve the group’s performance.