"The high pressure at work and unexpected feedback from my manager made me feel less comfortable. It made me quite grumpy, and that affected my work as a manager. At the time, I worked for a pharmaceutical company for a year and a half, where I was, and still am, responsible for the technical department. That consists of four teams, all of which report to me.
Not long after that review, my then manager reported to me that some people in my teams sometimes felt not so appreciated. For me, this was nothing more than an incident; I have been managing for more than 20 years and it has always gone well. And yes, I was not feeling so good for a while. I saw it as a temporary dip, no big deal. My manager thought differently and wanted me to talk to a coach. I thought he overreacted a bit, so I didn't entirely agree with the reason. But I thought: help from a coach never hurts, so let me take this chance.

Through an introductory interview, I ended up with Rebecca from LemonGrass Coaching. I liked that she had experience coaching people in a more senior position. She understood what it is like in large organisations like the pharmaceutical company where I work and because of this she quickly understood what was going on. The coaching question I drew up together with my employer and Rebecca was: how can I ensure that results are achieved, and on the other hand that people feel appreciated in their positions?
After an introduction of myself, in which we looked at who I am, what I consider important, and what my motivations are, we focused on my daily work. Rebecca asked me to list what I was up against in my work. When are things not going my way? And when is it? Where do I get energy from? I then kept notes every working day for a few weeks, writing down what went well, what went less well, and how I dealt with it. This allowed me to clearly see how my own moods were affecting my communication with others.

When I had a minor clash with an hr adviser, I noticed that it was taking energy out of me, and she probably didn't find it pleasant either. Together with Rebecca, I decided to get back to that hr lady about it. She appreciated that, and it was nice that the air was cleared. I think I would have left it without this coaching process.
The coaching has not brought me any major revelations, but I have become more aware of certain things. When I am not feeling as well as I used to, I know I can be more difficult to communicate with. Now I have learned not to confront someone then, but to wait for another moment. And I make sure I let the people in my teams know more often when they have done their work well. I was already doing that, but now more emphatically.

During the initial conversations with Rebecca, we added a little more to my coaching question. Namely, I immediately wanted to take the opportunity to go through my career development with her. I already knew that I am a driven person. On the one hand, that is something good, but I tend to be too preoccupied with the next step. In doing so, I sometimes somewhat undo the current step my career is in. And so I have agreed with myself that at a few moments in the year I should take stock: where am I now, where do I want to go, and how am I going to do that? During the rest of the year, I try to be content with where I am now, what I am doing, and go full steam ahead with that. This has a positive impact not only on myself, but also on my colleagues and on our joint results.

In recent months, I have been in a more positive flow at work than before. And not just me, my team too. A great illustration of this is a survey we do every year, on how engaged our employees feel and how well they are able to do their jobs. This year, my teams improved by 25 per cent across the board compared to last year. And on all individual items, the team is performing better. A very nice and concrete result, of which I am quite proud.
Despite the somewhat negative occasion, I look back on the coaching process with a nice feeling. It offered me a piece of reflection. Rebecca has a great ability to connect, she quickly understands what it is about and is able to put it well and smoothly into her own words. I felt understood by her and would definitely recommend her if anyone in my area is looking for a work coach."