Maren Deepwell

Tag: CPD

  • Curious about coaching? Find out what to expect, how to prepare and how to make the most of it

    Curious about coaching? Find out what to expect, how to prepare and how to make the most of it

    This academic year I am looking forward to working with many new clients, most of whom are new to coaching. The questions I get asked most often by new clients or those considering giving coaching a go, are… ‘What is a coaching session like?’, ‘What should I expect from the first session?’, ‘How should I prepare?’ and also ‘How can I make the most of it?’.

    In this post, I have brought together answers and examples to give you a sense of coaching with me, to explain what’s involved and what to expect. This way, you can hopefully find at least a starting point and we can discuss other questions you have when we meet.

    When is coaching a good fit?

    The question most of my new clients ask to begin with, is whether coaching is right for them. Most often, we discuss this in our initial conversation, which gives them a chance to meet me, discuss what brings them to coaching and what they are hoping to achieve as well as how I can help. Coaching can bring many benefits, and it’s a really powerful tool for self discovery, productivity, professional development and much more, but it isn’t the right fit for everyone or every situation.

    Coaching might be a good fit if you are:

    • Looking for a safe or creative space to focus on an important decision or period of change;
    • Feeling stuck and struggle with productivity or specific tasks;
    • Ready to plan for the next stage in your career or further ahead to the next 5 years;
    • Looking for someone to think (or draw) with to find solutions to problems.

    Coaching offers a range of tools, resources and strategies in a creative, safe space that is focused on your needs. With a background in art and design, I build creativity into all aspects of my coaching practice. We might use sketch notes, visual conversations and other creative approaches as part of coaching sessions, and to help tackle any problems you bring to the session.

    What to expect

    If you are new to coaching, you might well ask how coaching is different from mentoring, therapy or hiring a consultant. Coaching certainly has aspects in common with all three, but is also distinct from them as a professional practice. In contrast to mentoring, which usually includes passing on context-specific know-how or experience, I coach clients from a range of disciplines or backgrounds. For example, I might coach a mid-career science researcher who is stepping up into a senior role even though I don’t have a background in science.

    Similarly, coaching has commonalities with therapy in that it entails you getting know yourself better and engage in reflection. However, distinct from therapy, coaching is usually focused on the present or future plans, instead of looking back to understand how, for instance, childhood experiences have shaped you.

    Coaching, particularly for groups and teams, can also be similar to having an expert act as an external consultant, advising your team, and indeed this is something I also do. However, as a coach, I work with teams and organisations to help them find solutions and ways forward, rather than presenting solutions to my clients.

    My coaching approach is specifically designed for professionals working in the third sector, education and learning technology, with a focus on leadership and career development, as well as managing change and creative problem solving. I offer support tailored to you, creating a flexible and memorable coaching engagement that enables you to develop into the kind of leader you want to be in your community, team, project or organisation.

    How to prepare

    Choose a quiet and private space for your coaching session, and make sure you are comfortable and able to focus on the conversation. I usually use Zoom to facilitate our online coaching sessions, and I also offer to meet in person for a coaching day.

    During a typical coaching session, we will be setting an agenda together, defining what the session will focus on and session objectives. We will use powerful questions to reflect and explore the topic, and I might recommend specific activities and resources to help you work towards your aim such as planning tools, milestones maps and tools to help you identify your values. I’ll make sure we regularly check in on session objectives and ensure you leave each session ready to take next steps.

    All 1-to-1 coaching packages include:

    • Exploratory 30 min conversation
    • Coaching plan
    • Six 1-hour coaching sessions (online)
    • Coaching resources

    I regularly share coaching ideas on my blog and on the podcast, which include lots of practical examples and resources for you to try.

    Walk with your coach

    Sometimes a video call is not the best environment to get us thinking, so for established clients I offer coaching sessions whilst we walk. Usually, this would be coaching via a phone call, but if you are based locally, we could also meet in person. Walking coaching sessions are particularly suited to think together about difficult situations or to reflect on a particular problem or idea.

    Why I love coaching

    I had wonderful mentors and coaches on my journey to becoming a CEO and in the 11 years in an executive leadership role in the non-profit sector. Coaching helped me through difficult periods of transition and supported me in taking difficult decisions under pressure. My own experience has helped me appreciate just how powerful coaching can be and how valuable it is for developing all aspects of your professional practice and values as an emerging leader or an established one. 

    What’s most rewarding for me about coaching is working with clients who are facing great challenges. I really enjoy working together to reflect, set new goals and find out what the next step might be. I am always curious to hear about where you want to go next and help you get there no matter whether that’s getting out of bed tomorrow morning or a new job.

    One tool I have been trying out with clients is writing a personal mission or vision statement (in one sentence), which is harder than it sounds. I tried it out for myself, and it prompted interesting reflections for me. If you’d like to have a go yourself, start with your goal and values and try to express these in one sentence. Let me know how you get on 🙂

    What qualifies me to be a coach?

    I bring a lot of professional and leadership experience to coaching, and as a coach I adhere to the ethical and professional standards of the the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The ICF defines coaching as ‘partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership’. With close to 100 hours of ICF standard coaching experience and having completed all mandatory training I am in the process of becoming an ICF Associate Certified Coach.

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  • Feeling like a CEO?! – My last career transition update: July 2023

    Feeling like a CEO?! – My last career transition update: July 2023

    When I first started in my role in spring 2012, I started working with a wonderful mentor, Margaret. Initially it was meant to be a short-term measure to support me as I stepped up into my first executive role. As it turned out, Margaret and I established a long term relationship that reached well into 2018, and has since turned into a wonderful friendship. We co-wrote three blog posts in 2018, mentoring unpacked, reflecting on our journey and work together.

    Recently Margaret forwarded me an email I sent to her in my first week as CEO. It was lovely to go back to those early days and read about them in my own words. Although I applied for the role as an external candidate, I had in fact been working for the organisation since 2008 in different roles, and so my first day turned out to be a bit of a non-event. I just turned up for work as usual, as did everyone else, and we got on with our lives. The fact that I was now officially in charge wasn’t mentioned by any of my colleagues. My email brought that palpable sense of leadership transitions always being a bit weird right back to me.

    I worked so very hard in that first week, and my words, although upbeat and confident, reflect that in every word. Establishing authority, setting boundaries so that I could meet my new expanded remit and responsibilities, holding colleagues to account when they challenged me. It definitely wasn’t easy, but I loved it. I was so excited, and that excitement carried me through many years.

    Fast forward to the present and this week is a special week, as it rings in the final stage of handover and transition; and afforded me and our current team two days to meet in person together with Billy, our new CEO. A rare treat indeed and, as it turns out when you are challenged in the crystal maze, a huge amount of fun! We had the best time solving puzzles, eating pizza and planning ahead for what is promising to be a wonderful 30th Annual Conference for the Association (incidentally, if you have not yet registered, do it before the early bird deadline on 6th August).

    For me, personally, it feels a lot like my first few weeks on the job in reverse. Instead of a post-it note at the bottom of my monitor reminding me of my new role, I now have welcome reminders everywhere that I am stepping away from the CEO perspective and into a new mindset. Although it’s bittersweet, it feels like the right step for me, and it feels good to have such a committed and inspiring individual step into that space. If you don’t already, follow Billy on social media and find out more about the transition on Billy’s blog!

    Next month, there will be no transition update as we will be completing our handover! So instead look out for a big thank you post from me as we ring in a new era of leadership for ALT.

    Previous posts in this series:

    Preparing for my new career chapter

    So whilst this is all happening, how am I preparing for my new chapter you might ask?

    Well, at the moment, I work with my coaching clients in the evenings and some weekends, and it’s inspiring for me to work with emerging leaders and managers who are finding their footing leading projects and people.

    Having had some wonderful mentors and coaches myself over the past 15 years, I feel very lucky indeed that I now get to support people who are developing in their careers whilst finding work/life balance and being there with them every step of the way.

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  • Summer coaching inspiration

    Summer coaching inspiration

    I’ve put together three ideas to try out whether you are having a busy summer or taking a break. So if you are looking for some inspiration and ideas to recharge for the next academic year, have a go:

    Tips for a week of complete rest

    It’s taken me a long time to be able to step away from all types of work all together, and for me, having a complete week off is a big achievement.. as well as a reflection of how busy I have recently been. I took some practical steps to ensure that I had a complete break, and I wanted to share some tips that worked for me:

    • I completed a holiday handover, with my amazing colleagues and deputy, and then logged off all work systems completely on my last day at work;
    • No laptops came on holiday, and all computers at home where switched off when work ended;
    • I deleted all work-related apps from my phone or switched notifications off completely, included direct messaging, emails, and task management apps;
    • I logged out of/deleted all social media apps, like Twitter and LinkedIn, that I only use in a professional context;
    • calendar notifications were switched off or paused
    • A simply note to make a list of anything that I thought of, which were work related and which I wanted to pick up upon my return;
    • I intentionally packed books, audiobooks and other entertainment that would help me focus on things other than work.

    >> Longer read

    How to make a milestone map

    Many of my clients are looking to make progress in their work or personal lives: to make a change, develop their career path or build personal habits. Many of us have goals like ‘progress in my career’ or ‘be happier’… but it can be hard to break down exactly what to do in order to achieve our aims and define what ‘success’ means to us. In this post I share practical steps to help you put your goals on paper and break them down into achievable chunks, including:

    • How to choose a format that works for you
    • How to pick your goal(s)
    • How to turn goals into milestones
    • How to check your map

    >> Learn more

    List of 100 Dreams

    I am always on the look out for new tools or resources for coaching, and I want to share this one I came across in a blog post by Laura Vanderkam: It’s called a ‘List of 100 Dreams’. If this is a new concept, then head over to Laura’s blog to read more about the original exercise from Career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine and how Laura has used this exercise as part of her work on productivity and time management. The ‘List of 100 Dreams’ is exactly that: a long list of things you wish to do, have or devote time to. In essence, it’s a very long bucket list. 

    I felt this was a lot of fun to try out, so if you are curious to learn more and try this for yourself, here’s how to get started.

    >> Get Started

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  • The year in blog posts… so far

    The year in blog posts… so far

    As I am half way through the year, I am taking a look back at what I have blogged so far, and in the best tradition of the form, to blog about blogging once again. And, if you missed one of these, now is a good time to catch up and bookmark posts for future reading.

    Blogging in numbers

    So far I have published 43 blog posts this year. The average per month is 7 per month. January was the month with the most posts (10) and March and April were the month with the fewest posts (5).

    Top 5 posts

    1. Post with the most comments: OER23 Conference: a whole lotta love
    2. Post that was shared most widely: The world is bigger than my desk. 
    3. Post that was read most widely: Thank you #EDEN2023
    4. Post that had the most successful podcast companion episode: What’s so important about open practice for hybrid leaders?
    5. Post that I enjoyed writing the most: A party without a cake is just a meeting…

    January (10)

    February (9)

    March (5)

    April (5)

    May (6)

    June (8)

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  • Top 5 listens on the Leading Virtual Teams podcasts

    Top 5 listens on the Leading Virtual Teams podcasts

    It’s July and time for a mid-year top 5 review, helping you catch up on the most popular episodes on the Leading Virtual Teams Podcast!

    No. 1 – S02E12 – How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 1

    The most popular episode so far this year is the intro to my How to Lead Virtual Teams Course. In the first course podcast, I introduce the topics of the course and show you how to take part. For the orientation session, we’ll be focusing on the introduction chapter of Leading Virtual Teams.

    No. 2 – S02E11 – OER23 Special: What’s so important about open practice for hybrid leaders?

    This episode shares a lot of excitement about OER23, an event which I have been fortunate enough to help organise since 2015 and which is always a great highlight of my year. This year, I was especially looking forward to the conference, partly because it’s in one of my favourite parts of the world, the Scottish Highlands, and partly because it gave me a chance to catch up with many friends and colleagues I haven’t seen in a while, including long-time collaborator, Lauren Hanks.

    Lauren and I have been talking about hybrid working and leading virtual teams for the past few years, and at least year’s OER Conference we even ran a session together: As leaders of virtual teams, we critically examined what lessons we can learn from open approaches to learning and teaching and how we can use that knowledge in an increasingly virtual workplace. Since then, I have been thinking a lot about why open practice is so important for knowledge workers, and particularly managers and leaders who work in hybrid, distributed or fully virtual team: Read the blog post.

    No. 3 – Special Episode with Martin Weller

    In this episode I welcome a special guest, Martin Weller, as we talk about writing books, virtual learning and virtual working and what we are learning along the way. 

    No. 4 – Book Preview: Introduction to Leading Virtual Teams

    In this episode I read an extract from the introduction of my book, Leading Virtual Teams. 

    Leading Virtual Teams – Field Notes from a CEO by Dr Maren Deepwell, was published 1 December 2022 as an open access publication by the Association for Learning Technology, UK.

    No. 5 – S02E19 – Meditation and mindfulness for hybrid and virtual teams

    During the recent Mental Health Awareness Week, I looked for new tips and ideas for virtual and hybrid teams keen to embed mindfulness and meditation into their ethos. In this episode I share ideas and practical approaches. You can find more information in the episode blog post.

    Listen to the podcast

    Each week, I share ideas and strategies for creative and fun approaches to help you succeed and lead in the hybrid workplace. Each episode includes tools, resources and strategies for different aspects of hybrid working, and links to blog posts and further reading. On this page, you can find links to the all episodes and further resources in the show notes.

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  • How to make a milestone map

    How to make a milestone map

    Many of my clients are looking to make progress in their work or personal lives: to make a change, develop their career path or build personal habits. Many of us have goals like ‘progress in my career’ or ‘be happier’… but it can be hard to break down exactly what to do in order to achieve our aims and define what ‘success’ means to us. Here are five tips that will help you create a milestone map that works for you:

    Choose a format that works for you

    It’s hard enough to set out a milestone map without having to do battle with the interface. Maybe you are someone who thrives on learning all about a new productivity tool (hello, fellow Asana fans), and if that’s the case, then use that extra motivation to get you started in a shiny new template. If pen and paper seems more attractive, or post-it notes on a whiteboard get you thinking, then choose those. You can use pretty much any format you like. The key is that you need to pick something you can easily work in, add to over time and access, and something that will enable you to add a lot of information if you need to (when you break down goals like ‘develop my career’ into smaller, actionable tasks).

    If you have a work tool that you need to use for a performance review or appraisal, then ideally start somewhere else and late copy your finished thoughts into the required format. Give yourself space to think first and foremost.

    Pick your goal(s)

    Is this map going to help you plan out the next five years? Focus on finishing a book or a project? Is this a map to a career transition, a healthier you or a bucket list? Do you already know exactly what you are aiming for?

    • If you have a clear goal: then set out your parameters first. For example, if you are planing for a writing project, note all the specifics such as word count, deadlines and so forth. For example, if your goal is to: submit a paper to a major conference; this could be made more specific: Submit a 5,000 word research paper to a conference by July.
    • If you are searching for clear goals: often it can be hard to set out goals straight away. It’s helpful to think about broad categories to start focusing, e.g. ask yourself what timeframe you are planning for; what aspect of your life you want to think about, such as work, family, relationships, hobbies, self; consider what’s important to you and how this can be reflected in your plans. For inspiration, have a look at the Wheel of Life tool or List of 100 Dreams I have previously blogged about or start with a list of your values to help guide your thinking.

    Turn goals into milestones

    Once you have your blank page in front of you and picked your goal(s), it’s time to turn the goals into milestones. Earlier I used the example of a writing project, where the goal is to: Submit a 5,000 word research paper to a conference by July. For this kind of project, ask yourself questions like: who else is involved? How will they input? Are any parts of this time-sensitive? What is the end product? How do I get there? Or what is the first step? What is the next step?

    Group tasks that go together and define a milestone for each group. For example:

    • Write 500 word outline
    • Research initial references
    • Share with colleague for feedback
    • Milestone: Draft a full paper structure

    Then, consider how to move from your first milestone to the next.

    The same approach works for much bigger goals, such as working towards a promotion or leading an initiative. Whatever you choose to focus on can always be broken down into individual steps and milestones.

    Check your map

    Part of the magic of this kind of planning is that it really works, provided that the map is true to you. By that I mean that the map reflects what can you can reasonably achieve. If you usually write less than 500 words a month and your plan is to write 5,000 words a day, then you will very likely not achieve your goal.

    The trick is to dream big and allow yourself to set goals that are truly meaningful to you, which you then turn into achievable actions that fit within your life.

    Similar to prioritising your to do list, you can prioritise your milestone map. A long term goal might go on the back burner while you focus on a more urgent opportunity for example. A map is not a to do list, but a tool for you to make the changes you want to make happen.

    Ask why?

    I often come across milestone maps that are all about what people feel should be on them instead of goals that align with what’s truly important to us. So my final tip for when you have your map, is to check in with yourself about the why.

    Why is this goal on your list? Why is it important? Why do you want to spend the next three years working towards this?

    Milestone maps often bring out our inner need to conform to other people’s expectations. Maybe there is a specific deliverable you need to meet to get more funding for your project. Or maybe there is a hoop to jump through on the path to tenure. Whatever you are aiming for, remind yourself of why it’s important to you.

    Make your hybrid working milestone map

    I recently worked with the wonderful folk at Reclaim EdTech on a course all about hybrid working, and as part of the course I designed a roadmap for professional practice in hybrid working. If this is something you are interested in, drop me a line and I’d be happy to send you a template so you can make your own.