Could a jobshare coach transform your partnership?
Alongside our consultancy work - solving organisational challenges through the power of jobsharing - a core part of our work is supporting jobshare pairs with our unique, tailored jobshare coaching programmes. In this blog, we explore what led to us setting up our jobshare coaching practice, how coaching works and how a jobshare coach might be the solution to maximise your partnership!
Jobsharing coaching - our journey
The jobshare revolution was founded by Chloe fletcher and Laura Walker - who has successful careers as Finance Directors at Asda, doing high impact, senior roles as a jobshare. During our careers, we benefited from Exec Coaching - working with professional coaches helped our development hugely, so we knew how impactful coaching could be.
However, when we engaged a coach as a jobshare, we were underwhelmed by the process. The coach was capable and experienced, but didn’t really understand what jobshare was, or how jobsharing worked. We iterated between trying to explain the nuances of jobsharing to the coach and having side conversations between ourselves - with the coach having little impact!
But we knew there was a better way. This coaching made us realise that with the right experience, empathy and understanding, jobshare coaching could be transformative for jobshare partnership. Chloe had trained with Barefoot Coaching whilst we worked at Asda and so, The Jobshare Revolution Jobshare Coaching was born!
What is coaching?
Coaching is sometimes hard to explain - and the term has been abused in the workplace - we’ve seen many examples of “coaching” used to describe telling people what to do in a very “tell and do” way! That’s not what coaching is. Done properly, coaching is a transformative way of supporting an individual or group to unlock their own potential. Traditional coaching involves a coach working with an individual explore their challenges, identify their opportunities and help them build solutions to make changes they need or maximise their potential. Traditional coaching tends to involve the coach asking questions and creating space and time for the individual to think for themselves and find the right solutions for them.
Jobshare coaching is built on these core coaching foundations - we work with jobshare pairs together, helping them to build their relationship, explore what’s working well and what could be improved. We enable pairs to create strategies and techniques to thrive as a partnership. We use coaching questions alongside tools like personality and style profiling to help jobsharers to understand themselves and each other.
In our coaching programmes, we also build on these core principles of coaching by incorporating best practise upskilling. So, as well as coaching you to find the best solutions for your specific organisation and situation, we also teach you techniques and metholodgies to do your jobshare well. We teach the fundamentals of jobsharing and then build on this so your jobshare can reach its maximum potential!
Who is coaching for?
Our jobshare coaching is for jobshare pairs at all stages of their journey. In most instances, we conduct jobshare coaching with both individuals together, so that the foundations of trust are cemented throughout the jobshare.
We often work with new pairs - right at the start of the journey. We support new pairs to discover who they are individually and how they will work effectively as a pair. We run coaching sessions which build trust between the pair - an essential element for a jobshare. We also explore how to disagree effectively and how individuals’ personal approaches to conflict may impact the jobshare relationship.
When we work with new pairs, we start to build the foundations of a long term, high trust relationship and we teach tools to enable the pair to continue to develop trust and strengthen their relationship beyond the coaching programme.
Chloe Fletcher - jobshare coach
We work with jobshare pairs to create a safe and supportive environment to stimulate development and pair growth.
As well as working with new pairs, we work with established and experienced pairs. Common situations where jobshare coaching is useful include starting a new role and working through how to make it work, working through a relationship niggle within the partnership or reflecting a jug what’s next for you as a jobshare pair. We believe in squiggly careers and continuous professional development and jobshares are no exception - jobshare coaching can be a great organisational investment to accelerate the development of jobshare pairs.
One of the most common reason we work with pairs is to support them to reach their full potential! Jobsharing is a brilliant way to work parttime whilst progressing your career. Coaching can be invaluable in helping you work through what the next step might look like, what your partnership super power is and how to have impact when applying for your next role! Coaching is a great way to step back as a pair and really set you up to succeed towards the next level!
How do jobshare coaching sessions work??
Our sessions are highly tailored based on what your jobshare partnership needs, but as a general rule - jobshare coaching is a joint activity. Both jobshare pairs join a remote call on teams and we work together - one coach and you two as a jobshare pair. We tend to do 90 minute pair coaching sessions - which may include exercises together or individually. These sessions are a chance to step back from the day to day and work through an challenges, or just build your relationship and work out how to do your role as a jobshare
We use a blend of coaching and best practise upskilling - so that you learn the optimal ways to jobshare and help identify how they could work best in your role.
We work within the framework of the international coaching federation, so all sessions are led by highly trained coaches, with confidentiality and client growth at the centre of what we do!
Laura Walker - jobshare coach
Our jobshare coaching is under the International Coaching Federation framework, but tailored specifically to the unique needs of jobsharers.
Who are your jobshare coaches?
Our coaching programmes are led by our co-founders Chloe and Laura. We jobshare - so depending on which day your coaching falls, one of us will lead all of your sessions. Chloe is ICF ACC trained through Barefoot Coaching. Laura is ICF trained through Human Technics and also holds an ILM Level 7 Coaching and Mentoring from the University of the West of England.
Chloe and Laura are highly experienced people leaders - with a background in Finance - they have led small and large teams and operated at a very senior level at Asda. They have experience of both people and change leadership - having led the Finance Transformation programme at Asda as a jobshare. They have both completed Leading change for Business Transformation at the London Business School.
Laura and Chloe are passionate about the power of jobsharing and committed to supporting more and more jobshare partnerships to thrive and develop. To find out more, visit our website.
Want to find out more??
If you want to find out more about what we do, get in touch. Send us an email at hello@thejobsharerevolution.co.uk or a message on LinkedIn.
If you want a bit more info before you get in touch, check out our website or our podcast “Jobshare Stories”.
#JobshareCoach #jobshare #Jobsharing #PowerPartnership
