Researcher Coaching

I specialise in coaching interventions for researchers, academics and professionals in Higher Education & research environments.

I offer one-to-one confidential coaching interventions to individuals in need of an external stimulus to challenge their inner conversations.

 
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What is Researcher Coaching?

Coaching is a form of support focused on identifying solutions to specific challenges that individuals face.

It is based on non-judgmental conversations that allow researchers to reflect on issues. 

Coaching focuses on the very issues that are hindering the progression of an individual towards fuller research potential or making their work context particularly challenging.

Coaching does not hand over solutions. It is much more potent as it offers you the tools to explore your own solutions to your challenges.

Coaching is about holding the space for you to experiment and reframe thinking.

 
Dr Sandrine Soubes delivering an online coaching session. Flipchart at the back with the Business Model You framework used by Sandrine during some coaching sessions.

“Coaching is a way for individuals to think aloud through probing questions and the guidance of thinking tools and models to structure the reflection process.”

Priorities pile up

Your responsibilities and commitments seem to have become endless. All your tasks seem urgent and important. You feel pulled in too many directions. Too many people want different things from you and you have lost track of what you want for yourself.

Messiness of the interpersonal stuff

Research leadership means working in teams. Working with others can feel like such hard work. You’re still finding your feet in figuring out how to motivate and lead others in research. You want to do this well, without depleting your own energy.

Decision paralysis

You have so many decisions to make in your research life; you’ve started to overthink things and you’re feeling wobbly with your next round of decisions. You’re not really sure who could help and who to talk to.

Seeking clarity

Coaching helps you untangle issues that have crowded your thinking, so that you can focus your energy on what matters to you most.

Setting strategic goals

Coaching is about forward looking to encourage you to reflect and take actions. It motivates you to be bold in being ruthless prioritising goals.

Increasing confidence

Tackling limiting beliefs and negative thoughts will help you take actions, move towards new opportunities and dare difficult conversations.

 

Thinking aloud

Coaching helps to streamline and speed up the discovery of solutions to your challenges. It encourages you to explore different ways of thinking to open up more meaningful solutions.

Exploring purpose

In periods of personal and professional transitions, coaching helps you in re-evaluating bigger goals, values and purposes to simplify decisions you have to make.

Motivating others

You want to do a good job at working well with others, but it is hard. Coaching helps to reflect deeply on how you engage with others to ease interactions and build trust.

 

What do you get from working with me?

  • A safe and confidential space to reflect creatively about your work and life.

  • Thinking tools to carve your own bold solutions. 

  • The ability to give yourself permission to generate new ideas, switch perspectives and reveal alternatives.

  • A supportive but challenging accountability to set into motion your reflections and actions.

  • Whatever challenges you are facing, we will tackle them one at a time, so you feel energised through new ways of looking at your situation and context.

  • Although I focus my practice on coaching individuals working in the Higher Education and research sector, I welcome coaching clients from all walks of life.

Photography of Dr Sandrine Soubes
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How do I describe my coaching philosophy?

My coaching values are anchored in respect and integrity.

I seek to empower individuals to regain independence and autonomy from set views and identify new, more effective and rewarding patterns for actions and interactions.

I am an expressive, enthusiastic and dynamic coach, who wants to “rock your boat”

I give individuals a sense of openness to all options and possibilities.

As a foreign national having worked all my career abroad, I understand what it feels like to adapt to working and living in a different country; this certainly helps me as a coach working with researchers having international careers.

My coaching credentials

  • I started coaching in 2012 following my participation in some coaching training.

  • I am an EMCC accredited coach at Senior Practitioner level and certified coach through the ILM Level 7 in Executive Coaching and Mentoring.

  • I am a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and of the Sheffield Coaching Exchange.

  • I take my coaching professional development seriously through continuous reading, workshop participation and coaching supervision.

Testimonials

Featured

Sandrine is an excellent listener and because of this she really pulls all the thoughts you have and make them into actions or activities to challenge or address the thought.

The sessions were extremely useful and helpful. The time intervals between sessions allowed for reflection and implementation of goals.

Sandrine showed empathy, asked the right questions, showed support, listened and wanted to understand the problem in order to deal with it effectively.

I hadn’t previously been able to see how to break out of certain cycles – thoughts and actions – but Sandrine was quite clear that there were ways to do this.

Sandrine was a good listener and pointed out the strengths and weaknesses in what I described was my experience.

Sandrine identified and broke down some imaginary obstacles. These originated partly in my lack of knowledge of the UK higher education landscape, but also of my own methods.