What I do

What Steve Whiteside PhD Do

Since many of my clients have never worked with an Executive Coach before

Some new clients wonder exactly what I do and how I can help them progress. A more appropriate question than what I do is what I do not do.

What I do not do is provide answers or tell you what to do. I do not swagger in like I’m an expert in what you’re dealing with, nor do I presume to know any better than you do. I’m a firm believer that you’re already an expert in all the things you need to be an expert in, and that you have all the resources and capabilities you need to navigate around the roadblocks that you’ve encountered. I believe that facilitating the process that we will work on together to help you assimilate seemingly disconnected pieces of information hold the key to your continued professional growth and success.

This process is deceptively simple. It is actually fairly easy to explain on paper, but in practice, it takes a lot of time, patience, and listening, to do it properly. The first thing I do is learn about you, both as a person and as a professional. I ask open-ended questions and let you provide full and complete answers, listening carefully to every detail. This will allow me to form a clear understanding of your goals, values, and assumptions. Of course you are free to ask me questions as well, but I’m more likely to respond with more questions than with straight answers. Remember, I’m not there to tell you what to do, I’m there to help you find the answers you most likely already know but are unable to access. In other words, I direct the process, but you provide the content.

As part of this process, our sessions will always start and finish with your agenda, and we will both regularly check to make sure that we are moving in a positive, constructive direction that will move the needle for you. In addition, I always apply a winning combination of four attributes which helps me keep my own perspective while understanding yours: these are empathy (an ability to understand and relate to you), unconditional positive regard (a consistently positive outlook on our work), congruence (keeping our goals synced together), and authenticity. There will also be a number of micro-level strategies and techniques that I will employ to help you find your answers, however these vary greatly from client to client.

Over time, as you begin to realize the answers to the questions you’ve had for so long, we will begin to identify the changes that you need to make. Though these can frequently include changes in attitude and thought processes, I generally like to focus on a behaviour-based approach. In other words, we will work together to figure out the actions you need to take and the practical changes you need to make in your everyday professional life to overcome the challenges that we have identified. As you undergo this process I will help you monitor and tweak things as necessary, but it will always be your responsibility to take the first step and create change in your own life.

My goal is to leave a discernible footprint on your professional life in the form of an improved process or behaviour, but you will always be in the driver’s seat. I want to give you all the help that you need to get to where you need to go, but I respect you as a person and a professional, and I want to help you realize that you have what you need to succeed. I’m not in the business of dispensing quick, easy answers, but trust me – at the end of our work together, you will feel empowered to move forward and tackle whatever the corporate world has to throw at you. And that is something that we can both call success.

Corporations and HR

Corporate and Group Coaching

Assistance with Personal Coaching

Corporation and HR

Though I often coach on a personal basis, there are also several ways that I can work into your corporate structures as well. The aims and methods of my coaching will be the same as described on the rest of this site, but it’s quite easy for me to work with your company in two primary ways:

Corporate and Group Coaching

If your company is undergoing changes with methods, products, or staff, or if you are going through changes at the corporate level, I can apply my expertise in communication and teamwork to ease the transitions and help your company make a positive (and profitable!) impact with its new composition. When you hire me, I’ll conduct a full assessment of the situation and then recommend ways in which I can help your staff learn to ameliorate problems and overcome challenges they have been presented with.

Remember, I can provide this assistance to any company in any industry regardless of how large or small it may be or how long it has been in operation. I can apply my combined experience as an entrepreneur and an Executive Coach to literally any situation, so contact me today for a consultation! You’ve got nothing to lose but inefficiency.

Assistance with Personal Coaching

A growing number of companies now give financial assistance to employees who are in need of executive coaching, so ask your HR department today what your options are! Because we will primarily focus on improving your effectiveness at work and your focus on your career, your employer stands to reap benefit from our time together as well. Should they need to speak to me or have any forms filled out, just let me know and I will give them all of the information they ask for.

Not sure what your company’s policy?

we can still get started

We’ll see how I can assist you. Contact me today for a consultation session and let us see what we can put together!