The Coaching Process

You may become interested in working with me as the result of a comment from a satisfied former client, from my books, an article I have been quoted in, or after attending one of my workshops or lectures. Once you have made an initial contact with me, I will have an initial conversation with you to gain an understanding of what is going on in your life and what objectives you may have for the coaching process. Any information you share with me, whether you decide to move forward in coaching or not is of course treated with the strictest confidentiality. I treat your information just as I would your own medical record. Your file and my notes are kept in a locked file available only to me.

If after this first conversation you and I decide to move ahead, I provide you with the CPPR Life Review Questionnaire from which I obtain additional information about you. The questionnaire will take you about 1.5 hours to complete, and asks questions not only about your work, but also you dreams, hopes, how you spend your time, your financial goals, your relationships, and your past educational history. It gives me a holistic understand of you.

After you have returned the questionnaire to me and I have reviewed it, we will have a session to derive your “coaching agenda and timeline.” That translates as what personal and/or professional issues you intend to work on during coaching, and the length of time you expect that will take. I then prepare a written coaching contract for your approval. The contract stipulates your objectives and timeline for coaching, your coaching fee schedule, what you can expect from me and what I expect from you during the coaching process. The contract is modified, as necessary, to meet your satisfaction. The coaching process then begins immediately.

The process leading to a new coaching contract usually requires several weeks’ time. By proceeding slowly and thoroughly in this manner, we mutually formulate a plan for your coaching which is highly individualized to meet your unique needs. My success reflects this care and attention, as well as my many years of experience providing career/life coaching to thousands of physicians and other healthcare professionals nationwide since 1997.

I offer career/life coaching in-person by telephone, and online using SKYPE and FACETIME, nationwide. Individuals living in the San Francisco Bay Area meet with me in person in Palo Alto. If you live outside the Bay Area, I offer identical coaching services by telephone or online using SKYPE and FACETIME. Long distance clients contact me using their own long distance or mobile service.

Our coaching sessions together are one hour in duration and are typically scheduled at a frequency of twice a month. Crisis situations may demand more frequent sessions in the beginning. As you approach the end of your coaching process, sessions may decrease in frequency to once a month. My experience is that sessions scheduled more often than twice a month leave you with insufficient time to properly reflect upon the issues at hand and to get your homework completed. Spreading sessions out to less than one per month leads to a loss of momentum and continuity which inevitably delay the end results which you are working towards.

At the end of each coaching session, I usually assign “homework” for you to complete prior to our next session. This homework assignment may take the form of reading from a textbook(s), writing in a journal to respond to a specific assigned topic, answering a written questionnaire I will provide, completing a career assessment tool I may provide, networking to obtain more information about a part of your plan, or other suitable assignment. I expect you to complete the assignment prior to our next scheduled coaching session and send your written assignments back to me via e-mail, fax, or regular mail so it arrives at least 24 hours before your next scheduled coaching session.

In order to support you and keep you moving forward, I am available to you by phone or email between sessions to answer questions, offer resources, and for other appropriate brief conversations. I do not charge for these short conversations.

At the end of each month, I will send you an itemized statement which includes the number and date(s) of sessions held that month, the cost of books or materials I may have provided to you that month, and any telephone charges for the month. I expect prompt payment by check or electronic funds transfer, such as PayPal. Coaching fees may be tax-deductible; please seek the advise of your accountant and/or certified financial planner.