Coaching Resources
Review the steps involved for a coaching engagement and the resources available along the way.
Before selecting a coach
There are two steps to finding a coach: figuring out what you are seeking from coaching and selecting a coach.
Identifying your needs
As a first step, explore what is important to you when you’re in the process of selecting a UBC Coach. See reflection prompts below.
Reviewing coach profiles
Once you’ve identified what you’d like to gain from your coaching engagement, the next step is to find a coach. Each UBC Coach brings with them professional and personal experience and is aligned to a couple of coaching focus areas. When browsing coaches’ profiles on the UBC coaching portal, we suggest looking at the combination of focus areas the coach specializes in.
Keep in mind, browsing coach profiles is no substitute for a live conversation. Don’t overthink it. The sooner you select a coach, the sooner you will be able to schedule your Discovery Call where you can learn if the coach is a good fit for you.
Preparing for your discovery call
Before you officially move forward with a coach, you’ll have a chance to do a 20-30min discovery call. The purpose of this call is to ensure the chemistry with your selected coach is right for you.
All UBC Coaches offer a “Discovery Call” before starting the official coaching engagement. Once you have selected a coach, they will contact you to schedule this initial conversation. The Discovery Call is an opportunity for both the coach and client to clarify the coaching focus and desired outcomes, discuss logistics and determine if they are a fit to work together.
If after this call you decide you would like to explore working with a different coach, we ask that you notify your selected coach of your decision and request that the contract be closed in the portal within 24 hours. You can then revisit the portal to make a new coach selection.
Getting set up with your coach
Before your first coaching session, ensure you have reviewed the UBC Coach-Client Agreement.
This is the standard agreement that all coaches and clients must review before starting a new coaching engagement. It includes details about confidentiality, client responsibilities and what happens if you need to reschedule a session or end the engagement.
During your coaching engagement
There are a few ways to make the most of your coaching engagement before, during and after your session.
Ending a Coach Agreement
If you met with a coach and you don’t want to continue working together, please inform the coach as soon as possible. You can do this by notifying your coach directly via email or by logging into the Coaching Portal and requesting to end your contract.
Once your contract is closed, you can go back into the UBC Coaching Portal and select a new coach to connect with.
Complete your coaching engagement
Congratulations on completing your coaching engagement. We appreciate your feedback – it helps us measure impact and value as well as to make improvements. Please consider filling out this completion survey.
After your coaching engagement
If you worked with an internal coach, and after six sessions you are not ready to end your engagement, there may be the option of adding one additional session at the coach’s discretion. If you worked with an external coach and would like to continue working with your coach beyond the six sessions, you may wish to explore working together on a fee-for service basis. UBC Employees can inquire as to whether they can use their PD Funds to contract with an External Coach to meet their long-term coaching goals. External rates and agreements are determined between the UBC Employee and the External Coach.
Find a Coach
All UBC Coaches are professionally certified, thoroughly screened, and commit to partnering with a minimum of two UBC staff or faculty each year, offering up to six coaching sessions per engagement at no cost.
When selecting a coach, remember:
- Please allow five business days for your coach to respond to your request.
- All UBC Coaches offer a 30-minute “Discovery Session” to help ensure a strong fit before officially starting your coaching engagement.
- After your Discovery Session, if the coach you met with wasn't the right fit for you, please submit a Contract End request within 24 hours. Once your contract has ended, you can select a new coach.
- Once you have completed your coaching engagement you will be asked to provide feedback and a testimonial. Your input, experience and insights are vital and help shape the future of coaching at UBC.
For any questions, take a look at our Coaching Resources or contact us at coaching@hr.ubc.ca.
Legend
Gain a better understanding of what each focus area and theme entails.
Focus areas
| Leadership | Enhance your leadership skills, competency and confidence at all stages of your leadership journey at UBC. (Developing a leadership style; Increasing self-confidence; Leading remote & hybrid teams; Enhancing leadership competencies; Achieving goals; Learning to influence and inspire; Building and sustaining better teams) |
| Career | Clarify and define short and long-term goals for career growth, development and planning your career path. (Exploring goals, expectations, values, and visioning. Networking more effectively; Determining what success looks and feels like. Implementing action) |
| Conflict | Support for engaging in, navigating and resolving inter-personal workplace conflict (Improving interpersonal skills; Improving communication with different groups; Applying new perspectives, creative solutions and problem-solving; Navigating remote & hybrid ways of working) |
| Health and wellbeing | Support for enhancing individual and collective wellbeing and resilience in the workplace. (Balancing your work and home life; Reducing stress; Improving decision making; Living and leading with joy) |
| Change | Thriving through transition and transformation. (Leading and influencing change; Increasing resiliency for individuals and teams; Navigating uncertainty) |
Themes
| Vision | A compelling picture of the future. |
| Purpose | Discovering and maximizing potential. |
| Goals | Planning, decision-making, action and reflection. |
| Remote & Hybrid Work | Navigating ways of working on and off campus. |
| Values | Qualities and principles that really matter to you/guide your behaviour. |
| Strengths | Discover and capitalize on what you do best. |
| Difficult conversations | Conversations where there are (or there is potential for) differences of opinion. |
| Self-esteem | Confidence in your self-worth and abilities. |
| Self-awareness | Conscious awareness of your beliefs, values, motives, identity and impact on others. |
| Systemic-awareness | Conscious awareness of the whole system and the interconnectedness and emergent qualities of systems/organizations. |
| Work-life integration | Balancing personal and professional needs, responsibilities and commitments. |
Coaches' Resource Library
Welcome to the Coach Resource Library where you will find technical guides, forms and templates as well as important information about UBC Coaching Services. This library is updated regularly. If you have an idea for a new resource for coaches, please let us know: coaching@hr.ubc.ca