Interview with a coach – Graeme Rainbird, Consulting Director at People Business

As part of a 2023 series introducing you to some of our team here at People Business, we have had a chat with our Business Consulting Director and experienced coach, Graeme Rainbird. Graeme has over 25 years of consulting experience in leadership and team development, culture change, organisational development and, of course, coaching.

Graeme, what do you enjoy about coaching people?

I love getting to know people, understanding what makes them tick. So much about coaching is helping people find the confidence to try something new – it is really rewarding to see someone take a risk and see new possibilities.

People trust me to step into their world – while coaching is based on building strong personal relationships it is very imbalanced. The focus is on them not me (although I do try to be very open and share personal insights and stories too, where they might help). I learn so much by stepping into the shoes of others and seeing the world from their point of view.

What difference does coaching make – how do you know when you are adding value?

My work is guided by my client’s ‘measures of success’ – their criteria for the difference our work will make. So it is very transparent when coaching adds value – the change is explicitly articulated and most sessions will start with an update: “How have you taken action since we last spoke? What impact have you had?”

A third party view is also important – encouraging the client to get feedback from their stakeholders to understand the impact of the changes they are making.

And of course I am continually asking for feedback to understand how I best support each client.

What quality do you think people need to have to be an effective coach?

To be an effective coach you need a profound interest in (and care for) people and a low ego (the focus is them not me), alongside high confidence to believe you can add value.

You also need a degree of flexibility and patience to allow people to work at their own pace (the actions belong to them, not me).

What feedback have people given you that you are most proud of?

“He asks questions that really get me thinking.” – this is what it’s about!

“I have transformed relationships and made a real difference to performance.”

“Our work is authentic – I can be more of me, I am not trying to be someone else.”

What is one thing you have learnt about yourself from coaching others?

I have learnt much more than one thing!

Sometimes I can be a bit of a control freak and I need to remember there are many ways to get to a good outcome.

Also, I need to protect my time before and after a coaching meeting to allow myself to get in the right headspace for the person I am about to meet (and afterwards to capture my thoughts we might revisit next time we speak).

And finally, I know that I can be a bit private sometimes, but if I expect others to be open with me then I need to be prepared to be open too.

What can put people off coaching – and what would you say to someone wondering ‘Is now the right time?’

Some people are fearful of losing control – revealing something that they regret once it is out there. My experience is that this concern is short lived – people soon realise they are in control of any conversations or actions arising from their coaching.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is that people don’t value the thinking time sufficiently in their increasingly busy days. Stopping to switch off the autopilot to really think things through does take some investment of time. But the value is huge – how are we going to maximise our impact of we are not intentionally thoughtful?

Nobody wants to be judged. In coaching we just meet the coachee where they are.

If you’re interested in finding out more about receiving coaching with Graeme, or one of our other experienced coaches, please get in touch.

And to find out more about our consultant team here at People Business, read more interviews below: