ACA for personal and leadership coaching
Whether you are new to coaching or have had a variety of experience, below is how we approach coaching using the ACA framework.
We believe wellbeing underpins all aspects of our lives: our mental and physical health, our relationships, our careers, and our success. Coaching for wellbeing supports you to “feel good and function well” (after Aked, et, al., 2008).
Because how good we feel (happiness, satisfaction, worth) affects how we function in the world (leader, colleague, friend, partner), and in turn our worlds affect how good we feel about ourselves.
Coaching through the ACA framework supports:
Awareness: of self and situation
Choice: realising different choices
Action: finding our agency to make change happen
Coaching for Awareness – this is a catalytic process, sparking new thought or realisations. Some people call these lightbulb moments! Coaching can help shine a spotlight, explore, notice and offer an alternative lens to look at life through. The outcomes of which are increased consciousness of ‘this is who I am’, ‘this is what I like and dislike’, ‘this is what I am good at and not good at’, ‘this is who is good for me and not good for me’, and ‘this is what I want and don’t want’.
Coaching for Choice – based on these realisations, this is the gaining of control and a commitment to change; to commit to using personal power to achieve personal gain. Coaching can help catalyse a pro-active process of finding clarity of understanding, having different thoughts about something, and finding solutions to ‘how’ we get what we want.
Coaching for Action – this is mobilising our commitment into action, or our power into agency and making change happen. Agency isn’t a one-off change. It is transferring learning of how we do this into multiple areas of our lives; continuously gaining more awareness, more choice, and taking more actions – sustaining our agency towards greater wellbeing: we feel good and are functioning well. Coaching can be a handrail as you try out new behaviours, keep making sense of new insight, so changes are sustainable over time.
Typically, 1:1 coaching involves 4-6 session lasting 60-90min every two – three weeks, with between session targets and check-ins.
Dr Lucy Maynard
Lucy has a background in the non-profit sector and a PhD in empowerment for wellbeing development. She is committed to working with leaders, practitioners and researchers with similarly aligned values.
Lucy firmly believes that wellbeing underpins all aspects of our lives: our mental and physical health, our relationships, our careers and our success.
Lucy has an ICF (International Coach Federation) Accreditation in Business and Personal Coaching, ACC Credential (Associate Certified Coach) and is a member of the ICF.
Email: z_lucy_may@yahoo.co.uk
Professor Kaz Stuart
Kaz has a background in leadership and management development and a PhD in collaborative agency across professional and organisational boundaries in the children’s workforce.
Kaz is passionate about system leadership and collaboration across integrated services, particularly with organisations supporting children, young people and families.
Kaz has a Level 7 ILM (Institute for Leadership and Management) Certificate for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors and is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.
Email: kazstuart480@gmail.com
Coaching testimonials
Coaching with Lucy has been such a fulfilling experience! I’ve been working with her since the summer having found working through the pandemic challenging and this was impacting on my personal and professional wellbeing and productivity. She has helped me revive passion and drive for my work that I was worried was burnt out, and has supported me get to know myself better and draw on my internal resources to take control over my wellbeing. As a coach, I’ve experienced Lucy as being agile, supportively challenging, and fun! I highly recommend her. Mary McKaskill, Practice Development Manager, The Centre for Youth Impact
Kaz has helped me so much. I have more clarity and am finding I can make decisions more clearly at work. This has made such a different experience to my confidence too — I feel like a different person, thank you!
I have been working with Lucy over the past few months after a tricky period with my PhD studies. Lucy is amazing. Not only has she helped me to realise that I am capable of finishing the thesis, but she has absolutely re-lit the fire in me for the research and for my professional work. Lucy has helped me to remember the work I am capable of and the value in this for those I work with, and has helped me to recognise what I have to offer. In addition, Lucy has totally helped me to identify my values with regard to the research and my profession, and this has completely changed my attitude and outlook towards this. She has helped me to get ‘unstuck’ with the writing, and I am now cultivating a thesis which is more aligned to me and the way I believe research should be carried out: less about the kudos and elitist language, and more about making a difference to those without a voice and it being accessible to all. Thank you Lucy!! You have helped me to be a better researcher and this will help me to make a positive change for more people. Occupational Therapist and PhD Student
ACA Development 