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Medical College of GeorgiaMCG Office of Faculty Affairs & Success
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  • Coaching Consultation Service

Coaching Consultation Service

What is Coaching?

Coaching is solutions oriented. A coach asks powerful questions to help an individual become their own compass and move closer to their goals and aspirations.

Unlike mentors who often provide advice based on their experience, coaches focus on the future and guide individuals to discover solutions themselves. It is not necessary for a coach to be an expert in the individual's field, as the emphasis is on internal discovery. In contrast, counselors or therapists may focus on understanding past issues, and consultants provide solutions to fix problems. The "coach approach" involves curiosity, non-judgmentalism, and the use of open-ended questions like "What" and "How" instead of "Why." Observing body language and word choice, coaches encourage reflection and vision. See the adjacent figure for a depiction of how these common forms of guidance overlap and differ.

 

A comparison of Common Forms of Guidance: The image has a cross in the middle with the x-axis running from Problem (left) to Solution (right) and the y-axis running from Ask (top) to Tell (bottom). In the middle is a box that says "overlapping forms of guidance". In addition, the word Past is on the left side of the image and Future is on the right side of the image. Therapists are in the left upper quadrant meaning they tend to Ask questions and are problem and past-focused. Consultants are in the lower left quadrant indicating that they Tell and are problem and past-focused. Mentors are in the right lower quadrant indicating they Tell and are solution and future focused. Coaches are in the upper right quadrant indicating they Ask questions and are solution and future focused.

"If you don't make the time to work on creating the life you want, you're eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don't want."

— Kevin Ngo

Topics for Coaching

Coaching can potentially help any issue, but below are issues encountered by faculty that may benefit from a coaching session or engagement.

Career

  • Advancing career
  • Networking
  • Increasing productivity
  • Career visioning
  • Transitioning to a new role
  • Exit planning

Leadership

  • Managing a team
  • Decision-making
  • Problem-solving
  • Developing & implementing strategy
  • Employee engagement
  • Delegation
  • Developing leadership presence
  • Changing culture
  • Clarifying vision/mission/values

Communication

  • Managing conflict
  • Preparing for a difficult conversation
  • Improving communication
  • Delivering feedback
  • Negotiation
  • Influencing others

Personal

  • Burnout
  • Imposter syndrome
  • Perfectionism
  • Limiting beliefs
  • Changing perceptions
  • Changing behavior
  • Boundaries
  • Challenging relationships
  • Managing stress
  • Time management
  • Prioritizing
  • Receiving negative feedback

Quality Improvement for Your Career

The MCG Coaching Process

Mine | Cultivate | Grow

Mine

The process begins with an initial consultation to dig deep and understand what issues you want to tackle. This initial phase may include completing assessments and setting goals for the engagement.

Cultivate

This is the active coaching/exploration phase where through active listening and powerful questioning from the coach you will cultivate new insights and solutions and formulate action steps.

Grow

In this phase, you will experiment by implementing action steps generated in the previous phase resulting in growth. Implement QI cycles (Plan – Do – Check – Act) to develop a plan that works for you.

Coaching Events

OFS Coaching Workshops for Departments or College

Women's Career Symposium Coaching Workshop

Family Medicine Coaching Talk

ICF World Coaching Week Celebrations

Social Media Campaign

Coaching Workshop - May 13, 2024

Taste of Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Coaching Consultation?

  • A coaching consultation is a one-hour meeting with Dr. Lisa Leggio, the Associate Director of the Office for Faculty Success, to determine whether coaching is right for you.
  • Leggio will review what coaching is (and what it is not) and give an overview of the process.
  • You will be invited to share your concerns, issues, or goals and what outcomes you would like from a coaching engagement.
  • Sometimes, after discussion, we may agree that consulting, mentoring, or therapy may be more appropriate than coaching.
  • If you decide to pursue coaching, you will determine the goals, frequency of meetings, and length of the engagement.
  • You and the coach will sign a coaching agreement before beginning a formal coaching engagement.
  • Although Dr. Leggio is the coach assigned to OFS, there are coaches in Human Resources and volunteer coaches on campus who are available if deemed more appropriate for your situation.

What is a Coaching Engagement?

  • A coaching engagement is a series of meetings with a coach to work on pre-determined goals or issues.
  • An engagement may be brief (1-3 sessions) or longer (weekly, biweekly, or monthly sessions over 6-12 months).
  • An engagement may end early if goals are met, or renewed to continue work on goals, or renewed with new goals.
  • Coaching engagements are confidential.
  • If coaching was recommended by your supervisor, the OFS can confirm your participation, but we will not disclose the content or outcome of the engagement or sessions.

What is a Coaching Session?

  • A coaching session is a single meeting within a longer coaching engagement.
  • Sessions may be any length. Some may be as brief as 10-15 minutes to work through a straight-forward on-demand issue. Others may be up to an hour.
  • Sessions may be conducted in-person, virtually (by Zoom or Teams), or by phone.
  • You and your coach will work toward your pre-established goals.
  • You will determine the topic and desired outcomes for each session.
  • Your coach will actively listen, ask questions, and follow your lead to make progress toward your desired outcome.
  • Your coach may ask difficult questions that may bring up strong or unexpected feelings.
  • All sessions are confidential (unless you express intent to harm yourself or others).

Who are the Coaches?

photo of Lisa Leggio, MD

Lisa Leggio, MD

  • Coach, MCG Office for Faculty Success
  • Associate Director, Office for Faculty Success

Lisa Leggio, MD is the Associate Director of OFS. She is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics with over 20 years of experience as a general pediatrician. She was the Director of Pediatric Student Education for 18 years and currently serves as the Vice Chair for Faculty Development in Pediatrics and a Longitudinal Career Advisor in Academic Affairs. Leggio has been a certified Healthcare Peer Coaching Practitioner™ through the Physician Coaching Institute since 2021. She completed a 30-hour COMSEP COACH Certificate program through the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics and a 12-hour Coaching 101 program through the MCG Education Innovation Institute in 2023. She completed executive coach training through the Center for Executive Coaching and is accruing the experience hours required to become board certified with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

photo of Katherine Grego, MEd

Katherine Grego, MEd

  • Volunteer Coach, MCG Office for Faculty Success
  • Organizational Development Analyst

Katherine "Kat" Grego began with Augusta University's Human Resources Division in 2023 as the Organizational Development Analyst. Katherine is a Certified Coach from the University of Georgia's Graduate Certificate in Organizational Coaching program and completed her MEd in Educational Leadership from Columbus State University. Her coaching sessions tend to focus on career transitions and developing traditionally underserved leaders. In her free time, Katherine enjoys practicing yoga, playing strategic board games, and listening to podcasts.

photo of Kelli Brooks, MBA, BCC

Kelli Brooks, MBA, BCC

  • Volunteer Coach, MCG Office for Faculty Success
  • Manager, Organizational Development

Kelli has been involved in organizational development at Augusta University since 2016. Her work focuses on creating energy for change for individual and institutional development serving the physicians, faculty, and staff of AU. She specializes in using data to drive leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational development. As a Board-Certified Coach with the Executive & Leadership Coaching designation, she offers individual and group coaching to guide her clients through goal development using actionable development plans and thoughtful questions to encourage perspective taking and personal growth. Through strategic organizational consulting, she works to maximize effectiveness by increasing engagement, influencing a positive culture, and promoting AU’s values to improve the patient and student experience. She also teaches research-based curriculum, to develop AU personnel while modeling a hunger for learning and professional development.

photo of Lori Welch-Sigmon, PhD, HSP

Lori Welch-Sigmon, PhD, HSP

  • Volunteer Coach, MCG Office for Faculty Success
  • Associate Professor, Psychiatry

Dr. Lori Welch-Sigmon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior and a Licensed Psychologist. In her role with AU/MCG, she provides training and supervision of doctoral-level psychology students at East Central Regional Hospital. Dr. Welch graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from Florida State University, M.S. in Applied Psychology from Augusta University, M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University with specialization in Health Psychology. She received predoctoral training at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana and postdoctoral training in Community Psychology and spiritually integrative care in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Welch has post-doctoral certifications in Executive Coaching from the College of Executive Coaching and Leadership Coaching from Coles Business School at Kennesaw State University. She is Co-Chair of the GWIMS Policy and Advocacy Committee, the Department of Psychiatry’s Diversity Committee, and previously the MCG Medical Student Promotion Committee. She is an active reviewer for teaching awards, papers for psychological conferences, and trainee research projects. Dr. Welch is a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists and Georgia Psychological Association. Dr. Welch’s areas of scholarship include topics related to clinical care, teaching and mentoring, and career advancement in women faculty.

Coaching Resources

What is Coaching?

What Makes Good Coaching Great

Dare to Lead

Brene Brown

Dare to Lead

Doctor Me First

Errin Weisman, DO

Doctor Me First

Empowering Women Physicians

Sunny Smith, MDEmpowering Women Physicians

Physicians on Purpose

Dike Drummond, MDPhysicians on Purpose

Sustainable Clinical Medicine with The Charting Coach

Sara Smith, MDSustainable Clinical Medicine with The Charting Coach
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