A Coaching Model by Stephanie Vailas
Business Coach, USA
Stephanie is a graduate of the Advanced Coach Training Program at ICA. She currently serves as the Director of Product & Business Strategy at Gap. With a background in merchandising and category strategy, she brings a unique blend of business acumen and people-focused coaching to her work. Stephanie is passionate about helping others grow, whether she’s developing products that resonate with customers or empowering individuals to find clarity and purpose in their careers. Her coaching approach is all about connecting insights to action and supporting her clients in making meaningful strides forward.
As a Business & Leadership Coach, I partner with clients to find clarity in their careers and build confidence in their decisions. My coaching style is driven by goal-setting and creating a positive and empowering mindset. I aim to create a safe environment, where my clients can express their fears and deepest thoughts and not feel judged. Professional careers can be very stressful and difficult to explore, so I will also focus on mindfulness to help with self-awareness and mental health. The BLOOM coaching model allows me to structure the journey I go through with my clients in the most effective way possible. My target clients are business professionals going through a transition or change in their life (i.e. promotion, career shift, return to work) and wanting to feel confident in their next steps.
The BLOOM Coaching Model
B Beliefs & Behaviors
L Listen & Learn
O Objectives &
O Obstacles
M Monitor & Measure
Beliefs & Behaviors
Underlying beliefs & behavior patterns are the crucial parts of the client. They get at the “why” of a person and need to be examined and sometimes questioned. Addressing and exploring these is the first part of the BLOOM model.
Questions:
- What makes this important to you?
- What value do you assign to this?
- What does this mean to you?
- What beliefs do you think are getting in the way of moving forward?
Listen & Learn
After understanding who the client is, the next step is to dig deeper and assess the situation at hand. Explore emotions, previous experiences, and inner struggles. Listening actively is critical to truly learning who the client is and what they are going through. Being curious, while cultivating a safe space will allow the coach to get below the surface level and gain meaningful insights.
Questions:
- What kind of feelings come up when you think about this?
- What has worked well in the past & what is different about the current situation?
- What have you learned about yourself today?
- Any meaningful takeaways or insights from our session?
Objectives & Obstacles
This is the more tactical, action-oriented part of the coaching process. The client is thinking through what they ultimately want to achieve (if not already clear in the coaching agreement), and what might get in the way. Creating an action plan that feels manageable & achievable will allow the client to feel confident in their path forward.
Questions:
- What does the ideal state look like for you?
- What needs to change in order to get to your goal?
- What barriers are currently in the way?
- What does the first step look like?
Monitor & Measure
Accountability is a key component to any coaching process. This final part of the model addresses “how” the client will get to their established goal. Following through and putting steps into place, with the help of resources and accountability partners, will help the client feel like they are making progress. Being able to clearly articulate how they will track their progress and what success looks like will make the goal feel more tangible.
Questions:
- How will you hold yourself accountable?
- What tools/resources do you have to support you?
- How will you know when you have reached your goal?
- What are the measures of success?
