Running Head: CASE STUDY 2
Nakietha Gooden
Liberty University
LIFC 304: Leadership Coaching
April 26, 2017
CASE STUDY 2
Janet Evans is a young professional who was referred to me by a co-worker. She
has been employed as an office manager for a local paper company for nine years and
currently earns $45,000 per year. What Janet values the most from her current employer
are the excellent benefits and competitive salary which allows her to be financially
secure. Although Janet is very happy with her employer, she feels that she is not
growing. Janet has always wanted to own a business of selling greeting cards and
stationary and she strongly believes that owning her own business will give her the
opportunity to experience the growth and gain more out of life. The desire to make her
dream a reality has been the only thing that Janet is focused on lately and she has come to
me for guidance.
When Janet arrived the first thing I noticed was her cheerful spirit, which is a trait
that I like seeing from clients. Before we jumped into our session, I informed Janet that
being a Christian Coach I like to offer prayer to my clients. Janet informed me that
before she arrived she pondered on Matthew 18:20 (New Revised Standard Version) “For
where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” She proudly told
me she was a Christian and believes that by inviting God in will allow his presence,
peace and wisdom to be part of our session.
As we moved along I gave a little history about my credentials and briefly
discussed what our coaching session would entail. I then asked Janet to give me a little
insight about what made her come to me to guidance. Janet began telling me that she
works as an office manager for a great company who offers her an outstanding salary and
benefits; however the company does not offer her the opportunity to grow. The lack of
opportunity has her constantly thinking about
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branching off to open her own business. Janet continued saying that when she was a
teenager she worked part-time for a local stationary store and loved it; ever since her teen
years she has been wanting to own a greeting card and stationary business. Janet went on
to say, she is beyond excited about the possibility about owning her own business and
knows that she is ready. Janet informed me that she has enough saved to get started, she
has cleared up her debt, she has participated in several entrepreneur workshops and above
all she feels God has called her open a business that would allow her to give something
back to her community. Janet then mentioned that she has one fear that is hindering her
from pursuing her dreams and that is the financial risks that are involved when opening a
business. Janet shared with me that she has been doing research and the number one thing
that experts always mention are the financial risks that come with being an entrepreneur.
Janet went on to say that she has been saving to open her business and is willing to take
the risk of investing her savings, but she needs a plan that will still provide her with some
security. I could relate to Janet’s concerns and shared with her my own personal story
about the fears and trials that I endured before opening my coaching business. “Sharing
my story with Janet was my way of letting her know that I am not aiming to be an
authoritative figure who is going to tell her how she should live her life; I shared to make
her feel at ease about the situation and to let her know that I have been there and could
relate” (Stoltzus, 2005, p.104).
After to listening to Janet, it was clear that she has been preparing herself to open
her own business and what she needs now is guidance on how to successfully make it
happen. Most of the time when clients come to me with the idea of starting a business,
they are not prepared and it is often discovered that they have heavy financial obligations
that prevent them from
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opening a business, but that is not the case for Janet. I complimented Janet on how proud
I was of her for being prepared for starting a business and for being a dedicated
employee; which further lets me know she has what it takes to be a successful business
owner. I shared with Janet that I prepared myself as well before opening my own business
and reminded her of what James 2:26 (New Revised Standard Version) said, “For just as
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” I went on to say,
“God does not want us to just pray for success, but he wants us to develop a plan then
work that plan” (Probst, 2016). The next thing I felt that would be beneficial for Janet
was to put her goals in place. I shared with Janet that, “Goal setting is an act of faith. In
some ways it functions like believing prayer. As a Christian, setting a goal is making a
decisive choice to step out into the thing you feel God is asking you to do. When you
commit yourself to a certain path, not only are your own internal resources focused and
brought to bear, but the faith step of setting the goal releases the power of God on your
behalf” (Stoltzus, 2005, p.126).
After I made that statement, Janet then took out her journal. She mentioned that
she has been jotting down some goals and asked if I could look over what she had written
out. As I reviewed Janet’s goals they were all valid, but needed to be more defined. I
explained to Janet that the SMART goal setting worksheet will be a tool that we will use
to clarify her goals. I then elaborated more on each step and educated Janet on how the
process worked.
Step 1: Write out all of her goals both short and long term.
Step 2: Make the goals Specific and Detailed; in this step I informed Janet that this is
where she
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would be very clear and precise about the goals she is wanting in addition to, making sure
the goals are very realistic.
Step 3: Make the goal Measurable: I explained to Janet to ensure that goals are
measurable you use methods that will allow you to track your progress in order to stay on
track in meeting your goal.
Step 4: Make the goal Attainable: I informed Janet that in this step you determine if your
goals are achievable based upon your resources, skills, motivation and values.
Step 5: Make the goal Relevant: I shared with Janet that the purpose of this step is for
you to list every reason why you want this goal.
Step 6: Make the goal Time Specific: I informed Janet that step 6 was the final step. I
explained that being time specific meant to put deadlines on your goals. This step is
designed to help the goal-setter determine how long it would take to reach each goal.
(Stoltzus, 2005, p.140).
Once I completed the process of demonstrating and explaining the steps, I then
asked Janet did she feel confident in using the SMART goal format; she informed me that
she felt it was a simple format to follow and she was excited to get started. As we moved
along, I tasked Janet with some homework assignments. One of the things I suggested
Janet do was to seek an expert who could educate her on the financial planning portion of
opening a business (the initial investments, loans, grants and business budgets) The next
thing I mentioned was something that she was already doing and that was attending
entrepreneur seminars to gain knowledge on
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starting a business. I also tasked her with writing her long term and short term goals on
the worksheet and to start looking for locations that would be ideal for her business.
I was extremely excited for Janet, but I had to make sure that she was prepared for
the challenges that can come along with starting a new business. I reminded her that she
could possibly experience dilemmas such as; unforeseen business expenses or setbacks,
finding a solid location, getting the right publicity, hiring the right employees and dealing
with competitors who may have similar businesses. I also told Janet that she should keep
in mind that opening a business can be a lengthy and maybe even stressful process but to
remain prayerful and God will see you through and that I too would be there from start to
finish. Janet commented and told me that she was glad that she came in to see me because
now feels very confident about beginning the journey. I asked Janet if she would like to
meet once a week to discuss her progress along with any news ideas or plans that she
may have and she agreed. Before Janet departed we scheduled her another meeting time
and closed our session with a prayer.
When a driven individual feels that their employer can no longer offer them the
opportunity to grow, they will begin moving into a dimension that will allow them to
grow into their full potential, despite the security they may already have. This is what my
client Janet is experiencing, although she is very happy with her current employer she has
the desire to gain more out of life and starting her own business will help her to achieve
that goal. My responsibility as Janet’s coach will be to meet with her each week to
follow up on her progress, provide her with positive feedback and to help her stay on the
right track.
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References:
Stoltzfus, T. (2005). Leadership coaching: The Disciplines, skills and heart of a Christian
coach. Virginia Beach, VA.
Probst, G. (2017, May 17). Hartford Counseling Mental Health Services. Retrieved from
https://www.hartfordcounselingwi.com
