Coaching got me through some tricky times in the past and that spurred me to attain the Institute of Leadership and Management (Level 5) as a coach and mentor myself.
Coaching is all about achieving the best we can be, and finding the route to just that. Mentoring is more about supporting people in their roles with some difficult situations or developing their roles and achieving their goals. It helps in mentoring to have ‘been there’. In coaching that’s far less necessary, where the sessions help you decide what you want to commit to and how to get there.
Over recent years I’ve worked with salaried GPs, partners, retainers and practice managers. Common scenarios are workload and burnout, career development, changes in role, complex practice situations and doctors in specific difficulty.
I’m told I am a good listener but also good at challenging and helping with some good practical suggestions. Here are a few of the testimonials I have received:
I want to say a big thank you to Shaun and his coaching sessions. I found them very interesting and helpful and the sessions just flew by. We went through various models which allowed me to reflect on strengths and weakness in my life and also how I approach different situations. I found him very approachable, easy to chat with and he dealt with every session in a friendly non-judgemental manner.
GP
During his time as my mentor, Shaun has helped me work through a challenging time and recover from a bit of post-pandemic burn out. Shaun helped me to see different perspectives on the problems I was experiencing, but also helped me recognise that some of the challenges at the moment are fairly universal and can’t be solved by just one person. Our conversations helped ease some of the pressure I was placing on myself to “fix” General Practice and to accept that by doing my best, I was still making improvements and starting to tackle underlying issues. Shaun has a warm and friendly manner, our conversations often went on interesting tangents and we discussed a wide range of topics. I found our time spent together very valuable and feel better equipped to face my workload as a result of his counsel.
Practice Manager
I had mentoring with Dr O’Connell which focused on different career opportunities. At the time I was having doubts about my career. I was unsure if I wanted to develop a specialist interest, continue as a salaried GP, take a partnership or even do something completely different.Dr O’Connell helped me consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option and challenged some of my ideas, which I may not have thought of otherwise. He has a vast knowledge of General Practice and I found his knowledge on partnerships invaluable. The meetings allowed me to process information in a logical way which enabled me to make a confident decision about my career development. I accepted a partnership. I am happy I have done this, I don’t feel I would have done this without his help or knowledge.
GP, becoming a partner.
Just dropping you a line to thank you for your help last year. We are approaching the end of a tumultuous 2 years. I have just completed my first year of an online MSc in my new direction. It’s great to be in this position when things looked so bleak 2 years ago. Our paths may cross again in the future hopefully. I hope you don’t mind me contacting you but I wanted to thank you and let you know that I am doing ok!
GP
ShaunOConnell.com 