Question 1

I'm already stretched. Won't this just add to my workload?

Accepted Answer

This is the most common concern, and the most misplaced.

If you're in constant overwhelm, the problem isn't how hard you're working. It's that effort without clarity is just motion.

Think about it this way. Performance = Clarity × Action. Right now, you might be running at full capacity on the action side. But if your clarity is low, most of that effort is going into the wrong things.

Improve your clarity even slightly and the maths changes completely. You stop chasing the work that doesn't move the needle. You start saying no to the right things. The same results come from less effort, or better results come from the same.

This doesn't add to your plate. It shows you what should never have been on it.

Question 2

What is coaching?

Accepted Answer

Coaching is a structured conversation between two people where one helps the other think more clearly and act more deliberately.

It's not advice. It's not mentoring. It's not someone telling you what to do.

A good coach asks the questions you've been avoiding, holds a mirror up to how you're actually operating, and keeps you accountable to what you said you'd do.

In practice? It's the most honest conversation you'll have about your business all month.

Question 3

Is everything we discuss confidential?

Accepted Answer

Completely.

What you share in a session stays in that session. I don't report back to your board, your investors, or anyone else.

This is your space to be honest about what's really going on. Without that, the whole thing falls apart.

Question 4

What does "challenge" actually mean?

Accepted Answer

It means I won't let you off the hook.

If you're telling yourself a comfortable story about why something isn't working, I'll name it. If you're avoiding a decision, I'll go straight to it.

Challenge isn't confrontation. It's the refusal to waste your time with polite nodding.

That said, you're always in control of how far we push. You set the pace. If something isn't the right conversation for today, we park it.

This works because you trust the process, not because you're forced through it.

Question 5

Will you tell me what to do?

Accepted Answer

No. You know your business better than anyone.

My job is to help you see it clearly enough to make your own call with conviction.

That said, I've built and led businesses for 22+ years. If you ask for my input, I'll give it. But I'll always flag it as one perspective, not the answer. Hold it lightly, test it against your own judgement, and decide for yourself.

The decision is always yours.

Question 6

Is this therapy?

Accepted Answer

No.

Therapy looks backwards to understand why. Coaching looks forward to decide what next.

I may touch on patterns and habits, but the focus is always on what you're going to do about them, not where they came from.

Question 7

What if I'm not sure coaching is what I need?

Accepted Answer

Book the 20-minute discovery call. It costs nothing and there's no obligation.

I'll talk with you about where you are, what's getting in the way, and whether Athlone Performance is the right fit. If it isn't, I'll tell you.

Question 8

How is this different from consulting?

Accepted Answer

A consultant tells you what your business should do. A coach works on what you need to do.

I'm not here to write your strategy. I'm here to make sure you can see clearly enough to set it and act on it decisively.

Question 9

Do I need to prepare for sessions?

Accepted Answer

You'll fill out a short coaching sheet before each session. It takes a few minutes and helps us use the time well.

Beyond that, just bring the thing you can't stop thinking about.

Outside of sessions, there will be work to do. Plans to write, decisions to make, conversations to have. Coaching isn't passive. But everything you do between sessions is work that moves your business forward, not busywork for the sake of it.

Question 10

What happens between sessions?

Accepted Answer

You run your business. That's the point.

But you'll find that the clarity from each session carries forward. Decisions that used to take weeks start taking days.

The work between sessions is where the real change happens.

Question 11

How long do clients typically work with you?

Accepted Answer

There's no fixed term, but I ask for an initial six-month commitment.

Here's why: real change takes time. The first few sessions often surface uncomfortable truths, and the natural instinct is to step back from that. Six months gives us the space to push through the discomfort and into the results on the other side of it.

I'll discuss what's right for your business before you commit. After the initial period, it rolls month to month.

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