People who tried coaching: Carina
Carina Lundstrom is 35 years old and lives in Stockholm, Sweden. She wants to put an end to her 70-80-hour-per-week rat-race at work.
Carina Lundström got into a real mess at work when her IT company merged with another. As the director in charge of finance, administration and staff, she was slowly but surely drowning in her own work.
“For five, six months I was working 70-80 hours per week. My life consisted only of working, eating and sleeping. It all seemed so meaningless and I saw no light at the end of the tunnel.
“I remember one day in particular, it was the day before a bank holiday weekend in May. While my colleagues got to go home that afternoon, I had to stay another 8 or 9 hours to work. ‘Does it have to be this way?’ I asked myself and I felt like: ‘no, this is not what I want. This is not the life I want to live.’”
That’s when Carina asked her boss for a personal coach. It was no problem granting her request.
“I really needed help to get out of my situation, and my boss understood me completely. It took six months, but now he can see that I am calmer and more effective. I have managed to cut my working hours down to around 40 or 45 per week while at the same time I am satisfied with my output.”
You were on the brink of exhaustion when you sat down with your coach. What was the first thing that happened?
“I let it all come out, my whole situation. Just the fact that someone was listening was in itself a relief. The rest of the coaching seemed like a lot like a project itself. We established our goals, and step-by-step we constructed different methods and means of striking a balance in my life.”
What did you think of the method?
“It was fascinating! I expected the coach to give me concrete advice: a little bit of ‘try this’ or ‘do that’. But the coach never told me what to do. Instead, it sounded like, ‘What you are saying now, is it something that you would be able to try?’, or, ‘Given these two alternatives you discussed, which one would you choose?’ She put my thoughts to the test in order to help me get out of the deep, old rut.”
Can you give us an example?
“Sure, for example I could be having a problem communicating with a colleague, and we might come upon two different ways to deal with the situation. During the following coaching session, I got to tell how it went. This way I got better and better. This was the same way that I learned to say no and to delegate tasks. Now after a year I have managed to retain what I have learned. I don’t fall into the traps any more.”
How has your life been effected by your coaching?
“Each coaching session got me to bubble over with life. I became optimistic and I saw possibilities. And soon I found that I had more leisure time and I felt better in general. I had been so used to spending all my time at work, and then suddenly I had time for myself. I started to hang out with my friends again, I did aerobic training, went for long walks, practised yoga, went shopping…my life became richer. This is one of the best things I have ever done.”
What do you appreciate the most today?
“My sense of balance when it comes to getting involved in different things.
That I can spend time with my friends.”