Our Mission
To co-create social justice outcomes and sustainable solutions to the problems of human flourishing for individuals, organisations and wider society.
We work with individuals, teams and organisations committed to making a difference in a world struggling with some deep systemic challenges: racial injustice and social injustice, inequity and climate emergency.
As a coach, supervisor, and trainer Charmaine is pioneering interventions informed by decoloniality as a systemic lens.
As a team coach Charmaine works systemically with the hidden dynamics that prevent intentions and goals for culture change being translated into positive results.
The Lifeflowbalance Philosophy
The Philosophy underpinning our work is captured in three words combined to form our company name: Lifeflowbalance.
Life: We work with the whole person, team or organisation at the level of values, beliefs, ethics, historical, socio-economic, political and cultural context. We work with systemic issues that show up in our relationship to ourselves, others and wider society. Life is complex, subject to constant change, tensions and stresses, joys, and triumphs. Coaching captures it all. We are trauma informed in our approach to the ways in which historical injustices show up in life and organisations. Healing and compassion is a core value in our work.
Flow: many relationship and change processes today are stuck in binary oppositions that put us on one side or other of the barricades. Identity politics and culture wars get us stuck. By working from deep compassion toward our common humanity and a disruptive ethical attention to respecting difference we create spaces for emergence, possibility and creativity to flow.
Balance: There is no freedom without boundaries. Boundaries that support social justice practices boundaries require critical consciousness and awareness of power dynamics and pro-liberation ethics. Our approach is oriented to this imperative, creating a balance of power and exchange in the spaces we convene.
Coaching Philosophy, Approaches and Psychological Underpinning
- Philosophically we take a social justice orientation to our work informed by the theory and ways of being known as Decoloniality. This means that we openly acknowledge the historical legacies of oppressions upon which our modern ways of living and relating are based.
- We address issues of power and domination in personal, organisational and social relationships.
- Systemic lens of decoloniality
- Critical and liberation psychology
- Ethics as critical practice stance
- Systemics & Systemic Constellations, applied to individuals, groups and teams
- Somatics and Leadership Embodiment
- Compassion based approaches including Acceptance and Compassion Coaching
- Positive Psychology
Core Principles
Values and purpose – we are all at our most fulfilled and effective when our work and system of values are aligned. Our values, moral compass and ethical framework is our touchstone in times of crisis, transition, growth, and change. However, values are not absolute and respect for alternative ways of seeing the world is essential for empathy and compassion.
Personal and social identity-While we are individual with our own sense of identity and needs, we are at heart, social beings who need strong social connections to thrive in work and in life. Wellbeing is at the heart of our ability to show up and be strong in service of others. We will take this systemic, relational view, on all aspects of our work together.
Coaching Process
The work is emergent rather than being narrowly goal focused, however we will always define what success will look like for every issue you raise and focus on making a difference. Charmaine will add challenge. Enough to keep you growing and to affirm your strengths. There will be a strong emphasis on progress and impact.
Charmaine works freely along the directive/non-directive continuum according to emerging needs.
Sessions are structured around the following process stages that emerge, in a spiral; each stage represented by the acronym EFFECT:
- Exploration & Clarification- going beneath the surface
- Focusing on and Defining/redefining- your desired future state
- Forward momentum – moving from discussion to action via Rehearsal & improvisation
- Elicitation – engaging in mutual Feedback and Review
- Critical awareness and reflection – surfacing hidden dynamics
- Testimony – recognising impact, growth and change in the world beyond the coaching space
Charmaine applies a Social Justice lens to her work. This means that social inequalities, systemic injustice and inequalities of power and oppressive practices are accepted as part of the system that disproportionately affect some clients. Socio-economic inequalities, sexism, racism, homophobia and ableism are amongst the most pernicious social justice issues that may show up in coaching.
Tools & Assessments
- A range of leadership development models are used for reflection and critical awareness raising
- Psychometric tools – CAPP Strengths Profiler; Bespoke Team Health Check
- Licensed to use AoEC 360 Team Connect Tool
- Ryff Psychological Wellbeing Scales
- Bespoke 360-degree feedback questionnaires and interviews
- A wide range of creativity tools including drawing, free writing, dramatisation, mapping and constellations
Contexts
We coach 1:1, groups and teams, privately and in organisations, non-profits and ethical businesses.
Are you interested in working with me as your supervisor?
Our service values
Evidence Based
Our work is underpinned by a coherent theoretical foundation and research-based practice. We keep abreast of current and emerging thinking and practice in the field of human and organisational development and integrate this into our work with clients where we feel it will help them toward meaningful solutions.
Intuitive and Creative
High Professional Standards
Accredited by the Association for Coaching we abide by the global standard of ethics in coaching. We have an ICO certificate and take client confidentiality, privacy and data protection seriously.