Today I had a coaching session. And today I was being coached. I am fortunate to be part of a coaching circle where we support each other in our continued development and give and receive coaching as part of our contract with each other.
I thought I knew what I was going to bring to the session and, yes, it did start that way but through the power of curiosity, questioning and challenge the session took a different route. We dug much deeper than I thought we would and I found the session extremely emotive, sometimes bringing up strong feelings as I reflected on a question, to ending the session with a sense that a knot had been untied from deep within – not something I was particularly aware of before we started. Most importantly I landed on a very personal action which I will work on before we meet again.
The session reminded me of the impact of coaching on our clients and what makes this profession so rewarding. When someone asks you what you do and you say coaching, I sometimes feel that the listener doesn’t always understand the term “coaching” or says oh yes like therapy or counselling (both of which are very valuable in their own space). The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as a partnership between a coach and a client that inspires the client to maximise their personal and professional potential. Coaching is a thought provoking and creative process that helps the client set clear goals and achieve them. This partnership was clear in my session today and I am grateful to my coach for holding a safe space that I felt I could be totally vulnerable in, without any fear of judgement.
So what can you expect from coaching
- A safe, confidential space for you to explore your innermost thoughts and feelings
- A time for you to speak openly and honestly about the most important issues for you
- Someone who is going to listen to you, without judgement, and be curious
- A partner to help you navigate a course and plot a path to your next steps
- A feeling of clarity, confidence, fulfilment and a sense that who you are is enough
- Observations and feedback pertinent to you
Coaching is all about looking forward to finding what is important to you and to working through a plan on how that can be achieved. You will receive “homework” in the form of actions between sessions making you accountable to yourself and to share the outcomes of those actions with your coach (your accountability partner). Coaching is about you, the sessions are focused on you in the present, the actions are defined by you and the space is being held purely for you. A coach will not give advice, provide you with directions or tell you how to move forward. Everything comes from you. A coach helps you, through active listening, questioning and sometimes challenge, to find those answers within you.
We have our hair or our nails done, usually to make us feel better about ourselves, but after a few weeks the results begin to fade and we have to go back to have the same treatment again. With coaching the feeling will not ebb away but you will only grow stronger from your sessions and the work that you continue to do, sometimes subliminally, as you navigate your chosen path in life. Coaching provides you with life skills that you can take forward and adapt to any situation that you may be faced with. If you haven’t tried coaching, I would urge you to give it a go, you may just surprise yourself at how strong and powerful you truly are.
All coaches are happy to have a conversation with you before any commitment is made to ensure that the fit is right for you both. You may wish to look for a specialist in a certain area or to have some more general coaching – whatever you choose you will be embarking on a journey that will provide you with experiences and outcomes that will enhance you in the present and enable you to look forward to a positive and fulfilling future.
This article was written by Maryan Hook, one of our partner coaches who is empowering her clients to have the courage to navigate all life cycle transition points. Maryan offers a free discovery call please book it via her profile page https://www.careeringintomotherhood.com/coach/maryan-hook/
December 1, 2023
