April 11, 2007 at 11:26 am
· Filed under Uncategorized, Coaching, Executive Coaching, Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Careers, Coach Training
“Some really interesting personal lifelong ambitions have been raised by a couple of the people in the group this week. And once again I am reminded of what a privilege it is to be a catalyst in their journey. If you are even remotely interested in coaching I urge you not to hesitate. Do whatever it takes. And commit to someone else’s success. It is amazing. “
This from Diary Of A Coach this week.
Is it such a great life being a coach? Let us know by sending us comments on your experiences - both good or bad - about life as a coach…
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March 20, 2007 at 10:42 am
· Filed under Coaching, Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Coach Training
“When I first trained as a coach six years ago, my trainer said there was no such joy as being part of someone else’s success. I now experience for myself the truth in that. I am heartened by the very noticeable spirit of support and contribution with this particular group. They each have their own business and personal goals. And in addition to their weekly sessions with me, they have decided to share their goals with each other and look for ways to help and challenge each other. Two of them want to change their careers - bold steps since both are in their forties and have spent years training as a lawyer in one case and a GP in the other. Is it my pattern or theirs that I attract people wanting to get off the corporate treadmill and do something for themselves?”
This from Diary Of A Coach, a personal take on what it is like to be a coach today.
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February 12, 2007 at 3:52 pm
· Filed under Coaching, Life Coaching, Executive Coaching
As you enter the world of coaching, often one of the first question you get asked is what your niche is going to be or whether you are a life coach or an executive coach.
As someone who has been earning their living as a coach for the last three years, I did decide quite early on to develop a niche area of working with people going through transition because it is so much easier to talk about when describing what you do. I have come across several people recently though on a couple of courses who have a snobbery about what type of coaching you do. There seems to be a pecking order - the top of the tree appears to be the executive coach who works in large companies and looks very pale if you ask if they do life coaching. The middle of the pecking order is those who have an unusual niche and then lastly are those who call themselves life coaches.
My experience is that nearly all the coaching I do looks at the client’s whole life - you are never sure where the limiting beliefs are going to show up that affect all areas of their life. Is this so different in the world of executive coaches? Do they really only deal with professional issues and never venture into other areas of their clients life? Surely the only pecking order there should be is whether you are a good, professional coach who, whatever your niche, has the needs of their client as the core piece of the work.
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January 17, 2007 at 3:52 pm
· Filed under Coaching, Executive Coaching, Coach Training
I was recently at a coaching seminar when I met an executive coach who said that he had never been coached. He had been on the receiving end of coaching as part of his training course in role plays. When I asked why he had never employed a coach himself, he said that he didn’t need anything “fixing”. I have to admit, I was gobsmacked. I don’t feel I would be the coach I am without having been coached. I have never thought of myself as needing fixing but there are so many layers to who we are, that exploring them, developing, stretching and challenging has been a fundamental part of my development. It has also been fascinating to be on the receiving end of different types of coaching and knowing what it feels like to be the client. Having said that, I don’t necessarily think that a coach needs to have a coach all the time.
I mentioned this to another coach I know and she commented that she had also come across coaches who have not been coached themselves – that it is not as rare as I would have thought so I wanted to open up the discussion to others and find out what they think.
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