Coaching: A Journey of Self Discovery

My coaching journey started in December 2008 and unintentionally.

I was into retail banking and wealth management in a multi-national bank, and I never thought of becoming a coach. However, destiny and life had other plans, I was chosen by my organization as a Retail Banking and Wealth Coach.

Here is my introduction to coaching was I excited? I am at liberty to share this today and to be brutally honest the answer was “no”. Of course, I was excited to be the chosen one for a new role in the organization, but deep down, a minuscule bit sceptical. However, it is in me that I wouldn’t say” no” to an opportunity or a challenge, without giving it a go.

I knew that it was an opportunity to develop a set of skills that would be useful for the present and future.

Today … I am so grateful for the opportunity and my inner voice for the decision.

I found my purpose in life and am glad for the journey I have embarked on in my career and in my personal life. Being a coach led me to develop a life skill. The more sessions you conduct, the more you sharpen this skill.

To me, coaching is a “Journey of Self Discovery”, for both coach and coach. The toughest lesson that being a coach taught me was, it’s not about you! You are not the star here and it’s the person who is being coached. Initially, this was challenging as I am an achiever, however, it changed as I gradually embraced the role. Today my objective is, how can I fully engage and listen to the person who is Infront of me and add value to his/ her life.

As a coach you should not have a personal agenda, your agenda is the agenda of the person who is being coached.

So how do we achieve this objective?

It’s the discipline and the respect you need to inculcate within yourself. Discipline to be an active listener and respect another human. Many an instance someone would seek or recommend coaching due to a dilemma or problem.? It’s our responsibility to give them the fullest attention to what they are sharing and what is not being said aloud. Facilitate the conversion and delve into the subject and the coach to reach a solution that is viable and attainable by them.

Today, Coaching has become a powerful tool to achieve change management objectives in many organizations at individual and as well as team levels. Every day, coaching is becoming more and more pursued solution for many issues ranging from the corporate world to private life.

Being a Coach is a fulfilling career anyone can pursue if they have the desire to support people around them. I would call it a Nurtures role, it is about creating stars and seeing their success.

In the journey the coached experiences and thoughts could resonate with the coach, the challenge is to step out of “my world “and listen with the intent to understand and facilitate the coached journey.

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Author - Niranjalli D WICKRAMASINGHE