My First Year

When I launched my Arete Pursuits a year ago, I adopted this daily declaration to remain mindful of my motivation for doing so:

I am fulfilled, I serve, and I flourish through coaching.

Today I invite you to join me in celebrating the successes of my first year.

I Am Fulfilled

Coaching is my passion. Leaving a thirty-year career with Ellucian was not an easy decision for me. I made the leap because I was confident that coaching was my life calling.

I love data and put a weekly metric in place to track my fulfillment life account. Every Friday, I reflect on the week and rate my level of fulfillment on a scale of 1-5. My fulfillment score has been 5.0 for the past 52 weeks. I start my day anticipating the wonders my clients will bring for us to work on together. I end my day energized and grateful for our conversations and the learning we have unlocked together.

I Serve

Although I knew I loved coaching, my time working with the Newfield Network helped me understand why. I love connection, and I love to help others. Coaching energizes me because I thrive on seeing others learn and grow and being able to support and accelerate that journey. And so, the second component of my daily declaration was born – that I have served my clients.

I collect feedback from my clients at the end of each engagement using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) model. It asks how likely you are to recommend me to a trusted friend or colleague. Scores range from +100 when everyone is a promoter (ratings of nine or ten) to -100 when everyone is a detractor (ratings of six or lower). I’m humbled to share that my NPS score at the end of my first year is +100.

In addition to the ratings of the individual coachees, there is my relationship with the organizations I serve. Every organization that hired me to coach someone in my first year has expanded beyond the initial coaching agreement. I am grateful for our ongoing partnerships.

I Flourish

I live by a simple formula. If I am personally fulfilled and serving my clients, my business and I will flourish. I also practice what I preach (or eat my own dog food, as we like to say in the technology industry). So many of the practices I coach around also fuel my success, including productivity, mindfulness, and health. I learned early in the year from a fellow coach that I had set ambitious revenue goals for my first year. Thanks to my practices and the support and trust of my network, I’m on track to meet them.

I have made steady progress on my path to certification, with my Newfield certification in August, followed by my ICF ACC certification later that month. I am on pace to achieve my ICF PCC certification by the end of the year.

Year Two

I will be at Educause later this month and hope to connect with Higher Education and Ed Tech leaders who want to explore coaching for their teams or themselves. If you or someone you know will be there, please schedule a time to meet with me at the conference. I will also attend SEDUG in November and look forward to connecting with the Colleague community.

I owe my success to my network. I am grateful for your support. My coaching calendar is beginning to free up in November, so if you or anyone you know is interested in accelerating their growth through coaching, please schedule time with me to discuss.

P.S. Here are a few of my favorite testimonials from my first year.

• I wish I had started this two years ago! I feel like I've been living my life without the operating manual. – Chief Revenue Officer
• Josh is my 2022 hero! – Executive Coach
• When people comment on this kinder, gentler version of me, I tell them, "It's the Josh Effect." – AVP, Information Technology
• Josh is amazing at what he does. He is a great listener, understands your situation, brings out your strengths, and helps present your best version of yourself. He has great people skills and is honest and sincere. His advice has been very valuable to me. – Chief Operating Officer
• Josh has the maturity and gift to understand what I am talking about when I am trying not to say it outright. He continues to help narrow the discussion, and I can say it hits the center of the issue every time. It helps me focus harder after my meetings to address these issues. As a coach, I can say that he is exceptional.?– Director, Information Technology