Twists and turns: an early day narrative of becoming a coach.

Coach maturation: understanding the why, what and how?of my own development is a consequence in part of our research investigating the influences and processes of how experienced coaches understand their own development.

My introduction to coaching was nearly 20 years ago, while studying my BSc Major in Psychology. I took part in a mentoring program for youths at risk of leaving school early, who were often in trouble with the law. I was a volunteer mentor – coach and thought it was a good opportunity to both begin refining my helping skills needed to provide psychotherapy and help those less fortunate. I was immediately attracted to the mentoring – coaching relationship and began researching where I could formally study coaching. The university of Sydney was offering coach training. The fact it was an evidenced-based course was important to me given I was studying psychology - the science of human emotions, thoughts, and behaviour. It provided me with the grounding, along with my psychotherapy training, to be an ethically aware coach and, I hoped, someone worthy to help others.

In hindsight, it all makes sense that I am where I am now, both a coach and psychologist. However, during the time I was a practicing psychologist I never really saw myself as a therapist, never really felt like a therapist or that I was in the sweet spot of ‘being’. Though by all accounts – according to my supervisor at the time Trevor Crowe – I was pretty good at this therapy stuff.?

However, I never felt it aligned fully to how I liked to be in the world, nor consequently at work, but I loved to delve into understanding people and their motivations at a deep level. In the therapeutic domain, progress is harder to see: it takes longer and you need to look at the most minute element of consistent change. In coaching however, I found I could fly, be more challenging, jump higher or at least challenge clients to jump higher, be very active and engage in a way that was more fulfilling for me. However, was I too challenging? Was my own joy in seeing others find the courage to jump higher than they imagined they could detrimental to the coaching? How did I need to be, to be me but let the coachee be them?

One point of note among many is my holding the steadfastly to the GROW model in my early work. It is a dynamic model when understood and used well however, even in its dynamism, very early in my career, I increasingly found it constricting to have a model at the forefront of my mind. I have since come to realise that model and others are now sitting in the background of my coaching, ready to float, guide and support if needed. What I have since called ‘holding lightly’: the scientific knowledge of human behaviour, the models and processes of coaching have become the guiding light of my coaching. All these are just one part of my ever and always without an end insight "becoming" an ethically mature coach.?

These reflections suggest some questions that any experienced coach might usefully explore.?

How do the theories and models of human behaviour change and wellbeing influence your coaching presence? Has this understanding influenced you personally and your coaching, for both 1 to 1 and within the systems they live and work??

How do goals influence your coaching – should we be making them explicit as some advocate in the wellbeing space??

What is your go to when in a challenging coaching relationship? Is this serving the client well??

Wendy-Ann Smith - February 2022

This story was originally published on the page of The Becoming of a Coach, as part of my personal reflections on professional journey. Reference to this article is https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/twists-turns-early-day-narrative-becoming-coach-wendy-ann-smith