What I’ve learnt from becoming a coach

When I started to think about becoming a coach, a friend of mine told me it was a good idea as it would teach me a lot about myself and benefit me from a far wider perspective, impacting the way I facilitate, the way I lead, the way I learn and the way I deal with people every day. And they weren’t wrong. Here are my five key learnings so far:

• Silence is golden - when I did my first live coaching session on day 2 of my training, the overriding feedback was to be more silent. So I simply used the next session to test what it would be like to hold silence for at least 10 seconds after every answer. It was uncomfortable at first but it soon became clear how powerful silence can really be. Not only does it give people time to think before they answer, it also provides them with a space to more fully explore what they are thinking and often leads to unexpected thoughts and pathways. It has also impacted the level of awareness in everyday conversations and helped me recognise how my natural exuberance can lead to others feeling cut off and excluded;
• It’s so liberating to not have to solve the problem yourself - I am a hacker and always trying to find new ways to find solutions which can be relentless (as my wife has said to me previously, it must be so tiring being you). As a coach it is simply not your job to solve your client’s problem and it is so liberating to not have the pressure of feeling that you need to solve something yourself. And I have no doubt that becoming a coach will have an extremely positive impact on how empathetic you are to others, recognising that often people don’t need you to fix their problems, they just need someone to talk to who is willing to listen
• Time for self reflection is invaluable - I have never ever experienced a profession that is so focused on self reflection as well as getting feedback and reflection from others. Understanding how you can become better is such a wonderful aspect of becoming a coach. At the same time, one of the reasons that coaching can deliver so much value is simply because it forces a coachee to spend an hour every two weeks to reflect on where they are now and where they want to be. I am also a Street Wizard and I have always argued that one of the tricks of Street Wisdom is that in getting people to focus 3 hours on a problem they are facing, we give them the time and space to come up with their own solutions
• Most of us have choices - we just need to dedicate the time to uncover and explore those choices and to hopefully make the right one
• Getting out of your comfort zone is where the most learning happens - When I had to choose between different coaching alternatives, there were the executive coaching schools which would give me the tools and then there was Awaken Coach Institute, which would force me to connect with my feelings and focus on the human interaction rather than the tools. The second option made me feel very uncomfortable which is why I signed up. And what a brilliant decision that was. And if you have been inspired to become a coach, I could not recommend Awaken Coaching more highly. Get a taster of their virtual programme HERE.?

I have no doubt that coaching is making me a better leader, a better teacher and a better human being and I am looking forward to bringing our inclusive leadership group coaching product to the market. I would love to hear from other coaches in the comments below what coaching has taught them.