Experience as a coach

I have participated in about 30 coaching session until now and I see it as an exciting and rewarding experience in my life. After each coaching session, I realize that I discover spark ideas which I never thought off. This happens in every coaching and now I really believe in the power of coaching. I have even took immediate action after some coaching session with peers.

Since I am an educator in school, I have applied some coaching power tools and empowering coaching techniques when dealing with my students. This indeed produce noticeable changes in their response and behavior. It definitely help to improve the relationship apart from solving the issue. I' m glad to join the coaching program and will continue to learn more through out this coaching journey.

What I've learn as a Coach

I've finally figured out the difference between life coaching and training. It has been a remarkable experience to coach someone for the first time. The joy lies in discovering the right tool and technique of coaching and apply the method correctly on the client. Initially, I encountered some resistance to identify the right powerful questions to utter at the right instances. I recognize that this is the most crucial part of coaching and determined to acquire it through self mastery along this wonderful coaching journey.

             The first significant thing that I learnt is the difference between coaching and other helping intervention. Personally, I see coaching as a brilliant approach to solve an issue by triggering a person to discover their own solution and raise their self awareness to win the inner game. Leadership style as a collaborator and the longer term engagement accentuate the role of a coach and show beyond doubt that a coach must be passionate and committed at all time.

             Secondly, I have learnt to apply 11 coaching competencies appertaining the guideline set by International Coaching Federation. It begin with complying ethical conduct and professional standards, establishing the coaching agreement, establishing trust and intimacy with the client, acknowledge coaching presence, maneuver the conversation with active listening, powerful questioning and direct communication, scheme out designing action, planning and goal setting and managing progress and accountability.

             Next, I recognize some questions that can be used throughout the coaching session. However, the questions will only emerge as powerful question when it is said at the right moment. Casting a wrong question will only exaggerate the impact on the client.

             Last but not least, I have learnt that to be a good coach, I must be a good self-coach. I must be able to set personal goals, link values to my progress, seek self development and monitor results as often I could. Since coaching is fast becoming accepted among public today and considered as useful tool in building up the critical mass of capable leaders and executives, i could see myself shine as a successful coach one day.

What are the 'NEW' things I've learnt about Coaching

         In the next Coaching module, I gets to see things more clearer and able to sense the whole picture without connotations. Therefore, I have draft out the important things I was able to see and learnt until now.

a.  Set goal for the session

The aim of the coaching session should be set at the beginning of the conversation. This will help coach to keep the conversation on track. However, the goal set can be changed overtime especially at the goal setting stage when the coachee are  empowered, where now the coachee have option to accept it, abandon it or modify or manage it. The goal should also set for subsequent coaching sessions as the coachee may exposed to new ideas or thoughts progressively.



🍂   What do you want to work on ?



🍂   What do you want to get out of this coaching session ?

b. State the obvious

The coach should state the obvious and get clarification from coachee from time to time to avoid any possible misinterpretations. For instance, 

When the coachee are silent and was thinking something for quiet some time, coach could ask :

🍂   What are you thinking about ?

When the coachee are crying, give them enough time to calm down and at the right time, coach could ask :

🍂   What are you crying about ? 

c. Address the gap

The coach should address the gap if there is any because this will make the coachee 'see' things that he/she does not see before. This could also help in identifying the 'fraud' frame.

🍂  You have mentioned A and now you are saying B, why is this so ?

d.  Perform reality checking

Reality checking is connecting points stated by the coachee to the current situation. The questions asked by coach will be more realistic as it takes into account of the current mood, current situation and current purpose prior to moving the coachee forward to future state.

🍂 How does this affect your current relationship now ?

🍂 What is that one thing that you are currently doing supports your idea ?

e.  Be interested with the coachee and not the issue

The coach should always empathize and use third level listening skills to see what is said and not said. However, the coach should not lead the conversation but guide the coachee towards his/her chosen path. The coach should discern to test how well could the chosen path benefits the coachee.

f. Mirror the coachee in terms of body language, eye contact and tone of voice

The mirroring helps to build rapport between the coach and coachee. Neurolinguistic programming skills help in this process. 

g. Coaching is like driving a car

The coach should always bring the coachee forward, and not dwell in past for too long. Moreover, the positive questions should be ask most of the time to reinforce positive feeling and behavior.