Toward inspiration or a different approach
In my own career, I often turned to coaching myself. The common thread running through these conversations: sorting out my thoughts by firing a lot of questions at me. Each time, new possibilities open up because of these conversations. I feel like I keep on taking steps to grow by taking action. One of those conversations was actually more about my private life than about work. The coach paid much attention to my feelings and made room for them. Something I found hard to do. That’s how she held a mirror to me and helped me appreciate it. It made something unconscious, conscious. I learned to no longer ignore that strong gut feeling, and can now make decisions more easily, with a clear mind.
By the way, my very first real ‘boss’ was my best coach. I still call her my ‘professional mom’. Every conversation with her is inspiring, even the informal ones. Each time, I can get to work afterwards feeling excited and full of ideas. That’s what I call seasoned coaching!
With my coachees, I love to work in an accessible way: finding out what’s going on, poking around a bit together, allowing what is there, and being somewhat naively curious about all possible approaches, solutions, and growth. When things are difficult for the coachee, I am there too. Giving someone feedback and seeing how it touches them, that’s what I enjoy. Because that’s when you notice that a whole range of possibilities is opening up for the coachee.
