According to John Whitmore, in his “Coaching for Performance” book, “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” This is one of coaching’s most accepted definitions and one I concur with. Coaching is about movement, about change – both internal and external.
Coaching can be a way to many things. It can support skill development, perspective and self-awareness gain, changing mindsets and behaviors, and also improving performance. For me, it was many of these. I will write about why it was important to me and a bit of what happened, in the hope to better clarify its potential and importance.
I started my own coaching process in April of 2020. At that time, I had been cultivating an interest in people development for some years. However, as with most big changes, the possibility of a career transition brought me many doubts and fears. I therefore kept this idea hidden and kept myself from thinking about it. What exactly could I do? Would I be good at it? How could I deal with the losses such an extreme career shift would bring? How could/ would I get started? Although these questions are now clear to me, my awareness of my intention back then was much less obvious. I knew I wasn’t happy anymore with what I did. I was getting more and more frustrated each day that went by and had no clue what to do. Since I am a “problem solver” and movement is my middle name, I chose, as a first step, to look for a Coach.
I had been through a leadership workshop at Lumo (http://lumo.net.br/) some years prior and was impressed with their work and character. They were knowledgeable and also warm, open, and friendly. So when it came to choosing my coach, this is where I started. João Luiz Souza was my coach, and although we only met online, we created a very strong rapport and trusting relationship. Through our conversations, I gained different perspectives and a better understanding of what the profession was.
Balance has always been one of my most important values. This incredible process helped me understand and integrate these very important aspects:
- what I love doing
- what I am good at (some people say I have always been a coach – I just didn’t know it)
- what I can be paid for doing
- what is good for the world
Looking at life from another, higher perspective, having a clear vision of the future I wanted for myself, and the legacy I wanted to leave behind, gave me the courage and the motivation to bring this idea into action. Additionally, this process helped me come to terms with the consequences the change would bring, including the losses (as with all changes, this one also has its downsides). I was nonetheless convinced.
I feel that my coaching process was the first step into an amazing journey. I was always the protagonist, and my coach provided me with tools to expand my view. They say our sight only allows us to see 37°. It was through my partnership with him that I gained access to some of the remaining 323° of myself and my life. For that, I am and will always be very grateful and proud.
A young coachee asked me a couple of weeks ago if he could benefit from undergoing a coaching process although he was so young and inexperienced. This made me think of the impact it had in my life, and how different it could have been had I started the process earlier. So the answer to his question is: yes! It can benefit you, and it can benefit anyone. If you are human and have dreams, coaching is for you!
