Coaching has given me access to the best coaches.
Whilst I was interning at an investment management company in 2020, I had the pleasure of meeting professional and executive coach Susan Room, PCC. It was from that moment that my coaching journey began and my life changed.
Professional, empathetic, strong and empowering — these were the words that first came to mind when I met Susan. During the internship, I completed her Make Your Mark programme, which helps people feel, look and sound more confident. Soon after working with Susan, I was introduced to Tracy Sinclair, MCC. I can’t describe how joyful it has been to work with these two incredible coaches.
Coaching has given me another purpose.
Fast forward two and a half years, and I, along with five other young people (now, Ambassadors), have completed 60 hours of ICF accredited coach-specific training with Tracy’s Science and Art of Coaching programme. There are very few people our age to have completed this training, as it is normally pursued by people in the middle-to-later stages of their careers.
The value of introducing young people to coaching at the beginning of their career has been realised. As a group we feel, look and sound more confident; cultivate better relationships; have the tools to lead and advocate for change; work with vulnerability and enact positive change. Tracy and Susan, along with the group of young Ambassadors, have envisaged and worked to evolve what we do and believe into Coachsters. Coachsters takes 18-25 year olds on a journey to experience ICF accredited coach training along with professional voice coaching.
I am now proud to be a Founding Ambassador of Coachsters and hope to coach 18-25 year olds in the future with the organization.
Coaching has given me confidence.
I graduated in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crises as a backdrop; it was far from what anyone thought that the world would look like. Coaching has helped me to practice feeling confidence in my own abilities and understanding my worth in this complicated world.
Coaching has helped me live more wholeheartedly.
In my work toward becoming a trained coach, I have spent hours of introspection, reflection and self-coaching. I wrote a 3,000-word essay answering the questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘How do I coach?’. There is a huge amount of internal work that goes on as a coach. It’s very important to have a better understanding of yourself, how you might think or react in certain situations, as this can be important when we work with whatever a client brings to a conversation.
I’ve learnt much more about who I am, what is important to me and what I value, and it has helped me to embrace living wholeheartedly.
In Brené Brown’s book The Gifts of Imperfection, she illustrates how living wholeheartedly is engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It is a journey, and that journey has enlightened a new purpose within myself.
“Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.”
Coaching has given me the opportunity to help others in profound ways.
I couldn’t imagine that by the age of 25 I’d have had the opportunity to coach senior leaders in a bank, helping them to secure promotions and feel more confident about themselves. I couldn’t imagine that I would have helped coach job seekers to overcome challenges and barriers due to their age, experience and other macroeconomic factors. I couldn’t imagine that I would have had the opportunity to offer my coaching to charities and hospitals to support the wellbeing of their workforce. Yet, I have.
I remind myself in these moments of how much opportunity there is to do good in the world and how lucky I am to be able to contribute to that at a young age.
Coaching is a gift that keeps giving.
I mentioned how I have used my coaching to help people in a professional setting, but the truth is, coaching permeates beyond that. It is life changing.
Coaching has supported me and those closest to me through some very difficult times. When I was dealing with difficult situations, coaching helped me to think about how I want to respond in situations rather than defaulting with a reaction. It has alerted me to certain patterns of behaviour and habits that have developed from past experiences. I am able to recognise when sometimes they aren’t the most helpful, and I’m able to choose how I want to change them. It feels empowering even when the stakes are high and it can be easy to feel powerless.
What’s next?
This year’s International Coaching Week theme is ‘Explore Your Potential’. I invite you to think about how you might do that. It might be reading Brené Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection or just learning more about Coachsters. You may even decide you want to become a coach yourself!
If you’d like to keep this conversation going or want to know more about coaching, connect with me on LinkedIn.
Article by Emily Mason, Founding Coachster
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