As part of my continuing professional development and professional refelctive stance I often think about what it means to be a coach and so am going to share this with you too.
Being a coach for me is not only a career and a job in which one works to earn a living. It is a vocation, a calling. Specifically, it is a calling to help others overcome the obstacles they face, the blockages that prevent them from achieving their dreams and to help people design better lives for themselves. I have worked with many clients who, as a result of coaching found what it was that they wanted to do, developed their passions, who got unstuck from the ruts they had fallen into and moved on in their lives.
This is enormously satisfying to witness, and one of the reasons why I love coaching. However, even coaches have their own challenges and their own blockages to achieve their goals. Being a coach means looking at ways of coaching oneself or to be open to coaching from others. This is part of the ongoing personal development that helps refine coaching capabilities and the ability to connect with people from all walks of life.
Coaching can be gentle but sometimes also a more focused and determined approach may be necessary. Sometimes breakthroughs happen not because of powering through with self-determination but as a result of letting go, and surrendering of control to the things which are outside the sphere of one’s influence. As a coach, I cannot control what a client does, and my role is to help them be accountable (and truthful) to themselves. When I have achieved this and the client is pushing forward achieving their goals, I know I have been a facilitator if not also the catalyst a client may need. I am committedto their change process as they must be committed to their change.
The Coaching Reflex 