When I began my ICF Level 1 coaching journey with Coach to Transformation, few underlying beliefs had very cozily made my mind their home. Sharing these, so that you know –
“I am an HR professional and so, I know what coaching is. This program will help me sharpen my existing coaching skills and give me new models & perspectives.”“The most important stakeholder in the coaching relationship is the sponsor. He is paying for it, he wants a positive change to happen and so is key. The client of course is important
too, but the power equation is skewed heavily towards the sponsor and so implicitly, the coach needs to align accordingly.”
“Coaching is egalitarian but of course, having someone with greater professional experience helps him / her become a better coach.”
Over the last 10-11 weeks, I have seen all these beliefs shatter. My newly emerged understanding of coaching is nothing short of a paradigm change. However, the shift did not happen suddenly.
Akin to the Vedantic process of Neti-Neti (not this, not that), we first learnt what coaching is not and through an iterative practice, also learnt what not to do. Of course, going wrong and learning from one’s mistakes was a part of it but that was by design. True understanding in terms of what coaching is, only began to emerge by Week 5 or 6.
There were key shifts in my journey to arriving at this point. I am elucidating these for the benefit of the reader –
- 1) Coaching is about the client and client alone. The sponsor can be a positive support & good stakeholder management comes in handy.
- 2) Coaching is almost spiritual as it is about being fully present in the moment and inviting the client to do the same.
- 3) The coaching mindset leverages the power of curiosity and reflective questions, which take the client to a deeper place of awareness and insight.
- 4) In conjunction with that, the coach deepens his own silence and helps deepen it for the client (first in his mind and then, consequently, in the course of the conversation)
- 5) Coaching is an embrace to the vast sky of possibilities. It is an embrace and thus, there is no fear driving it. Rather, the coach comes from a place of genuine intent to support & help the client grow.
The big shift also happened for me in the 2nd Mentor Coach session with Arvind. He carries the perfect vibe of the friendly teacher, who you hate to disappoint and who can flip the switch if you do not do so well. That was an added motivation, I must say.
The decisive moment for me was to hear my own self as a coach and that truly was a revelation. I realized I was saying so many words, sounds, sentences as a coach, which are not necessary and are inhibiting the natural flow of the conversation. From then on, a part of me became actively conscious of my pauses, my fillers, my words etc. This in turn helped me sharpen my presence & my listening ability towards the client automatically. The meaning of the Chinese phrase – Wu Wei (Non-doing Doing) truly dawned upon me as this awareness deepened.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Coach to Transformation team and Arvind for opening the window of insight into the vast world of coaching. My deep gratitude to my batchmates and to all peer coaches I am sparring with. Their role & contribution is invaluable to my learning journey. I am now in a happy place of discontent, i.e. happy to have reached this point, but discontent as there is still a long way to go. What are you waiting for?
Jump, Skydive & Embrace!
Author Name: Rohan Athaalye
Program Attended with CTT: ICF ACC
Reason for taking this program: My learning curve had flattened over the years and I wanted to clearly learn something that will challenge me and align with my higher purpose. I saw coaching as a good segway to that.
What worked for you: I liked the structured approach of the program and yet, the deliberate open spaces left there in, for us to practice, make mistakes & learn. The CTT trainer, Arvind was top notch and the support team has been a big help in enabling we always have a high engagement experience in learning throughout
What benefits you got: I can see a clear shift in my coaching ability & competence since the program started. I see a big shift in particular in the mindset and as a coach, I am able to embody the experience (i.e. not just do it cerebrally, but as an immersive experience). The feedback I am getting from clients I am coaching is also encouraging.
