How did you get started in coaching?
There are many elements of my coaching which I can trace back to my childhood. For example, my way of seeing people's best selves and their strengths. I didn't know about coaching until the late nineties when a good friend told me about their coach. I could feel in my gut that this was a career doing something I was always doing already.
In 2004, I started my formal training in the field. It felt like coming home—like a place where I could integrate my explorations in the humanities with my way of interacting with others. In training, I learned specific techniques and approaches for specific situations.
I have learned the most through my practice, which, of course, never really matches the situations I was trained for. So, in some ways, I feel like I am still getting started—each person is so unique in their approach and their issues. On the other hand, I feel like I now have a rich body of experience from which to draw intuitively on to offer valuable coaching.
How would you describe your relationship with your clients?
My clients are so inspiring! I deeply value the relationships I form with my clients. I am very curious about them and their lives. Often they start out as strangers, but through the process of coaching, we become friends. I say friends with some hesitation. There is this deep intimacy about coaching. People tell me things within the safety of the coaching space that they wouldn't tell their friends, and I deeply respect their privacy.
How do you approach potential and new clients?
I am a pull rather than a push person. I am not out there doing the standard marketing thing. Potential and new clients interact with me—sometimes purely in a virtual setting and sometimes in person. There is usually this gut reaction in them—they know immediately that working with me will serve them. Half my clients are not looking for a “coach” specifically. For me, I know I want to work with someone when I feel really curious and inspired. I only work with people that I see as whole, creative, and resourceful. I think that creates an environment of trust, faith, and enthusiasm.
What, to you, is an extraordinary leader?
Someone who maximizes the abilities and actions of those around them as opposed to focusing on overcoming problems. Extraordinary leaders ask great questions that assume the competency of their team. They focus on what works and strive to create more of it. Great leaders adapt to their environment. They seek evidence of progress in small and large ways. Great leaders create safe spaces for real heartfelt teamwork and personal discussion. Real leaders, in my mind, don't strive to be seen as heroes. They give time and opportunity for feedback. Extraordinary leaders share the glory while feeling accountable to their team and their goals.
What is a coaching session like with you?
I typically spend forty-five minutes with a client. Some of my clients let me know in advance what they have been doing and what they want to talk about. With others, we start the call by celebrating successes since our last call. Then we pinpoint the focus for the call. As we discuss the focus of the call, I sometimes ask questions like:
- What do you want here?
- What will having that get for you?
- What do you want to do about that?
- How can you break that down into something you can do today or this week?
But usually the questions arise specifically from the content of the call. I do lots of listening for words, tone, pauses, energy levels. So I might say something like:
- I hear hesitation in your voice, can you tell me about that?
- This sounds like a solution coming from your head. What might your heart say here? What about your gut?
- Is there some other part of your life in which you are very successful dealing with this sort of thing? How can you pull that ability into this situation?
Spinorb — where I help you create your world your way.
|
