“Why did you become a Coach?” was a question posed to all coaches recently at a coaches forum, as a precursor to a panel discussion. We were asked to write three words on post-it notes and stick it on the whiteboard at the front of the room. In a few minutes, the whiteboard seemed colorful, decorated with all the post-its. Words such as – Empowerment, Making a Difference, Listening, Learning, Grow, Help, People, Joy, Satisfaction, Serve, Contribution, Passion and many others, occupied the board. The question really made me think again,
“Why at all did I chose to become a business coach about five years back?
These were the three words that I wrote and what they meant- Human Connection, Making a difference and Fulfilment.
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Human connection: To me, connecting and communicating with people gives great joy. Coaching gives me that opportunity every day and with every conversation with my clients. Management coaching allows two human beings to get together and have a heart to heart conversation. In today’s fast paced world, we have great technological advancements and are connected with the whole world through the internet. But how well are we connected with the humans around us? How frequently do we get the opportunity to have candid, unbiased conversations? We may spend hours in meetings for work, but how much does that count for a meaningful conversation for individuals involved? How frequently are we heard, how carefully do we listen in order to fully understand the other person’s thought process? How much do we care as to what the person in front of us is dealing with? How frequently do we ask people around us, “What’s important to you?” Coaching makes all of this possible in every single conversation.
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Making a difference: Many clients have told me that they sought a coach mainly at times when they could not resolve issues on their own. They reached out to a professional only when they felt the issue or goal was really important for them. People are increasingly recognizing the value coaching can add to their lives. Just as we need doctors when we are unwell, we need lawyers for legal matters and Chartered Accountants for financial matters, we need coaches to achieve personal or professional goals. So, the opportunity for me as a coach is to make a difference to my clients’ lives. Here are two live examples which I can quote.
Anjali (name changed) would have given up on her career when she felt that she cannot handle her job along with caring for a young baby. Through the coaching session, she realized that she has the ability to handle both these important areas of life & without the need to compromise. Rajesh (name changed) would have continued to live a dissatisfied life when his career was not going well. After going through the leadership coaching sessions, he became aware of his strengths & blind spots and took certain actions that helped him bring his career back on track.
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Fulfillment :There’s no better satisfaction than to serve the other person with all your heart (and mind). When a client says, “Thank you for listening to me, thank you for helping me develop clarity, thank you for making me aware of my own feelings and thoughts about this issue, thank you for making me think beyond my current realm, thank you for showing me the mirror, thank you for challenging me, thank you for helping me resolving this issue and making me feel lighter, thank you for inviting me to create a new future, thank you for making me believe in myself again”, and the list goes on….as a coach you are left with a sense of satisfaction that cannot be described in words.
These are my reason for becoming a Coach and have been inspiring me every day for the last 5 years to continue my work.
Have you experienced the wonders of executive coaching yet? If not, please feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to work with you.
Blog Writer – Hemant Deshpande