Coach In The Spotlight - Victoria Mason

WHY COACHING?

I first read a couple of books about coaching that I had picked up at the airport and thought it sounded like something very exciting that I’d really like to get involved in to make an impact! After that. coaching was then something that just kept coming up, so I decided to follow my instinct and take it further.

Before I started the course, I decided that I wanted to use coaching to set up a separate business alongside my “day job”. Having worked in marketing, I was looking for something to complement this and give me a sense of contribution rather than purely a business focus, as well as something that would be more rewarding and helpful to other people.

JOURNEY:

During the course, I found the sections about values and beliefs the most interesting – to see that people look for evidence to support what they think about themselves and ignore the elements that don’t support it was really interesting. Being able to “unlock” this and have people consider the opposite beliefs and find supporting evidence is a great part of coaching.

The most rewarding part of the training (and the part I also enjoyed the most) was actually coaching practice clients. Seeing the positive results clients were having and being able to contribute so early on definitely made me realise that coaching was worth continuing with. I also really enjoyed meeting different people who were also studying with the Coaching Academy – everyone is really friendly and supportive, making a great community to be part of.

To get through the course material, I organised myself with regular slots – although there’s a lot to cover, you just need to plan how to fit it around your life and then take action! As I really enjoyed the course reading, it was something that I just needed to have regular time for. I also learned a lot that I could apply to my own life, so have been on quite a journey of discovery myself, which is great!

NOW:

I have my own coaching business and see a few clients alongside my “day job”, as I had wanted to. My niche ended up choosing me – I am working with parents on a number of different areas; work-life balance, stress reduction, sense of identity, weight-loss or any issue that they want to cover!

The best thing that could happen now would be to get the opportunity to present to other people who are looking to become coaches! Having also studied NLP to Master Practitioner level, I now have much more confidence when presenting. I really enjoy meeting new people and finding out what has brought them to where they are in their journey.

My favourite coaching question is “what’s in your face that you’re not facing?” I don’t always ask it in that way – it depends on the client! I really enjoy the challenging questions that can stop people in their tracks and get them to think in a different way. The fact of thinking differently outside their normal patterns enables them to come to the answers that they need and find solutions for themselves.

TOP TIPS:

I would definitely recommend the 2-day Coaching Academy course to anyone interested in coaching – it gives you a good flavour of coaching for free as well as the chance to meet other prospective coaches! To anyone who has already committed to the course, I would say that one of the most valuable things you can do is to ensure you have coaching yourself! This really helps you to see different coaching styles and to see the impact of coaching as a client, first-hand.

When you’re about to qualify, I think it really helps to find a niche. It gives you some focus for your marketing and targeting. It doesn’t mean you need to stay in that niche, but gives you a solid starting point.

When you’re already qualified, be flexible as to how you achieve your coaching business. You may have had an idea in your mind early on, but you need to be prepared to change depending on the circumstances and take the feedback that comes your way!