Coach in the Spotlight - Katy Coulson

Katy Coulson shares her success story, where she is now and her top tips for fellow Coaching Academy students and qualified coaches moving forward.

What brought me to coaching? What were my original thoughts for applying the coaching? What was my profession before becoming a coach?

13 years ago I got promoted to a coaching role in the corporate business I was part of. At the time I didn’t really have much idea what exactly a coach did and I am now quite certain that the business didn’t have a good understanding at that time either. I knew that I got job satisfaction when I supported others to achieve goals that they didn’t believe they could, and it gave me a buzz seeing other people feel proud and worthy. Having done a counselling course, I knew that coaching and I would have a long-term relationship.

What did you find most interesting to learn?

The learning that has inspired me the most from my Coaching Academy journey has been the values and belief material. The reason for this is as I now run my own business I always find my own clients do not value themselves enough and are therefore not connected to their true soul essence. When they do connect they can then set goals that are congruent to their core values. The outcome for me is that my clients truly see the benefit of investing in coaching, so they will go on to recommend me to others.

What was the most rewarding part of the training/Journey?

The feeling of qualifying and receiving my certificates with distinction was a very memorable reward for me. My reason for feeling so happy was because as when I grew up, I had a limiting belief about my own self and my ability to do well academically, so this made me proud.

What bits did you enjoy the most?

Signing up for 2 diplomas on the bursary programme was the best decision I could have made and I would recommend others to do the same. I got to enjoy double the amount of acceleration days and an additional bonus of 10 more acceleration days on the CPD days. The CPD days continued to motivate me, they gave me a deeper knowledge and more tools and I could catch up with coaching colleagues.

How did the qualification slot in with your current life?

At the time of studying I was working full time and supporting my teenage children. Before joining, I sat down with my children and told them what I wanted to do and the challenges that it would bring. Once I gained their support, I decided to make the coaching study journey my hobby which was really great fun.

What else did you have to consider whilst studying?

Studying again over the last couple of years has made me value who I am as a person. However I have to make sure that I keep valuing all those around me in my support network. I can sometimes get consumed with what I am focusing on. I therefore had to stop being too hard on myself at times and still need to address unrealistic goals that I sometimes set on myself.

Where are you now?

How are you using your coaching skills? My coaching studies has now enabled me to feel confident to take the leap of faith and go self-employed. I am now securing contracts to deliver sales and customer care training and this is involving a lot of additional coaching, which is great to see.

What is your favourite coaching question?

My favourite question is if you did know the answer what would it be? This really stretches people to step out of their own comfort zone.

What do you enjoy most about being a coach?

I love it when my clients get the coaching process and smile, when they can confirm that having hired me is making a step to change their previous way of living. The litmus test is when I ask them to rate their happiness on a scale of 1 -10 following coaching.

What are my top tips for:

People who are looking for coaching?

I would always suggest that you have either had some coaching yourself so that you gain an understanding of how powerful and amazing the process is or have looked into someone who is a coach that inspires you.

Those coaches currently in training?

Ensure that you keep your professional development journal on track as you go, which I learned the hard way.

Coaches that are about to qualify?

Talk to a few people who have qualified and understand the challenges of being a coach once you embark on your own journey. That way you can start to overcome any barriers around you’re next goals. You can also gain some valuable advice, knowledge and quite often some complementary coaching sessions by simply asking someone you look up to.

People who are in a similar situation to yourself?

Remind yourself of your why daily and have a plan to keep the gremlins at bay. I regularly self-assess and check out if my body, mind or spirit are experiencing any stress or fears that are holding me back.