What profession were you in before coaching?
My background is in nursing; I have been a qualified nurse since 1980. I still work as a nurse in out patients however it is only for one clinic a week.
What were your first thoughts after attending the first 2-days taster weekend?
After the weekend I went to fill up my car with petrol, when I got to the petrol station there was a lorry blocking access to all the petrol pumps apart from two which already were full of customers so I decided to wait.
When the cars had finished I began to move to where they had been, the lorry driver got out and began telling me off, as he wanted to go where the cars had been! I thought I would utilize the coaching skills I had learnt. I asked him “how do I know you wanted to go there?” He was very quiet and replied “but my diesel cap is on this side! “ I replied, “how do I know where your diesel cap is” he again went very quiet and said “I am very sorry I will move my lorry”.
This made me realise how powerful coaching could be after the result from this one small encounter.
What area of coaching do you specialise in?
I am a Protégé student with The Coaching Academy and the first two diplomas I undertook were Personal Performance and Corporate and Executive.
I focus on Career coaching and Executive Coaching, additionally I am a DISC personality profiler and use this with all my clients to enhance their coaching experience.
What difference has a Coaching career made to your life?
When my daughter was older I wanted to work a little more, increasing my hours as a nurse would have meant that I would have to go back to regimented hours of work, coaching gave me the chance to have more choice and control of when I work and has allowed me to grow as a person. I now have a portfolio career where I am in control of how many hours I work and when I work, meaning I can determine my income level and it is a privilege to help people to better their lives.
How has Coaching benefited you?
There are many ways that coaching has benefited me especially in how I communicate in verbal and written form. For example be concise in an email, as not all the email will be remembered if there is too much detail and that if another person does not understand what you are asking it may be how you are asking.
How has coaching helped your existing career?
I help colleagues at work if appropriate using coaching and this allows me to feel like I am giving something back. I also use my increased in-depth listening and questioning skills with my patients which is helpful.
What difference has coaching made to your family life?
Coaching and DISC has allowed me to have more time with my family and a greater understanding of what we all want for our future.
What did you enjoy most about gaining your coaching qualification?
I enrolled as a Protégé student so I was able to study all the diplomas The Coaching Academy had to offer which has opened many doors for me. In addition to this I now also freelance for the Coaching Academy as a Course Manager, which is very rewarding as I get to see our new delegates arrive wondering what the 2 days will hold, and they go home on the second day extremely energised and full of hope for the future!
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