Coach in the Spotlight - Hauwa Abbas

I have always been passionate about the growth and development of individuals and groups as such I have had various positions in the development sector and government relations. I have designed and delivered programs which have demonstrated success in community mobilization, service delivery and raising awareness in the areas of reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health in Nigeria.

I felt the urge to develop myself further in order to help others in their own personal development to achieve holistic fulfilment. I wanted to become a coach to support individuals through the process of discovering their strengths, removing limitations and achieving their goals.

My journey started in 2010 with the 2-day free coaching program offered by the academy. It was a great experience and immediately I saw results in the lessons learnt from the program. I wanted more and decided to look into the Life Coaching Diploma. Once I started my diploma, my journey took off with lots of excitement. In October 2015, I qualified with merit as a certified coach from the prestigious coaching academy.

I have been able to implement skills learnt during my community work such as building rapport by respecting the individuals’ world, people’s views regardless of their background, tribe and values thus remaining professional, being genuine and showing 100% commitment as well as enhanced effective communications skills in all that I do. I am able to use the GROW model to work with people to define their goals, with a focus on what the individual wants to achieve. I am now also more equipped to dig into the current situations and explore all possible options and commitments of what could be done. Finally, my work is enhanced because I am able to think more about the way forwards in all situations, agree on actions with dates and a timeframe that will ensure results to the desired goal.

Since qualifying, I have coached 101 prison inmates as my commitment to giving back and I intend to continue offering PRO-BONO services to those that are from disadvantaged or less privileged backgrounds.

I am a true supporter of continuous professional and personal development as it is vital to maintain, enhance and develop skills, tools and knowledge in line with changing trends and current situations. To this end, I have recently become an accredited CPD Coach.

During my training as a coach, one of my goals was to join a humanitarian group. I joined Rotary International and after two years I surpassed my goal as a Rotarian and was selected by leaders in the district to be a chartered President 2015-2016 for a Rotary club. My role is to lead, engage and inspire members. This training process of becoming a coach has been a vital element in my personal and professional GROWTH.

The technical skills and practical training of the DISC module was the most exciting part of my training and a huge factor that has contributed to my position of excellence. I am working towards understanding myself better every day and appreciating other personality types. In the next two years, I would have expanded my corporate clientele.

My journey was not easy but nothing of value ever comes easy. It has been one of self-healing, fulfilment, a journey where I have chosen to DO what makes me happy, BE who I want to be and HAVE all that I want and deserve.

I have found peace, grown and found contentment along the way. I love that coaching positions me to help people unlock their potential and be the best they can be in all areas of their lives.

For those reading this that are interested in coaching or are training to become coaches, my question to you is this; a year from today, what goal will you be celebrating?