Shirley Thompson - A diploma is just the beginning of the ride

What is your coaching niche and why did you choose it?

These days I focus on three things: helping anyone use coaching skills at whatever level of competence, helping coaches improve their competencies through supervision, and use my own coaching skills with those I’m working or volunteering alongside.

How did you start volunteering as a Mentor for The Coaching Academy and why did you want to take on this challenge?

I was prompted by a local graduate Jacqui Purdy who was kind enough to encourage me by saying I had valuable skills to share. My altruistic side knew it would feel great to give back to coaching.

My selfish side realised that I could pursue my purpose which is to help anyone improve their soft skills, and also to encourage coaches to have supervision for their on-going development. 

"Be open, curious, in the mood to experiment and become as reflexive as you can."

100 hours of volunteer mentoring is a fantastic achievement! What was the most rewarding part of it?

Talking to lots of different people with their different drivers to become coaches. Being a mentor is such a privileged position to gain this insight. 

What was one thing mentorship changed in your own life that you didn’t expect?

I have a protected hour in the week where I’m going to be talking to two people I’ve probably never met but can have an intimate conversation with. It’s amazing to me that The Coaching Academy framework and coaching philosophy instigates the level of trust that something useful can be learned in 30 minutes.

Both mentor and student are open to the relationship. I’m amazed that I’ve improved my curiosity and rapport-building in any situation as a result, and I use it to support and calm me in other situations. 

Whilst we understand that you are supportive of all your mentees, can you give us an example of when in your opinion a mentee coach has overcome significant odds to succeed (or done particularly well)?

What is success in mentoring; that is a good question. Perhaps if a coach asks me again to be their mentor? To be honest that hasn’t happened very often. Though I cannot generally see the learner to qualified coach success story, it is enough for me to see success in the session.

When the coach comes in feeling stuck and down then goes away upbeat, even excited to take a step forward, that is a reward for my effort.

I particularly enjoy conversations about niche choices: a purpose in life is so personal and I love getting an insight into another person’s thinking; that’s heart-warming.   

"I’ve learned so much from the act of coaching and being part of the coaching world; I wish you all an interesting learning journey and that for you too, a diploma is just the beginning of the ride."

Tell us about a mentee that challenged your perceptions about what it means to be a successful coach.

Not all coaches plan to have a business that is a coaching practice and I admire their recognition that we have skills that can be used in so many ways. I often struggle with the idea that my paid coaching hours especially 1:1 have been irregular, so I could seem unsuccessful.

However, the unpaid hours, the coach supervision, the group coaching facilitation have all been enabled by my essential coaching skills and I know I have supported a lot of people to follow through on their purpose.

I too am driven by purpose, to be honest one which has never been crystal clear but subconsciously has brought me to an amazing place for a retired project manager, now professional coach. I’m thrilled to be part of the Responsible Project Management initiative and volunteering with Project Management Institute in their mentoring programme in addition to my coaching activities that are also aimed at getting everyone to understand and practice coaching skills.  

If you could go back in time to the person you were before attending the free two-day founda-tion event, what would you tell them?

Be open, curious, in the mood to experiment and become as reflexive as you can.

Is there one tip or life lesson you could share with all aspiring coaches out there that would help them succeed as a coach?

 I’ve learned so much from the act of coaching and being part of the coaching world; I wish you all an interesting learning journey and that for you too, a diploma is just the beginning of the ride.

Who do you want to be when lockdown is over?

Would you like to make a positive and lasting difference to others, just like Suzanne does? Would you like to have a coaching business you can run from the comfort of your own home?

The free Introduction to Life Coaching webinars are available for you to join. They are interactive, informative and designed to help you understand if training to be a life coach is for you. 

Take positive action, project forward and plan for a year to remember for all the right reasons. Choose from available dates here.