We are pleased to be featuring Heather Stevens as our Coach in the Spotlight in this week’s blog. Heather is a graduate Coaching Academy coach who is currently using her qualification and coaching skills within her role as a Town Planner. She shares with us her coaching journey, how despite already being a busy working mum, learning and studying to become a coach has energised her! She is passionate about using coaching in the workplace and having positive energising conversations!
My life is busy, so what do I do, make it even busier! Working full-time, with two little children, does mean time is tight, but I wanted to find time for something I enjoyed, and that challenged me personally and professionally. The Coaching Academy's Life Coaching Course fitted really well, I could do it at my own pace, and take my time to digest the learning and experience.
At a time in your life when your self-confidence can be low (following maternity leave, daily pressures and persistent lack of sleep!), I found the course really helped increase my self-confidence and my awareness of people, interactions, and responses. Fundamentally, it has improved my listening and given me a greater empathy for people's challenges, struggles and ambitions.
It took a little longer to complete my qualification as I have been working full time, and took maternity leave for my second child. I made time for it though, as you do with things you enjoy and feel are reviving you. Studying and learning has given me greater energy. The best thing about this Life Coaching Course though is you don't feel pressured, you can take it at your own pace.
Overall, I found most rewarding seeing the positive testimonials from clients, but on a day to day basis, it was the positive exchange of energy in a conversation. I get a lot of satisfaction at the end of the session when the client realises the conversation has led to new exciting thoughts and ideas, that they didn't have before. It's always nice to see the surprise on their face, and that they were their own ideas.
At the moment, I am still working as a Town Planner, whilst coaching when opportunities arise. I am looking for ways to build the coaching role within the organisation and beyond.
I have coached staff within my own organisation and other councils, most of whom have been Town Planners. It is easy to get 'stuck' in any role, but coaching gives the opportunity for some time out to re-evaluate, which I think has been the greatest benefit for those I have coached. One client said, “I had lots of disparate ideas about things I'd like to change or achieve but no clear direction. From my first session, I was able to clearly identify and begin to prioritise what I would like to achieve." Some of the people I've coached have since moved on to new exciting roles, having had the chance to reflect and re-evaluate, whilst others have found new ways to better manage their workloads.
I am continuously curious about understanding the value of a simple coaching conversation and feeling listened to. Coaching conversations are non judgemental, non advisory, positive - the opportunity for the client to listen to themselves, think, have time out, re-value and re-assess. I am curious to better understand the value of this and how more people can benefit from it. Some people see coaching as all about big goals, wanting to run a marathon, or have a bigger better job - that's not how I see it. I see it as the rare opportunity to have positive energising conversations.
Go for it - I haven't regretted a single thing about doing it. Even if not used to set up a coaching business, you can use the skills in your current profession as it gives you greater awareness and understanding of others. Also, it's a coaching qualification that you can do at your own pace, around life and work. Don't be put off by thinking you're too busy!
The best resources for me have been other people on the same journey, bouncing ideas around, and listening to feedback. And of course, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - a book to my mind that will never go out of date.
Thank you Heather for sharing your coaching journey with us!
If you are feeling inspired and would you like to have a coaching business you can run from the comfort of your own home, then do join us on our Introduction to Life Coaching webinar - choose from available dates here.
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
