Empowerment through coaching: Transforming careers and lives

What has led you to coaching? 

I was going through a life-changing period in my life and I was curious about what coaching could bring to the table, so I started attending workshops related to coaching and I ended up moving to London to pursue the coaching diploma with The Coaching Academy. It was hard work, specially when English is not your mother tongue, you are going through personal changes, etc. But it ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences. 

Most people become a coach to change the lives of others… how has coaching benefited your own life?

I think I have become much more resilient and patient. It has given me a new perspective on life and feel more at ease with whatever comes my way, or at least let's say that I have accepted that there are things that are out of my control and it's not for me to decide. It's like a sport, it needs training and practice (and the right tools) to become good at it.

How did the qualification slot in with your busy life? 

I had to create a routine of squeezing in hours, sacrificing part of my weekends and social life during weekdays after work. I would say that the hardest part for me at the beginning was to allocate time for the coaching practice, finding clients, etc. I suffered the Imposter Syndrome so I tended to procrastinate. Until I found out after some hours of practice that I actually enjoyed it.

What was the most rewarding part of your coaching journey? 

Definitely working with people and reflecting back. It is so powerful to just listen and ask a simple question. It can be a game changer. Again, I tend to be very strict with myself, so I was always looking for the question that I thought was the most powerful. Then you realize that it is not about you, and if you just listen and reflect back with simple questions, magic happens!  

Tell us about the work you do! How are you using your coaching skills?   I am now a Career Advisor at ESADE, a top-ranked business school, in Barcelona. I mainly work with students and I do engagement with companies. So a very important part of my job is to listen to my students' career goals (along with their life expectations, values, fears, skills, etc.) and we try to find together the best realistic path for them career-wise. It is not pure coaching, it has quite a lot of mentoring too. But I think I have found my niche here, a mix of personal coaching and professional mentoring. 

What’s the biggest area in coaching you are curious about and why? 

I would say that I have found the perfect sector for me in Career coaching and advising. I am a business-oriented person, so it is definitely something that I want to dig deeper. I work with recent graduates but also with MBAs, who are not starting their career path but want to change it somehow. And here comes the interesting mix of life and professional coaching, because usually one thing leads to the other. It is very common as well to find limiting beliefs in career shifters, so I am very happy to have pursued the life coaching diploma with The Coaching Academy and have the tools to work with my students.

What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a life coaching career? 

Of course I would say that the value that coaches add comes with practice and experience, so practice as much as possible during and after your studies. I would even recommend it to people who do not want to be professional coaches; you embark on a journey of self-discovery that can be very enriching. 

What are the best resources that have helped you along your coach training journey? 

The best resource for me was networking and talking to experienced coaches and even the other Coaching Academy students from my batch: sharing experiences, fears, cases, etc. It is good to have support from the peers, but always keep in mind that it can be a self-paced course and that everyone has their own circumstances, so do not compare yourself with the rest. Take as much time as you need but let all the learnings soak in!   

Thank you Laura for sharing your coaching journey with us!   

If you are feeling inspired and would you like to find out more about how training as a life coach can change your life, and the lives of others,  then join us on our Introduction to Life Coaching webinar - choose from available dates here.