The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his/her life and work; and believe every client is creative, resourceful, and whole.” This means your coach is an accountability partner, a source of support and encouragement, and a good listener. A coach is not someone who will make decisions for you, do the hard work for you, or pretend to be an expert in your life. The key to a great coaching experience for both the coach and the client is a respectful, professional, and equal partner relationship.

What dream or goal do you have that is deep within your heart that you know you really want to do but just have not done because it seems impossible or too far away? Examples can include starting a business, meeting goals set by your job, advancing your career, creating a community program or losing weight. Whatever your dream may be, coaching will support you in making it come true with more clarity, focus, ease, and grace.

Using practical tools, you will learn how to go through internal stopping points so that you can accomplish your goals with less struggle. As a result, you can be more present in your daily life and experience authentic joy on a daily basis. You will develop skills on how to focus your brain and energies so that you are more productive, which yields to contentment with your journey in life. Through being vulnerable, you will have reflections that can possibly lead to self-transformation.

As a client, your role is to be:

• As authentic as possible.

• A willing partner with your coach.

• Willing to look, see, tell the truth, learn, and take authentic action to meet your goals.

• Willing to produce the results you want with the support of your coach.

Coaching is a client-driven process. Think of it like a car. You’re in the driver’s seat with full control of how fast or slow you drive, when you hit the brakes, and when you turn. You also have full vision from your rear-view mirror (your experiences) and what obstacles may be beside or in front of you. As your coaching, I am in the passenger seat beside you, looking through the windshield, knowing your desired destination, and viewing the map with you. They will help guide you as you drive, but it’s up to you to set the destination and go. Tips to prepare for your coaching session are to:

• Have a goal and general area of focus. I will help you along the journey with your goal but remember that you set the destination.

• Come prepared with an agenda for your session. I may ask you what you’d like to discuss, so be sure to have a topic in mind or questions you would like to cover.

• Be ready at your scheduled time. If you are not in your session, I will try to reach out to you. If you don’t respond within 15 minutes, you will need to reschedule.

• Choose a quiet place for your session where you can focus and reflect. We will not complete the session if you are driving or in a distracting space.

• Be open and truthful. I will ask you lots of questions. The more honest and vulnerable you are the more you will benefit. Sessions are confidential and you should feel comfortable to share.

• Complete any assignments before our next session. You’ll leave the session with action experiments and resources to try before your next session. Remember most of the work happens outside the session.

• Keep a journal through your coaching experience. This will help you self-reflect and bring real-life situations into the session. I can then ask more meaningful questions and the discussion will go deeper to ignite change.

A coach will:

• Create a powerful partnership to provide support and encouragement in your personal and leadership development process.

• Help you gain clarity and focus about what you want to do and how to take action to do it.

• Be a person in your corner who supports you to accomplish that which brings you the greatest satisfaction.

• Ask powerful questions that probe and help you see new opportunities or differing perspectives.

• Help you develop strategies and solutions that move you through obstacles toward goals.

• Provide recommendations on reflection exercises that may help you find clarity and direction.

• Help you define and refine your development and career goals and build action plans to get you there.

• Hold the space for safe and confidential conversations; coach may not share any content unless it has been specifically agreed to with the client prior unless there is convincing evidence of serious harm or danger to the client if coach withholds information.

Because the foundation of my coaching is to empower you on the journey of self-discovery to find your own answers, a coach will not:

• Tell you what industry, function, or role you are best suited for.

• Tell you what your goals should be or tell you exactly what steps you must take to get there.

• Make decisions for your life or tell you how you should see a situation.

• Search jobs for you or make introductions to people/companies.

• Provide advice without asking you for permission.

• Serve as a therapist for mental well-being. If a client is facing a challenge that goes beyond the coach’s experience and expertise, the coach will consider and offer other resources for the client.

We will meet on Zoom. It is your choice how regularly we meet. Most people generally have a one-hour session, twice a month, over a 6 to 8-month period. Choose a cadence that works for your schedule and gives you enough time to thoroughly complete any action experiments. It is typical for the first session to be 1.5 hours to cover foundational exploration. Quick email and text check-ins in between sessions are also typical.