I finally started my online Coaching business!
This is something that I have been thinking about for years, ever since I first dabbled in the Coaching world as part of my University degree. This was back in 2017, I can remember the weekend practical workshops we had to attend as part of the course. During these workshops, we would pair up with other members of the class to run through a variety of role plays as either the coach or the coachee. We would then provide each other feedback on how the session went, before swapping roles and repeating the process.
As a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) student, our class was lucky enough to have some of our workshops facilitated by Dr. Tim Baker, who is a world renowned author, coach and training & development leader. Listening to and observing Dr. Baker facilitating our workshops was inspirational and really allowed me to see the true power of Coaching methodology in action. That is, through active listening and by asking good questions, a coach can navigate someone through a situation and help them to become more effective leaders by enabling them to develop solutions to solve their own problems. It is widely known and accepted that people are far more likely to follow through on an idea or a course of action, if they feel that they are the one who came up with it in the first place. In hindsight, it seems so simple, but still to this day I believe that it is absolute genius!
Ever since taking this unit, I have often daydreamed about one day starting up my own business helping people through the power of Coaching. As I have worked though my Human Resources (HR) career and my own personal development journey, I have tried wherever possible to implement the lessons and techniques I learned from Dr. Baker and through my Coaching course at QUT, in the hopes of one day being able to do this type of work (and from the comfort of my home).
Particularly, I learned the difference between Coaching, which is more about guiding people to discover answers to their own questions, versus Mentoring, which focuses on the transfer of knowledge from one person (usually a more experienced or knowledgeable one) to another. It made me realise that although well-intended, I was guilty of telling (Mentoring) other people what to do, based on what I thought was the “right thing” to do in that situation, which was not as helpful as I was often hoping to be. However, by changing my approach to adopt more of a Coaching style, I was more successful in my personal and professional interactions. Of course, that is not to say that Mentoring is not a useful approach, but more about knowing when and where to use this communication method.
Fast forward six years from completing that unit, I am just now completing a goal that I had set out to achieve all those years ago. And it feels great! Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage states that “Happiness is the joy we feel striving toward our potential”. By starting up Career Potential & Personal Growth (CPPG) Coaching, it is my goal to help people grow by working towards their potential, elevating their careers and levelling-up their lifestyle, so that they can experience as much success, joy and fulfilment as they desire.
Please reach out to us if you feel that you, or somebody that you know, may benefit from the power of Coaching to advance their career or enhance their personal development.