Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our thoughts. As coaches and facilitators on the ILM 5 coaching qualification, Sian Taylor and I are passionate about coaching and its benefits and value being able to share that with others.

If you are interested in finding out more, you can listen using the link below and don’t forget to look out for Part 2!

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Most of you know how passionate I am about coaching, and all it can achieve and how much I value being part of the coaching community. So it was great to have the opportunity to contribute to this blog, alongside others from the world of coaching, who continue to inspire my work.

https://bit.ly/3ZBTpQR

The post My thoughts on Continous and Holistic Inner Growth in Coaching – EMCC Blog Post appeared first on Debs Hirst Coaching.

I realise that might sound a little dramatic, but it’s genuinely true— let me explain why I feel confident to make such a bold statement.

It all started with a plan…

My story is potentially similar to yours. From a young age I knew what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’ and I spent my scho

ol years making choices that would lead me to that job. In my teens that developed into big ideas about having a successful career, the perfect family, house and car to go with it!

But the plan changed…

Then life happened, I started to deviate from the plan, and I realised I actually wasn’t sure what career I wanted.

After several years in Organisational Development at a large organisation, I was promoted and began managing staff for the first time. Being a manager wasn’t ever part of the plan, but I was up for the challenge. The phrase ‘accidental manager’ is used a lot these days and I would say that definitely applied to me. I was the right fit for the role but had no experience of what it was to be a leader.

The team I was leading were older and more experienced than me and had once been my peers. I found that challenging. Trying to find the balance of being credible, assertive and confident.. and feeling anything but.

That was when I first experienced coaching. My manager at the time was a qualified coach and instead of giving me the answers (which I so desperately wanted!) she asked me questions about what I wanted to do, how I wanted to feel and how I was going to approach leading my team.  She empowered me to make my own decisions and with that my confidence and belief in myself grew.

I also realised something that would be a game changer for me. I didn’t need to have all the answers! The people I managed were the experts at what they did and had their own answers / solutions. I just had to support and empower them to find those solutions.

That’s when I attended a coaching skills course and started to implement the techniques I had learnt in my leadership approach. Meaning I didn’t have to have all the answers and instead trusting in my team that they did – and helping them to realise their own potential.

You’ve guessed it, the plan changed again…

A few years later, after my son was born, I returned to work following a year of maternity leave. Prior to becoming a parent, ‘work me’ was very different. I was the person who would come into work early, leave late and work weekends. Always focussed on getting the job done no matter what impact that had on my home life.

I was organised, 100% committed and work was my top priority. I was climbing the career ladder and when I returned from maternity leave, I was going to climb it even further.

But when I got back to work my priorities and ambition had changed. The plan I once had, wasn’t the plan I wanted to follow anymore. I felt lost and every bit of confidence I had built felt to melt away.

This led to my first one-on-one session with an Executive Coach. Another game changer for me!

Having the time and space just to think about what was going on in my own head. Being able to be brutally honest without fear of judgement, feeling safe that my thoughts wouldn’t be shared with someone else and knowing that my coach trusted and believed in me to find my own solutions – was everything I needed in that moment.

I was supported and challenged and with every session the ‘noise’ in my head became less and my plans became clearer. My coach never gave me any advice and although that felt odd at first, I realised that advice would only have added to the ‘noise’ and actually I did know what I needed to do.

I was hooked! and I wanted to support others to feel the same way I did. I wanted to be able to provide the space for others to realise their potential and recognise their ability to move forward and plan the future they wanted. I completed my first coaching qualification, and the plan changed again!

The plan continues to change…and that’s good!

I truly believe in the positive impact that coaching can have and that is why it integral to all the work that I do and why I feel confident to say It has changed my life!

 My career is now focused on supporting individuals through 1:1 coaching, and bringing the same approach to my work with teams and organisations. I believe in the power of creating the right conditions for exploration — and that we all hold the potential to achieve.

I still access coaching myself, particularly in those moments when I know what I need to do, but for some reason I’m just not doing it. We’re all human, and sometimes we need someone to gently challenge our thinking.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If it’s sparked something for you and you’d like to explore coaching for yourself, I’d love to hear from you

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• A leader of a team, business or organisation looking to enhance your approach?
• A HR or OD professional looking to develop a coaching culture within your organisation?
• An Individual looking for a self-development programme to advance your career?

If you have answered ‘yes’  to any of the questions above, then you might be interested in joining our next ILM 5 Coaching and Mentoring Qualification.

• The ILM 5 Coaching and Mentoring qualification will give you a solid foundation of knowledge and techniques that are essential for supporting and developing others.
• For leaders, HR and OD professionals, it will equip you with the tools to successfully implement and build a thriving coaching culture.
• For those looking to advance their career in the world of coaching and mentoring, you will gain an internationally recognised qualification that gives you credibility in the professional field.
• Being a qualified coach equips you with the skills and techniques to facilitate a meaningful and impactful conversation, helping your coachee to unlock their full potential.

For those of you who follow me on LinkedIn you will know how passionate I am about coaching and how transformational it can be. I genuinely believe there cannot be enough coaches in the world, but coaching, done properly, requires skill, integrity, ethics and much more and that is why I am so passionate about ensuring coaches receive the best possible training and support.

If you are interested in taking a step into coaching and looking for a qualification to give you the right start, then please find the programme brochure below or get in touch for a chat! You can contact me at debs@debshirstcoaching.co.uk

ILM 5 Coaching and Mentoring Qualification (Mar 26 Cohort)

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We are living through a time of significant change and change that is happening at a pace we have never experienced before. Alongside that there are lots of assumptions being made about how we are all feeling and how we should be feeling about the future.

It’s quite easy to get swept up in all of those assumptions and to worry if you aren’t feeling the same way as the people around you. I have experienced a wide range of emotions over the past year. Those emotions changing weekly, daily and sometimes hourly and rarely have they been in sync with the people around me.

If any of that resonates with you I want to say it’s ok to feel that way, it’s completely normal and you are doing a great job!

Hands up who has lived through a global pandemic before? This is new territory for all of us. It’s been tough, it’s been scary, it’s been relentless and more than anything most of it has been out of our control.

As humans we aren’t used to having control taken away on such a huge scale and in the main the feeling of being ‘out of control’ leaves us feeling anxious. I don’t think I have worked with one client throughout the pandemic who hasn’t mentioned their lack of control, and the negative impact that has had on them

Of course there has still been plenty of things in our control, but how many of us have actually had the time and head space to take stock of that, reflect on what we have achieved in the last year and how we have developed and grown?

That is where I feel I have brought most value to my clients over the past year. I have provided time and space for them to be completely honest about how they are feeling, to think purely about themselves without feeling they would be judged or that their feelings aren’t justified because other people have it ‘tougher than them’.

I have supported individuals to reflect on their strengths and all the things they have achieved (and wow have we all achieved!) and the difference they have made. I have supported them to focus on what is in their control and challenged them around the decisions they have felt were out of their control, yet still took up space in their heads. Most importantly I have challenged their thinking and made them realise that how they feel matters too, regardless of what other people are going through.

As a coach I pride myself on having a toolkit full of the right questions and resources that support my clients to unlock their full potential and achieve their goals.  I have realised that the most powerful question in that toolkit right now is one I have been using all of my life but never really valued before…….

How are you?

I am guessing, like me, you ask this question many times each day. I am also guessing you get asked this yourself? Am I also right in thinking you have a stock answer, one you don’t really think about and it’s out of your mouth without you really thinking about it!?

Mine is “I’m good thanks”.

I realised some months ago what I fraud I was being! I was asked that question a few times each day and I gave that same response, when actually some days I wasn’t feeling ‘good’. So I started to answer it more honestly. I think it’s fair to say it got mixed responses! Many of my friends and family were grateful for my honesty and in turn were more honest about how they felt too. Others weren’t really sure how to react (note to self… do not overshare with strangers!) but actually both of those reactions were ok, what was important was I was being true to myself and in that moment I was reflecting on how I truly felt and that in turn left me with a choice to either do something about it or make peace with it. It was in my control!

I started asking my coaching clients how they were, letting them answer with the ‘stock phrase’ and then asking them again how they really were. It’s simple but so hugely liberating. Coaching has taught me that until we are honest with ourselves we cannot move beyond where we are and I am happy to admit that it’s the same for me as a coach.

I know this is the first time I have spoken to you but I feel like you are up for a challenge? So……

How are you?…… How are you really!?

How are you feeling about your current situation?

How are you feeling about the future?

What have you achieved in the last 12 months and how will that support you in the months ahead?

If you would like to explore how coaching could support you with your future goals or help you ‘take stock’ of where you are right now, then I would love to have a chat.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope it’s made you realise what a brilliant job you are doing.

Take Care

Debs

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