Webinar: The Benefits of Professional Coaching

What if the most powerful thing you could do for the people around you was to stop giving advice?

Professional coaching is one of the fastest-growing fields in the world — and one of the most misunderstood. It is not mentoring or consulting. It is a structured, human-centred conversation that helps people access their own wisdom, unlock their strengths, and build the future they want to create.

In this one-hour workshop, Carol Vickers (MCC) and Christal Duncan will give you a clear, honest picture of the coaching profession, the skills involved, and what becoming a certified coach can open up in your work and your life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Well welcome. Welcome to the webinar on the benefits of professional coaching. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm Carol Vickers. This is my partner, Crystal Gunken, and our director of customer experience, client experience, Sabrina Lagarde. We are here to just share with you some of the some of the maybe misunderstandings about coaching, what it is, what it isn't, our approach to coaching and how that differs from other other coaching methods, other philosophies of coaching, and to give you a sense of what our coaching model is and a demonstration of it in action so that you have a real opportunity to see how we do coaching.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah. One of the things that is was the inspiration behind this is because we do coach training regularly. You in particular have. I would imagine it's probably more than that at this point in time.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Over the last almost 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Right, which is how you and I ever started, how we ever connected was because you were my coach trainer.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Um, many moons ago. Um, and uh over the years you have been my coach for many years, and now you're my business partner along with uh Colin Kingsmill. And you know, one of the things, one of the reasons I would say that we that's the inspiration for us to uh want to be able to do a webinar or a podcast, however, people are going to be hearing this. Um the reason, one of the biggest reasons is because there are a lot of, first of all, a lot of misunderstandings around coaching. And maybe misunderstandings is uh uh um a harsh, too harsh of a word, but maybe a lot of different interpretations is maybe what I would say. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Absolutely. I think, and it's fascinating as we having been in the coaching profession now for almost 20 years, I really thought that we might be further ahead than we are, to be honest, as a profession, in that there are still very many people who have completely a complete lack of information about what coaching is. And when I introduce myself, I still get the question about what sport, which fascinates me. But anyway, it does sports. But coaching as a profession actually grew from some of the principles of sports coaching and also had a healthy dose of personal development work that began um 20, 25 years ago, where people began to see that a coach could help them in their life, not just on the soccer field. And because of that, it has grown and continues to grow because the realization of the value of having a coach in your life has really expanded. Yeah. And yet now, when people think of it, some of what happens is if you have not had a good coach. And I'll there's some definitions around that.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

But some of what we hear, and I and Crystal, I think you and I have talked about it, is that people have the expectation that they will be given information, they'll be told what to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

They'll get homework. Yes. Yeah, which I mean is entirely okay. Um, or that it's remedial. That is that is one of the things that is always important for people to understand. We are not, uh, coaching is not therapy. It can be therapeutic, but it's not therapy. It's not, we're not going to be digging back into all your past and asking you, why are you the way you are? That is not going to be, that's not going to be part of the conversation. Um, one of the things that I remember in the coach training that I took with you, Carolyn, in a different school, was the idea that wherever you are is where we begin. And that's what's so energizing about coaching as a coach, let alone for the person that is being coached, but as a coach. So um I know we have a presentation, but can you can you give us a little bit of understanding of what that looks like? Because we're going to have a quick coaching um, what's the word? Demonstration. Yes, demonstration. Thank you. Yeah, perimenopause brain right there. We're gonna have a quick um coaching demonstration so people can see this, but can you explain that a little bit more, expound on that wherever you are? Like what does that mean in terms of when we when we're we are a coach, how we approach that?

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Well, the beauty of the coaching approach that we have taken, that we have expanded on and really, I think, developed as a very clear way of being in the world as a coach. A lot of the foundation of it is from appreciative inquiry. And because of that, it really enters every conversation from uh from looking at it not from a deficit side, but from what is working. And one of the books that we have been referring to in our work together as a coaches collective is Miriam Subirana's book, Flourishing Together. And she defines appreciative inquiry coaching as it energizes positive change in a person or a team. She says, as a process, it facilitates discovering, expanding, and sustaining the roots of your success, which creates an image of the future and designs ways to get there. So it is really stepping into a conversation with in someone in their life and asking some opening questions, which really get a sense of where are you? And let's begin there.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And you know, what we're about to um demonstrate and some of the what we're going to be talking about, when people become coaches, it's once you have coach training, there is, it's like um the toothpaste is out of the tube and you can't squeeze it back. You can't go back to the way that you were before. Um, and I don't I don't mean that in a negative way, like you're ruined for life. I mean it literally uh you your perspective on possibilities changes, not in a Pollyanna way, because when the word, I think the word positive in our contemporary culture right now is very overused. It's like just think positively, that's not what this is. But it's actually about the positive core and helping uh helping our clients understand what is working and how um and where we how we grow from there. And I think that it's important to let people know that coaching works, it works no matter where they find themselves. So in the course of a of a week, I have coached um people across the kitchen table, but I've also been coaching with CEOs of major international organizations. And I've been having similar conversations, different context, different stakes in different ways, but the but the process and the ability to carry those conversations at the core is the same, and it's because of that training, and it's because of the um the competencies and the framework that I have built through my coach training and through my career that is that brings us to this conversation today, actually.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

And Sabrina, you participated in the coach training that that I was part of, and it was very specific. And it's that's one of the fascinating things about coach training is that it can be very specific to a particular group of people. And that word positivity made me think, Sabrina, that something that we brought up in the in the uh pregnancy and infant loss coach training was about toxic positivity and how that isn't what coaching is about, is it? So the fundamental piece aside of appreciative inquiry is also that the coach training that we have developed and that I did with Serena and then I did with Crystal, is all based on the International Coaching Federation, the ICF core competencies. And these fit everywhere. And that's one of the framework pieces of this program that we're currently talking about, is that these core competencies, once you've learned them, really do set up that standard that you were talking about, Crystal, where you know how to coach everyone from someone across the kitchen table right up to those top corporate offices. And the coach training provides that confidence for people in knowing how to approach a conversation. So we developed uh a model which incorporates all of this, and I'm just going to share my screen, and I am going to apologize in advance because I didn't set up the slide show first. Ta-da! Okay, so uh this is where we are the benefits of professional coaching, coach training. And in this model, there are three fundamental steps which also echo the core competencies of the other.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Sorry, Carol. Can you maybe use the use the slideshow button up at the top because we're seeing all everything on this end. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Hang on, let me just swap displays.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

How's that?

SPEAKER_01 10:31

That's perfect. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Oh, okay. Didn't need to see all the rest of it. Good point. Okay. So when you in this model of coaching, what we have chosen to do is also echo the process of an appreciative inquiry. So in appreciative inquiry, what we're looking at first by definition is what are we going to talk about? So, in this, the area that we begin every coaching conversation is with defining. And so it's looking at what is really top of mind for the person we're talking to. And we do that through three steps, looking at what they want to explore today, because we're in a current conversation. We have 45 minutes, an hour with it with a person. So we need to get really clear on what we're going to be talking about. And usually that means that people talk about a lot of things. So then we narrow it down a little bit more. We ask about what exactly we could focus on. And then in every coaching conversation, we also operate from that there will be some value. So an outcome, a measurable place to get to. And this is really an impactful piece for people who are taking this coaching into the business world, is that each coaching conversation has an end to it, which is definable. So we're looking to define not only what we're going to talk about, but what the client will get out of the conversation at the end. So it really does put a boundary around the conversation in a way that is measurable. And then during the coaching conversation, it really is about discovering. And this is where curiosity comes into it. And I think that is one of the features and one of the real clear personality aspects that I see of everyone who is brought to the idea of being a coach, whether they're going to be opening a practice or whether they're going to be using it in their leadership as they are fundamentally a curious person. So we do this, we use, we operate with that. We ask questions around it. Because in Discover, in the area of a coach of the coaching model, which is Discover, we're really asking questions that will help our client frame what they know that has been working, what they have available for themselves to be able to move forward. And what is that possibility of the future? And it is always held in the in the understanding that it isn't doesn't always have to be positive and cheery. That often what people bring to a coaching conversation is is a challenge or a struggle. But we don't we don't look at it just through that lens. It isn't negative.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

No. I also think, sorry, I just want to weigh in on the phone. Of course, please do. When we're talking about the discover phase, and this may come in as we do the demonstration, um, that there's an there's a there's an element of the discovery, discover phase of a our coaching model where we can acknowledge and recognize what's not working. And it's not like we're but we're not like we're not focusing on it and drilling down like why is it not working, but we can hold, we are fully capable, competent humans, right? So our whole human coaching model is built on one assumption or one presumption or that we want to maybe say, and that is that when people show up in their in the conversation, they're showing up as a whole human. They may not feel whole right now, or they may not be able to see all the all the ways that that are happening, and that's totally fine, the ways that that can happen, but we're holding an agreement with them that they're a whole human. So when we're in this discover phase, that's actually part of the conversation. We're not we're not trying to make them be positive, we're actually literally discovering about what is alive and available right now.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

So important. And that really is a distinguishing factor about this type of coaching is that we have intentionally described it as whole human because we recognize that it is what we who we are. And unfortunately, a lot in our professional lives, we are expected to check who we are at the door. And we don't get to be all of who we are in our workplace often. We feel we have to filter and and you know, weed out what is acceptable in the professional world. And by becoming a coach or bringing coaching into your business world, either as a leader or as someone who in an HR perspective or in wanting to make a difference for your colleagues, what you bring is the invitation for people to be all of who they are. And with that premise that you're describing is that they are whole, complete, and resourceful in what they are bringing to the table.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

And that's reflected in the questions that we ask. Because it's really fascinating the way you ask a question and the words that you use in a question that create the opportunity for people to see themselves in a different light. So the discover phase of a conversation is often the longest because we start with developing what the topic is, think about what we're going to go, and then there's this wonderful exploration. And discover is a great way to describe it because we're not operating as the coach in this conversation that we know the answers, we're coming from a place of honest and open curiosity about what's happening for our clients. And then the third piece of the model is design. And this is really where it becomes practical because one of the important aspects of a coaching conversation is that it has a sustainability to it so that people can actually take what they have seen, the kind of light bulb moment they might have experienced, and put it into incorporate it into what's going to happen next. So these questions that we ask in the area of design is really asking about their awareness, what's something new? What do they need to be able to take this new realization into the world? And what can they promise about it? What are the commitments they're going to make? Because coaching is not, as my husband might say, airy fairy. It is really a very grounded and practical tool and resource for leaders and human beings to use in interactions with each other. And the fascinating thing that I've seen in coaching, in teaching people to become coaches, that they is that they apply it wherever they are. So people become better parents, they become better partners, they become better siblings because they have an opportunity to see how they interact in the world in a different way.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

So a couple questions for you to just help people set the kind of set the stage for this. Are there is there a particular type of person that you find is often attracted to the idea of becoming a professional coach?

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah, I think a common theme that I hear is that they are the people who are asked to for help. So they are the they're the one in the group, or they're the one in their friends' group, or the one in the family that people go and ask for advice, or they bring a problem to. So they're often the one that is that is asked in a social situation or in a professional situation to be a listener or to be a sounding board. And they are naturally inclined to be open and available for people. That's probably a common theme.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Right. And is there is there um an area? This is not related to that question, is there an area um where you are seeing more uh where there are more, there is more need for coaches and that there's a there's a there's a rising call for true coaching, whether it's in a particular type of culture or corporate culture or anything like that. What what are you what from your perspective are you seeing?

SPEAKER_00 19:36

I really see it with leaders. The what if you it's in very interesting that if you look at job descriptions for everything from a shift manager at Starbucks right up to a CEO included in the job description is coaching. And yet what we know is that most of those people have no idea what that is. And so being asked as a leader to be a coach is actually like asking somebody to do something that they have no idea what to do. Right. You know, we're often faced with that. But the beauty of someone learning the real principles of coaching and being able to apply them as a leader, that's where we're seeing real differences and changes in corporate culture. Is that leaders are truly taking on that spirit of asking questions, of being available, of being curious, of not approaching everything like a problem that needs to be solved.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Yeah. It's it's an interesting, it's an interesting juxtaposition because they're not they're learning as they're learning to as as people be get coach training and they realize that they don't need to approach things as a problem to be solved, what they find is the things that they perceive to be problems actually start to solve themselves. It's a really funny, it's a funny dichotomy of of how things happen.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

It is. And yet the interesting thing that I find, and I think we've both seen it as well, with leaders that take a coaching approach or that become trained to be coaches, is they have to check their answers at the door.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

That's the one thing that they have to let go of is their their probably trained ability to be providing solutions for people. Yeah. Or the expectation that they will come, that people come to them with wanting an answer. So as a coach, you are we are training people to ask questions first, to be curious and not jump in with advice. So it's very different than being a consultant or an advisor in the business world.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Yeah. It is it is very different. And it's also, and I would say that one of the main differences is that in coaching, one of the key things that you learn is how you hold space with someone for their wisdom to come to the surface in the conversation. That'd probably be one of the key things that I would say that our coach training truly helps people start to understand. Like I think some of a lot of your students have have joked about like the first phases of coach training is you're kind of you feel like you're sitting on your hands because you're like you want to like interrupt or you want to tell people, have you tried this or have you tried that?

SPEAKER_00 22:47

And that's the the nature of the people that come to coaching. Coach training is that they are helpers. So they they are naturally wanting to fix and help and provide solutions.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

So why don't we give folks a demonstration?

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Let's do it. All right.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

What I'm gonna suggest, Sabrina, is you just take your camera down so it's just the two of us on the screen, and I will make sure that it is set up in a way to hide non-video participants, and it just means that you and I are on the screen there. Perfect. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Ready? Yeah, I am. Okay. Okay, Carol, thanks for asking me to coach you today. Um are you are you ready to be coached today?

SPEAKER_00 23:40

I am, yes, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Okay, tell me, what would you like to talk about today?

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Well, I heard you use a term earlier today called plate about plate spinning. And it comes up with that image of people just running to keep one of the one of the plates up all spinning in the air. And I have to admit that's really how I'm feeling right now is that there is a lot of a lot of that juggling happening. And my concern is that I guess it, you know, that to follow that metaphor that one one of the plates is going to fall. But more than that, it's that I'm going to let somebody down somewhere along the way. Yeah, I think it that is certainly the flavor of it for me is that there's a lot going on and I would like to look at how to be of service.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Okay. Can you tell me just a little bit more when you say you'd like to learn how to be of service, what what does that look like or feel like for you?

SPEAKER_00 25:01

It is it is what calls me forward kind of in the world, is that I have something to offer to people to serve them in the in the spirit of servant leadership, in that what I can offer is intended to provide something that is of value to them. So when I think of all the different kinds of hats that I wear in any given week, one of the pieces for me is is that what I feel is important is that I'm providing value. And one of the areas that I've noticed over this last couple of weeks is that I feel like I am distracted. And so in that case, what I really notice is that I it's not I'm not offering all of who I am in a given situation. And so that feels a little bit like I'm that I'm cheat cheating people. I that's a kind of strong words, but that they're not getting the best of me.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Right. That's actually really interesting that you say that because uh just a quick observation. Just I was writing down the the language because um the language that we use is is the architecture of our of how we show up in our world. And and you said I'm providing, it's important because I want to feel like I'm providing value, but I'm distracted and I'm worried that I'm not providing value. Yeah. So what's interesting about that is that there's a value there about you that I hear coming through. Can you let's just talk about that. Let's just kind of think about that for a second or sit there. When you think about the value that you bring, what is it?

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Well, it that's interesting because it's taking a look at value from two different, you know, what is the value like the monetary exchange that I am that I'm uh the the exchange of energy in that I want to make sure that it feels equal and relative, but also the value that I hold is that people are well taken care of. So that and that all comes from I think uh if I dig down one layer below that, is that there is a sense of fairness and justice in the world, and that people are treated with kindness. I would not want people to have an interaction with me where they felt they were treated anything less than kindly.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

It goes back to something else that you and I have talked a lot about a great deal, that kindness is different than niceness, and that kindness being clear is sometimes being direct and being honest with people. And it's so fascinating. What comes out of pops up for there for me for that is that in my head there's a story that it takes time, and that time is that that measure of value. That if I've said I'll be there for an hour, I have to stay for an hour, there, or you know, then if I'm going to be drinking some time, that I can't be late, all of those things that that measure it, but that as I say it out loud, direct can be quick. So that the value doesn't have to extend, doesn't have to be an extended long period of time. It can be something that happens more quickly, which goes back to the challenger topic that I have, which is that there's not enough time to keep all the plates.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Um you're stealing my lines. No, I'm just kidding. Well, because I I wanted to ask you, you know, if this is interesting because I I this is what I do love about coaching, sidebar, um, is that watching people's processes, when you hold space, then this can happen. But I want to come back for a second and ask you at the beginning of this this conversation, you said that you wanted to look at how you can feel like you're providing value. Is that at the end of our like you know, at the end of this conversation, what is it that you what is it that you that you want, not what you need, not what you think you should have. What do you want?

SPEAKER_00 31:05

It is it is more and thank you for asking it in that way, because it is more of a an internal state that I want. Because the chaotic world is going to be the chaotic world. And so for me, it is that island of calm that I can stand on in the face of it, in the face of whatever is coming up next. Right.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Right. And island of calm, like when you think about that how do you define that for yourself? What does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Well, the mental image I get is something that I've seen done in movies or on in TV shows where there the camera zooms in on the character, and the rest of the people are blurred and moving very, very quickly. But there's the this moment where you see the main character fully focused and in in full focus. And what my what I get a sense of is that there is uh a way of being grounded and centered in that allows things to move by very quickly without feeling like I have to catch them or be attached to them, or in many cases, fix or resolve them. But there's a real visual for me around that, about what the experience would be like in it. It's kind of like that scene from the movie where I'm in paused in focus and everything's right.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

So what's interesting when I when I hear you talk about you know being grounded and centered, and that those are those are ways that you would describe the feeling of of being able to provide value, because that's what this, that's what you know, what we started this conversation was around how can you provide value while there's all these spinning, these spinning plates. And and to be grounded and centered, but I'm curious because you know you are very you're very succinct in when you say that, right? Like that's a very it was like there's a direct path or line for you when I heard you say that. So I'm curious that if you are not right now able to you, if you don't have the assurance of being able to pull on that, like to tap into that quickly, yet you know what it feels like. What what has changed right now that is that is there something that is is showing is different for you that you can't tap into that as easily or it feels like it's eluding you right now?

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Well, in this moment, it feels like there are a lot of important priorities. Now, is that ever any different? I don't know. If I you know, if I look six months or six years ago, is it was that true? Yes, it was true then. And is it true now? Yes, it's true now. I think what is different as I think about it is that I I know how important it is, or and and and it isn't just that the important isn't a very accurate descriptor of it. I know it what it feels like in my body when I am focused and attentive to either the person that's in front of me or the task that is in front of me. And there is a sense right now that I've had over this last couple of weeks, particularly, that has been elusive. I haven't had that kind of in my body sensation of I'm I'm absolutely here for you. Or I can absolutely complete this task in the next 35 minutes. And so that I think is where I've been feeling a little unease in this is a busy time, it's a busy time in our business, it's a busy time for a lot of things in my life that a detail may slip by, or a person may not get what they need, or I will be late or something. So there's kind of an anxiety that is there that isn't always there, but it certainly feels present in the last few weeks. Right. Okay. Can I make an observation? Of course.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Please do. Which is what you do in coaching, you ask for permission. Um I am hearing you uh talk about how the your the set the the sense of being grounded and centered and focused um has been around you um and and feeling that almost like confidence is not quite quite the right word, but it does instill a sense of confidence in where you're centered, right? A confidence in where you're standing, um, under certain conditions. And I guess my question is, is this really about or what it maybe maybe a better question would be what is this really about? And I just want to give a little context for that. Because sometimes situations change, and because the situation, because of the the familiarity that we had with being able to tap into being a certain way of being, was always showing up in a certain situation. When the furniture moves in the room, it can feel like we we've shifted to as well. Right. And we can personalize it. But in reality, it might be that we stepped out and ran out to um for coffee, and while we were gone, someone switched around the furniture because they thought it would be helpful for us in a room, you know, and and and we come back and we can personalize that that change. Oops, yes. But is it really that what is true there in that for you right now in this and when you think about it that way?

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Well, what I what that evokes for me is that some of what I'm dealing with, and you're or you're aware of a lot of the circumstances, are temporary. They are circumstantial, they are not necessarily going to extend or or be as chaotic as they are right in this moment, and so there is um what I get from that is an invitation to um be a little bit more gentle with myself in that if it isn't personal, if these chaotic circumstances are the room moving around me, that uh I will be able to either adapt to the change or I can move the furniture back. No, the table goes over there for a reason.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

Yeah, yeah, isn't that interesting?

SPEAKER_00 39:50

That that there is um this isn't fixed in concrete.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

There's room. There's room. There's space and also when we think about there's space, that means there's there's there's capacity, you know, like capacity is like this glass of this glass of water, and right now it's at two-thirds capacity, right? Um but we are always expanding our capacity. Yes. And and but sometimes our capacity expands, but our our the our recognition of it maybe has shifted a little, like we we haven't yet quite seen it. So I guess I'm I'm I guess I'm curious, what are some areas that is there something that you maybe when you think about it now that is part of your capacity that is expanding that you that that you weren't maybe just it wasn't obvious before or evident?

SPEAKER_00 41:05

So I would say this is where I would look backwards a little bit to see what was normal five years ago and what more I have been able to take on and feel a sense of accomplishment and confidence in, I can reflect there. There are definitely aspects of how I operate in the world that have an ease to them that probably was not there five years ago. So I can see in looking at it that my capacity doesn't, when I look at it from that perspective, my capacity doesn't feel limited. And even more important than that, I I know that I also have the ability, or I'm gaining the ability. I wouldn't say I have it, I'm gaining the ability to be able to share with other people, to well, you use a term that a lot of our clients use. I'm I'm delegating, you know. I'm I'm able to say no, I'm able to, and this is perhaps the um the back and forth of being a coach, is that we are able to see for others what we can't see for ourselves. Yeah. So as I even say those things out loud, it's like, yeah, that's exactly what I would say to someone who would come to me with an overcapacity consideration.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Yeah, yeah. You know, is that true? Is that true? Exactly. I remember one uh one time uh one of the great questions that I I learned in coaching was if we were sitting in opposite places, what question would you be asking me? Yes, right, to think about it that way. Okay, so we're you know, as we're as we're round wrapping up this uh very quick conversation. Um I'm curious because in the beginning you said, you know, I one of the things that's most important to you is that you provide value and that you associate providing that value with being able to feel in your body that you are not distracted, and and so that has been how you've you have associated those two things in in the past. What's is there anything that's shifted for you right now? And I'm not digging.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

I'm just gonna like no no, thank you. That it's it's there is, and it is that what I'm seeing is the temporary nature of what I'm going through right now. So knowing that I'm pulled in a lot of directions, and some of that is emotional and some It is is actual, you know, there's things that need to be done. That there is a temporariness to it. So it is this too, you know, this too shall pass. There is going to be some um some sense of things being able to be put down soon. And because of that, I can deliberately give myself some grace and ask for support. Because that really is the other piece of it that is there is the capacity to say, you know what, this is just a little bit over what I can do right now. Could you take that on? Yeah. And I have when I ask that way, I don't think there's ever been anybody who said, nope, sorry, can't do that. Yeah, exactly. Because I'm not a person that asks for support and help very often. So I think I don't I don't overtax those resources.

SPEAKER_01 44:57

Okay. That's I like that. I like that because that's that's also within your that's a choice that you get to make for yourself, right? Even in the middle of all these circumstances that you that are out of your control in many ways, but this is a choice that you can make. So if that shifted, then what you know, as a walking, leaving this conversation, what are you what are you leaving with?

SPEAKER_00 45:28

Well, I'm going to review the calendar and just take a look at what is stacked up or what feels like it's stacked up right now. And just I think as much as anything, when I look at it, it's not, it isn't as daunting as it as it seems. And that's partly the nature of how I have it structured. It's like, oh my God, there's all these colors and all these appointments. Yeah. And what I began to do and will will finish off after this conversation is to be able to look at it and go, okay, well, what are which of those am I really required to be in or support? And which can I just let go of for now? And know that the if I'm putting something down, just like the furniture in the room, I can change it, I can move it, I can pick it up again. That's a practical case that I can do it.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Yeah, I like that. Okay, so in the spirit of coaching, does that feel like a complete conversation for you? It really does. Yes. Thank you. Yes, my pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 46:43

So just to bring us back to our our webinar, thank you. Um shift yours. This is how we shift yours. Yeah. Bringing us back to the conversation of professional coaching. What you demonstrated so beautifully, Crystal, is how any topic can be tackled. And that the relationship, the relational practice that you demonstrated comes from getting to know people well. And that's one of the things that really does happen when you become a coach, is that you begin to develop this ability to be in a deep relational practice with someone quite quickly. Because the opportunity when you ask questions as you did is to get below the surface. Below the iceberg. We often use that metaphor of the iceberg, the majority of the iceberg is below the water. And your questions get there very quickly, and they can and that can happen with someone who you've only just met once or twice.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, questions are one of the most beautiful things that exist in the world. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 48:02

Yeah. And then really, you know, when we look at the the whole human coaching model, found its foundation in appreciative inquiry is inquiry.

unknown 48:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

We are inquiring, not telling, not advising, not fixing. And that's really the if we looked at it as the as the key principle, it is about that.

SPEAKER_01 48:25

Yeah, it's great. Okay, we have some um upcoming coach training possibilities. And if you are interested in learning more about them, you can head over to wholehumancochtraining.com. And all the information is there. We have uh different intakes and different opportunities. If you are someone who's listening to this and you are thinking that this would be fantastic for your team, we would love to work with you to help you begin to build a coaching culture in your organization and in your leadership. And we do that on the regular. So we'd love to be able to do it with you as well. Is there anything else, uh, Carol, that you would like our listeners at this point in time to know about our coach training?

SPEAKER_00 49:19

I believe that the investment in coach training, personally and professionally, is something that is incredibly valuable. And I know that the right people are called to it. And I know that from my own experience when I was in business and had the opportunity to become a coach, one of the things that happened after the first few hours of the training was like a sense that I was at home. Yeah. This was the right place for me. And it grew to be an opportunity for me to see it in my organization where coaching was valued and made important and highlighted and prioritized, is that other people had that sense as well that there was um a way of being in our organization that reflected the coaching principles.

SPEAKER_01 50:09

Yeah. Yeah, we've we've worked, and you in particular have have done coach training with a lot of different organizations. Um so as we are leaving this um our time together, what's what's your one thing you would like to leave with our with our listeners, our audience, the people who joined us in this conversation?

SPEAKER_00 50:33

Try on coaching, try on having a coach, try on being a coach. It is an incredible experience.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

How about for you? Uh, I think the the one thing I would want people to to leave people with is that um the ability to the ability to have coaching conversations with people doesn't just it it will change you foundationally and fundamentally as a person and as a leader in ways that you would never have thought was possible. And I don't I really don't think I'm overselling it when I say that. It really will transform how you show up as a person. So yeah, so don't forget that's whole human coaching, coach training, sorry, wholehuman coachtraining.com. And uh if you're interested just in finding out coaching in particular about our wayfinding process, you can find out more over at wholehuman.global. That is the place where we are always to be found. So thank you for joining us today, and thank you, Carol, for uh really for sharing with us and for all the work that you've done. I um I'm a life that's been changed by your work. And there are many people around the world who say the same thing, and it's just such a pleasure and a privilege to be able to be in this space with you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 51:54

Thank you, and thank you all. Thank you for joining us.