By Lisa Kramer
In the fall of 1997 I was sauntering through Borders searching for something but not certain what the 'something' was. I happened upon a copy of New Age Journal and decided to skim through it as I sat and had a cup of coffee. Inside was an article about personal coaching, a relatively new profession that I had never heard of. As I read the article, I had a visceral reaction inside my body. My heartbeat quickened and there was an inner knowing that this was work that I wanted to do-to assist people to have more of what they wanted in their lives. Of course I wanted that for myself as well, but to be able to help others live their vision of a full life, that spoke to me!
I took my first coaching course during the spring of the following year. I traveled to Washington, DC for a weekend-long introductory program offered by the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). Within the first hour of the weekend, I knew I had made the right decision. I wanted to be a coach! But how was I going to make that desire a reality? I had two school age children and a full-time job as a social work professor. My life was already quite busy, how was coaching going to fit in? I decided to take first things first and hired a coach as soon as I returned from the weekend in DC. I knew intuitively that I could not be the masterful coach I wanted to be if I didn¹t first experience coaching as a client. Within a few months of working with my coach, I had my first pro bono client- a friend who was motivated to make changes in her life, and support me as a coach-in-training at the same time. What an amazing confidence booster that was! We adhered strictly to the coaching agreement, setting aside four 30-minute calls per month when I was coach, my friend was client, and the focus was on her. Within three months, she made some very important decisions regarding her career that she believes would not have happened in the same time frame without the support, structure and accountability of the coaching relationship. That first coaching relationship affirmed for me how much I wanted to be a coach, and I began to plan for the time that I could resign from my full time faculty position and coach full time.
Four years have passed since my first coaching course. I successfully completed the certification program through CTI, earning my CPCC credential (Certified Professional Coactive Coach). I resigned from my faculty position and started my coaching business, Living With Intention. For the past two years I have been a teleclass leader for Comprehensive Coaching U, a coach training organization. Through my work at Comprehensive Coaching U as well as in my coaching business, I have met some special people who are called to this profession just as I am. What I hear on a regular basis from coaching students and mentor coaching clients alike is the passion to be a coach, to impact people's lives in a meaningful way and truly make a difference. At the same time, there is a lot of questioning-can I really make a living as a coach? Will I be able to attract the clients I want to coach? How can I feel more confident about my coaching skills? My response is-when you KNOW in your heart that you are called to do this work, that this IS your life purpose, AND you are willing to call yourself forth to BE the coach you want to be-you CAN make it happen. While each person's 'journey' is different, I believe there are certain GIVENS to becoming a successful coach. They are:
• HIRE A COACH! I cannot emphasize this enough. As a client, you work on narrowing the gap between where you are and where you want to be in your own life. Secondly, unless you truly value this work enough to spend the money to experience coaching from the client's perspective, how will you feel comfortable charging clients to work with you?
• ENROLL IN A COACH TRAINING PROGRAM! My biggest pet peeve is people who call themselves coaches who have never been through coach training. It is a travesty to the coaching profession and to prospective clients for people to call themselves coaches who have never learned coaching skills. As a clinical social worker, I thought coaching would be very similar to the clinical work I had done for so many years. Boy, was I wrong! Coaching is not therapy, coaching is not consulting, coaching is coaching!
• START COACHING! Who in your life supports you in becoming a coach and is ready to make changes in their own lives? Ask them to be a pro bono client for three months so they can experience coaching and you can practice your skills. After three months, negotiate a fee for your services.
• GET COACHING SUPERVISION! Once you have clients, coaching supervision is a great way to develop your coaching competence and confidence. Coaching supervision provides you with a safe space to explore important issues that arise in coaching relationships. Like coaching, coaching supervision is a designed alliance that provides you with clarity and awareness to develop your coach muscle.
As I reflect back to the beginning of this journey, I am especially grateful for my coaching community. I have developed strong bonds with many coaches throughout the country whose support and generosity are a steady reminder of how great it feels to be part of this outstanding profession.
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