The night before I’d pitched and tossed along the treacherous horizon between the warm ocean of sleep and the thundery sky of wakefulness. So I felt tense and tired as I travelled in to my practice client session, where my tutor was due to shine the flashlight of observation onto my business coaching skills. ‘Coach, take thine own medicine!’, I thought as my spiral-bound nerves wound ever tighter in anticipation. Relax. Breathe. Get into coaching mode. What was I assuming that was making me feel so anxious? That I’d be rubbish; that David, my tutor, would wonder how on earth I’d managed to absorb so little of his wise teachings; that I’d been out there in the business coaching world, thrashing around with my practice clients, doing them no good at all. That I’d be found out – the imposter syndrome in glorious technicolour action. What’s the worst that could happen? After all my eager talk of becoming a real business coach, that I’d fail the programme. Read more
Tag Archive for listening
Silence is Golden
As most people who know me would probably agree, I’m not exactly a shrinking violet. I’m very fond of a bit of vocal exercise. Embarking on my business coaching training programme with Meyler Campbell, this trait of talking a lot was a big source of anxiety for me. Kind friends have told me I’m a good listener and I’ve noticed that people tend to confide in me. But the concern loomed large: would I be able to shut up long enough to listen to anyone else? Read more
Listen Here
As on any well-run training course, our coaching tutorials involve engaging exercises that challenge our preconceptions and begin to build new perspectives. Focused listening is intrinsic to effective coaching. The Coaches Training Institute identifies three possible levels of listening, with focused listening only kicking in at level 2, suggesting that this is not such an everyday skill as it may sound. Read more