The Elephant In The Coaching Circle
If you’ve not yet caught the entertaining Aussie heist caper, The Unusual Suspects on SBS, I encourage you to do so. This fun and thought-provoking dramedy is unusual, not just because all the main characters are women, but because 4 of the 6 leading women are from the Philippines.
The Unusual Suspects marks the first major representation of Filipino-Australians on television, giving us a rare glimpse into the lives of sensible Evie, hard working Amy, successful Roxanne and my personal favorite, Instagram influencer and “life coach” Gigi.
Susana Downes as ‘Gigi’ in The Unusual Suspects.
A socialite in the Philippines, Gigi has clearly never worked a day in her life and has been sent to Australia to learn the value of a dollar. Instead, she sails into the life and affluent Eastern suburbs home of Birdie, a recently retired lawyer, promising to transform her life.
Whilst charming, and surprisingly observant, Gigi’s coaching credentials, or lack thereof, shines a light on a very real elephant in the room, and raises the following questions:
Is coaching legitimate?
What does a good coach actually do?
How do you find the right coach for your needs?
So let’s unpack these questions one at a time drawing on expert advice and personal experience.
Is coaching legitimate?
Coaching is an unregulated industry and technically anyone can call themselves a coach.
A genuine coach will have completed a certification or accreditation program and they will be able to provide testimonials from their clients. And, just as your personal trainer is obviously fit and healthy, a good coach will also have successfully navigated the business world (executive coach) or their own life challenges and transitions (personal development coach).
Before engaging a coach, it’s always wise to seek recommendations from a trusted source.
What does a good coach actually do?
The first thing to understand is there are many different types of coaches. Part of finding a good coach is figuring out what sort of coach you need.
If you are seeking a career change, or have been recently made redundant, you may be referred to a career coach. If you are an entrepreneur, a business coach will take you through all the steps to establish and market a successful business.
At Shift Practitioners, our focus is on Leadership Coaching which falls into three main categories:
Personal Development Coaching (also known as Adult Development and Life Coaching)
Executive or Leadership Coaching
Group Coaching or Leadership Circles (sometimes called a Community of Practice or Peer Support Forum)
Personal Development Coaching
You might assume, once you become an adult, you stop developing but Harvard Professor Dr. Robert Kegan identified five distinct stages of Adult Development in his research. Only 1% of the population is estimated to reach the top stage, which is where inspirational leaders like Nelson Mandela, Ghandi and Maya Angelou reside. While most of us fall somewhere in the middle, we can consciously develop the mindsets, qualities and behaviours of inspirational leaders and move up the stages.
Most people will seek out a Personal Development Coach when they reach a crossroads or feel stuck. My personal experience of finding myself between jobs and approaching fifty, with increasingly independent teenage children, resulted in my seeking guidance from my friend and coach Tania Serfontein.
”People think ‘manifesting your dreams’ is all about setting an intention, lighting a candle and waiting for a wonderful life to drop into your lap,” says Tania. “The truth is, it’s bloody hard work and it helps to have a qualified coach to guide and support you through the process.”
“It starts with understanding what it is you actually want. You might say you want a new job but why do you want it? What is it about your current job or life you don’t enjoy? What do you imagine a new job will bring? How will it change your life? What will this new life look like? How will it feel?”
As you can imagine, when you start to explore all of these things, it’s like peeling back the layers of an onion and it can reveal unexpected challenges, biases and fears. As a qualified InnerLifeSkills Coach and Accredited Thinking Partner, Tania has tools and processes to help her clients name their desires, set clear goals, identify their strengths and dismantle limiting beliefs.
“Many of us are plagued by an inner-voice telling us we are not good enough or smart enough and don’t deserve the things we want,” explains Tania. “This inner-voice can erode our confidence and stop us from setting goals yet alone attempting to achieve them. It can also result in us behaving in a way that erodes the confidence of others. The good news is, we can train our inner-voice to be more helpful and supportive.”
As a leader, it’s absolutely essential that you work on your personal development, so you can effectively and responsibly lead and develop others. Engaging a personal development coach is an excellent place to start.
Executive/Leadership Coaching
When stepping into a new leadership role, your organisation may offer you access to an Executive Coach. An Executive Coaching session is usually focused on your professional needs and challenges. You’ll be provided tools and processes to help you set clear and measurable goals, improve performance and deliver on business objectives.
That’s not to say you won’t also work on your personal development. So much of being a good business leader depends on “soft skills”, your ability to work well with others, communicate a clear vision and bring out the best in your team.
Executive Coach, Beverly Sacks, explains, “No two leaders are the same which means that the coaching approach differs from client to client. My focus is to work with people’s strengths, explore the intentionality of behaviour and outcomes and identify areas that if worked on will make a substantive difference.”
Beverly is often engaged by organisations to work with their entire executive team, to help them become more effective, harness their diverse strengths and deliver business outcomes.
“When we align an individual’s personal values with team and organisational values, we can ignite a powerful culture transformation,” says Beverly. “The result is a clear vision and footprint for the organisation which supports people to bring their whole selves to work and unleashes their best thinking and contribution.”
A good executive coach, like Beverly, will have a successful executive background themselves, as well as qualifications and accreditation in a variety of coaching and leadership tools, approaches and methodologies.
Group Coaching/Leadership Circle
The old adage, it’s lonely at the top, can be true. As a leader, there are often things you can’t discuss with your colleagues, so where do you go for advice and support?
In a Group Coaching program, you meet regularly with professional peers who share a similar position (eg: corporate leaders), challenge (eg: being a woman in business) or aspiration (eg: a desire to lead ethically) and you draw on each other's experience to develop your own, and each other's, capability.
The support can range from sharing resources and business tools, to providing counsel on a specific challenge. You may also have access to additional online resources and forums, like a group chat, and 1x1 coaching sessions with the facilitator to define your personal goals. The group should be run by a qualified facilitator, with leadership expertise, who is skilled at creating a confidential space that is inclusive, intentional and productive.
“In our group coaching program, you explore your guiding purpose, values, and goals, with highly responsive, generous, purpose-led leaders who understand your challenges,” explains Dimity Podger, facilitator and founder of the Noble Leaders Group Coaching Program. “Stretching your leadership edge to be your best self and bring out the best in others, is essential to navigating the day-to-day challenges of leading through uncertainty in this new era. Through the program, you can seek guidance and advice, troubleshoot, share ideas, and move forward.”
How do you find the right coach (or group coaching program) for your needs?
So how do you know if you need a coach and how do you find the right coach or group coaching program for your needs? We sat down with Simon Stroud, a program manager who has experienced both one-on-one and group coaching, to get some tips.
Simon was in his early forties, and facing challenges at work and home, when he decided to seek out a coach. “I was feeling pretty unhappy, really stressed and stuck in circular thinking patterns,” he explains. “A trusted friend told me about the value she received from coaching which piqued my interest. The more I looked into it, the more I discovered senior execs in my network who had had coaching.”
At around the same time, Simon was involved in an event facilitating a conversation about gender equality with a group of other men, some of whom were executive coaches. One of these men, Bodhi Aldridge, stood out. “Bodhi came across as wise and calm. He was authentic, easy to talk to, and clearly had it together,” says Simon.
Simon went on to work with Bodhi over a number of months, here’s what he has to say about the experience. “It was hugely beneficial and ultimately helped me become a more resilient and effective leader. Bodhi helped me develop strategies to manage each of my challenges and, to this day, I regularly draw on the advice and tools he shared with me, in my professional and personal life.”
Simon also shared his experience of having participated in a group-coaching program. “It’s obviously not as personalised, but there’s so much to be gained by sharing experiences and challenges with your peers,” he explains. “It was humbling, and good to be reminded of the struggles that others are facing, you feel less alone.” One of the main values of a group-coaching program is being able to access a diversity of opinions. “You can’t replicate how 8 different people view a problem - it enables you to zoom out and see your issue from multiple perspectives. It’s also a great way to meet new people and expand your network,” says Simon.
Now you know all about coaching, you might be ready to engage a coach yourself. Here are the three essential steps to finding the right coach for your needs:
Identify your specific needs - are you seeking personal development, leadership expertise, peer support or perhaps all three?
Seek recommendations - ask around, you’ll be surprised how many people in your network have engaged a coach. At Shift Practitioners we provide a directory of qualified, peer-reviewed coaches and leadership development programs. For a personalised recommendation, based on your specific needs, you can book a call with Maria Raines or complete our recommendation request form.
Meet your coach before committing - once you’ve checked out their credentials and testimonials, the next step is to set up a time to meet, either in person or online. Every coach is different, and you want to make sure your coach is someone you feel comfortable talking to and that you’re confident with their approach and coaching style.
Have you engaged a coach before? Or are you thinking about it? Share your experiences and questions in the comments.