Our program began with the question: “What would the world be like if every professional, parent, leader, and even every high schooler had access to coaching?” People would act with more intention, more aligned with their values, with more empathy for one another, and with more of a sense of purpose.
I am often asked, “What do coaches need to be able to talk about in my field?” People expect coaches to be thoroughly trained to address each unique agenda their clients bring, but the reality is that people are more similar than they are different. Coaching isn’t about solving each unique problem, but supporting the person.
Decisions, habits, relationships, learning, conversations, presentations, meaning and direction–these are the topics of coaching, regardless of the field. Coaching works because it doesn’t seek to resolve these topics. They don’t go away; we will always face new challenges in these areas. When working with a coach, people grow stronger. They are more honest with themselves with their decisions. They are more mindful in their relationships and conversations. They are held accountable to their desired habits. They slow down enough to be asked questions about why–why do they even care and where are they going.
Slowing down. People need coaches because we struggle with Slow. It’s the common thread behind all of the topics when coaching the fields of corporate, executive, academic, health and wellness and the rest. It’s a strange job. We provide value by providing a conversation where a client can think with purpose and focus. Everyone can benefit from this thoughtfulness: the executive who is considering retirement, the parent weighing decisions for their children, the student considering their purpose and direction, the leader wanting to communicate with authentic passion.
While humanity benefits from coaching, there are billions of people and only tens of thousands of coaches. Coaching is not accessible, yet. To make coaching within reach, coach training must be more accessible. This is the vision of our training program: In the next 10 years, make coaching accessible by offering a more globally affordable price, offering ease of access to training materials, focusing on supporting coaches who want to be coach trainers and partnering with sponsoring organizations who are investing in offering more coaching to more people.
If you are interested in this vision, consider sharing the program with others, exploring the class materials, or investing in the training yourself. Let’s work together to make coaching accessible.