By Dorothy Nesbit
International Coaching Week, which takes place between 7-11 February is an event sponsored by the International Coach Federation to educate the public whilst giving something back. But what do the coaches get out of it?
A band of coaches who took part in a voluntary project within a school highlighted a number of short-term and long-term benefits, many of them unexpected.
The project kicked off in 2006 when 14 of us who shared a passion for education “adopted” Normand Croft Community School in West London, offering coaching to its senior leaders. It was a way of keeping in touch, developing our skills and to give something back. However, the project also provided opportunities to collaborate, build up different skills and deepen our relationships.
Team coach Anthony Landale said: “It lifted my morale to be working with independent minded coaches from a wide range of professions. It helped my own development and working with a peer group was rather like getting ongoing supervision”.
Arif Jiwany, doctor and coach, reported that his participation enhanced his self esteem and his confidence in his coaching skills whilst Basia Kapp, teacher and coach. said: “I learned patience and improved my ability to listen with my mouth shut”.
We also wanted to give something back. Kenny Tranquille, coach and nutritionist, said: “I had a real sense of putting something back – contributing to a school that was going through a lot of change at the time”.
Benefits went way beyond our original aims and included experiencing coaching as a powerful tool for change. Sarah Sparks, executive coach, noticed how our work had an immediate impact on the morale and effectiveness of staff, whilst Jiwany learned how best to engage with organisations as systems. This included learning about the conditions needed on both sides to create sustainable benefits.
We learnt about leadership and teamwork. Organising the project took time, for example, so that coaches had to clarify roles and establish the boundaries of their own contributions. Tranquille learnt how much he values working in a team: “When you run a small business you can be on your own a lot. Through this project I discovered how much I enjoy working in a team and I’ve since made a point of setting up teams in a number of areas of my life”.
Many of these benefits were long-term and had direct application elsewhere. As team leader, I learnt the value of my project management skills in a coaching context and now use these skills in my client work, for example.
A longer version of this article will appear in Coaching at Work´s March issue
Dorothy Nesbit is a leadership coach who unleashes innate leadership potential through powerful, compassionate and authentic conversations. Website:www.learningforlifeconsulting.co.uk
Blog: http://twitter.com/DorothyNesbit