Is Coaching an inside-out approach?

As a Professional Coach, it is pertinent to know the process of coaching and be skilled at it. It is equally important for the coach to have experienced coaching as a client, made their own transformation, and created the trust and strong bonding for the process. I firmly believe in being authentic and that comes only through sharing my experience.

The year 2022 was a year of exploration of several career paths after I quit the corporate life. As part of this exploration, I came across coaching as one of the professional paths. I developed keen interest in the process of coaching as something within me started to resonate with it. Coaching as a career path was still a long way since I was grappling with multiple options, lot of self-doubts, a few possible career combinations.

It wasn’t easy to make the choice as there was no clear vision of the future and I did not have all the information needed to make a clear choice. Relying on the external factors wasn’t an option was my realisation. That got me to rely on coaching as a tool (by subjecting myself to be a client and get coached by some of my peers) to gain clarity on my leadership, career path and the coaching business and in the process having the conviction & courage to move ahead. Below is a summary of some of the key realisations and learnings from getting coached.

• Explored variety of career possibilities and realised the emotional connection to the one where I want to be invested in as the next career path i.e. to be a full-time Coach.
• Answering the question on whether I want to deepen my coaching skill by pursuing Professional Certified Coach (PCC).
• Worked through several pitfalls on the way, overcoming many internal barriers, and then set up the business of coaching.
• Overcame self-doubts about my ability to relate to the potential target clients and the segment, and very clearly determining the services that I can offer.
• Realised my own brand and leadership style, the values I stand for, and defining my beliefs that make me feel empowered.

The essence of it is that I became more aware, more clear, more realised, more empowered. Thanks to all those wonderful coaches in the community who made this possible through the coaching process. A clear path emerged in which I have been traversing and ready to face the new challenges along the way that allows me to grow further.

Let us spend a little bit of time on the International Coaching Federation (ICF) definition of Coaching and discuss a few nuances on the word “Inspire”.

The definition of coaching is “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential”. While every word is important, I would like to get your attention to the word “inspires.”

Inspire means fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. We get inspired by various sources, to name a few, motivational videos, motivational quotes, watching or listening to leaders whom we follow, people around us and by reading books. The inspiration from these sources helps us to make a few moves towards growth but do not take us far.

Coaching is another source for creating the inspiration for people, in a safe and trusted environment, that allows new thinking to emerge, help connect several existing thoughts to make it more realistic and impactful, and the one that allows them to create what they want and sustain the results for long.

I got inspired through various sources in having my self-growth and transformation. It is through the coaching process that I got utmost clarity on the career path and the related steps that I had to take in becoming a Coach.

Let’s get to the conclusion now.

To grow and create sustainable results:

• Internal inspiration is the way.
• Coaching is a tool.
• A Coach, your companion.

Leadership is an inside-out approach; Spirituality is an inside-out approach;

Coaching is an inside-out approach too!

Would love to hear your views and opinions in the comments section.

You can connect with J. Lakshminarayanan (JL), ACC Click Here