Coaching Post #001 - May 23, 2021
As I continue in a life coaching certification program, I have to record some practice sessions of coaching. When I asked my friends for help, it also occurred to me to combine this project with my always standing desire of writing regularly (um, this poorly attended to blog counts!). This is the first post I wrote to some friends who were willing to help me with my coaching sessions. I am posting it here for posterity.
Dear Friend,
A few weeks ago, you were one of the people who kindly agreed to help me by being coached as part of my training. Firstly, thank you for your patience as I am getting my act together. As most people who responded are physicians, you can appreciate that our main gig has unpredictable parts and gets in the way of the side gig! 😊
In the coming weeks, I would like to engage you for a session, with audio recorded for my certification. I hope that you still have time but just reply either way and let me know.
This specific school of coaching relies on a specific construct, and I need to demonstrate competence for that in about 20-30 minutes. But each session is actually 45 minutes and I want to both practice AND offer you some value. I will tell you more about the logistics if you are still interested.
In the meantime I want to share the who/what/why/how of it all, something I have been working on as a foundation of this process, and while it is lengthy is should give you some insight. If you have questions arising from this reading, or commentary, please send it my way.
Who: I am your coach. As most of you already know, I am a practicing radiologist, working at a major multispecialty clinic/hospital. I have been in my day job for 16 years and going. I feel grateful every day to be doing something that is personally, professionally, and financially fulfilling. Since finishing my training, I have worked in both private practice and academic settings. Being at the mid-point in my career, in addition to my clinical work I have already had the privilege of guiding many trainees and colleagues in their career and life choices. Along the way I also completed an MBA to round out my general knowledge of the business world and operations, something that we don’t learn directly in medical school.
Why: We are all sharing this common experience of the recent pandemic although its impact has been quite disparate depending on our physical location in our country. The most relevant part that I can put forth is that Covid19 created an involuntary slowing down of life, and gave me a chance to contemplate life in a more concentrated way than before. As I was exploring these ideas around existence, accomplishment, responsibility, and purpose I stumbled on to life coaching. I first encountered professional coaching in the form of executive coaching when I was an MBA student at Wash U. In the business world coaching is very common, both at individual and group level. Having had that experience, and being fascinated with personal growth as well as organizational behavior, I was drawn to the notion of a broader platform of life coaching, which also touches personal and financial issues, but can be offered outside of the professional realm to any individual or groups. In our case the sessions are 1:1 (for now).
What: “All coaching is life coaching.” I came across this definitive assertion in a book on coaching. When you think of a coach, who comes to mind? Here are some that you may think of: Phil Jackson, Peter Drucker, Bob Bowman, Bobbie Knight, Bill Belichick, Jon Wooden, Pat Summit, Joe Paterno. You may know some or all of them.
But how about our parents and other adults in our lives as we were growing up? Our teachers, siblings, friends, and those who cared for us in various arenas. How about us ourselves?!
To show you that we have all been coaches at some point in our life, allow me to offer you the nature of life coaching. The best way to think of a life coach is a navigator who is accompanying you on a journey through the landscape of your thoughts. A coach creates and holds space that allows you to express, analyze, and absorb discoveries around your beliefs, especially the limiting beliefs, as most obstacles in personal growth come from a place limiting beliefs that must be overcome. The common things being common, there is a trend for coaches to focus on weight, health, addictive behaviors around eating and drinking (alcohol), but also around anxiety, relationships, life events. But the framework that supports coaching in my training can be applied to many other aspects of life as well, in both broad and a very targeted way. And beyond this construct there are still more frameworks to consider.
As part of my training, the goal is the practice the application of this model. Now going back to us, each of can think of a time when we helped someone see through their issues, solved a tough problem, or just thought out loud on what could be. To truly understand what coaching is, we should be clear on what a coach is not.
A coach is NOT a friend, a mentor, or a therapist. This is crucial. Even though I am a radiologist/doctor, as a coach I am merely trying to help you see your own thoughts, be a reflector, and help with prompts and reflections toward a clearer understanding of the present. I will not offer therapy or any medical advice. If the present is found to be suboptimal or not meeting stated goals then I can help you formulate and clarify your intention and goals. Of course, you are in charge the whole time. You are the driver, and I am just your navigator on this rally across adventurous, sometimes muddy road of life.
If this offer of exploring our thoughts and feelings resonates with you, let me know and we will get our first session on schedule. I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy Sunday night!