The Beginning of a New Chapter


The past year has been an exciting year of learning and discovery. It was a tough journey, but an exciting one, nonetheless. I’ve learned so much and made many new discoveries about coaching and myself. It’s going to be tough to summarise everything in this blog, but I want to highlight 5 key focus points that stood out for me.

1. Focus on the coachee– “Coach the person, not the problem”, is a phrase I remember very clearly from the first practicum, and it’s one that I remind myself at the start of all my sessions. Different people may face the same or similar problems, issues or challenges, but how we each respond to them will vary. Hence, it’s crucial to stay focused on the coachee, help them expand their perspective and explore possibilities. 

2. Focus on staying focused – Staying focused throughout the session, being present with the coachee and also ensuring the session stays focused by keeping the conversation centred around what the coachee wants to achieve. Having said that, the coachee still takes the lead but there must be an agreement or partnership with the coachee on the direction of the conversation. This helps us have fruitful sessions.

3. Focus on what’s not being said – This is an area I’ve become painfully aware of and one that I’m actively working on to improve. It’s easy to hear what’s being said, but what isn’t said is equally important. This is often expressed in non-verbally, in the tone of voice, body language, and perhaps couched in what’s being said!

4. Focus on coachee’s strength – I’ve felt stuck during coaching sessions and I realised that it’s because I had begun thinking about, “what else can I do or ask?” or “how else can I help?”. Something Coach Mel said to me during my exit interview reminded me that I need stop thinking I have something to offer the coachee, because when I start doing that, I’m shifting my focus away from the coachee and I’m beginning to focus on myself. I’m reminded, coachees are creative, resourceful and whole. To help coachee’s realise this, I need to stop thinking about what they need from me! Because there’s nothing I can give them that they don’t already have.

5. Focus on moving forward – Coachee’s come to each session with some level of “burden”. As a coach, my role isn’t to relieve 100% of their burden, but I shouldn’t allow the coachee to leave with the same amount of burden. Each session should have some degree of progress. The whole point of coaching is to help clients get from where they are to where they want to be. Even if they can’t arrive at their destination at the end of the session, they should have at least taken the first step towards the right direction.

Writing this made me realise while it may be the final “Catalyst” blog, but it’s the beginning of a new chapter for me. I’ve so much more to learn and my journey as a coach is probably only just beginning. I’ve very grateful to coaches and mentors at Catalyst for imparting their knowledge, and sharing their experience with me and the rest of us in Cohort 10. Their dedication and encouragement made this journey so much more meaningful and enjoyable.

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