Coaching Case Study: New Dimensions of Coaching

Coaching Case Study By Nam Benjie ( LTM )
(Career Coach, SINGAPORE)

Coaching journey has been real challenging. I have been doing coaching and motivation 20 years ago till now as I was an agency director coaching and motivating my team. After attending this coaching course, I saw a total different dimension about what coaching is really is. Is an eye opening to me. Coaching is not consultancy, therapy, Counseling or psychology that I used to do and to me without proper training I thought is coaching. Coaching is about partnering your coachee to achieve their goal , encourage them to forward and getting them to take action.

Let us now talked about me being coached:

I was being coached by someone while I am taking this course. After doing my strength finder test, I realised that that my strength are : Activator, Strategic, Command, Competition & Ideation. I start to have doubts in myself being a good coach. I learnt a lot from this coaching knowing that what and how can be a good coach. A good coach needs to make his presence felt, listen actively, powerful questioning & direct communication. Not only that and must be able to create awareness, designing actions, planning and setting goals and managing process and accountability. But when I start to look at my top 5 strengths, I approached a strength finder certified coach, talked to him, asking him if I am suitable to be a coach. I have been pondering while carry on with the course. The coach went through with me one by one on my strength and clear my doubts. In fact, the coach did point out certain of my strengths and says that with my strengths is suitable to be a coach and executive coach is in for me and that he says executive coach strengths is best to have the top 5 strengths that I have. Why do I have my doubts being a coach after doing the strength finder test ? Reason is this : I am an activator, I get the impression that I am impatient and want to take action right away. Command seems like am more of a commanding person which may not be so much of a people oriented person. Next comes to competition, means to me that everything in life, I must be a winner. With all the above which I mention, I had doubts on myself being a good coach. The coach clarify my doubts to put them into my strengths being a coach. From then on, my doubts are mostly clear and now I tell myself to start my new journey as a coach.

During the coaching period with the coach, I learnt things from him:

The coach meet the ethical guideline and has professional standards, also he went through the coaching agreement with me ensuring me that during the coaching conversation, everything will be kept confidential. He sincerely show that he is here for me to go through what have been bothering me if I can be a good coach. He is also confident in handling my situation and not further damage my confidence level. The coach listens actively and not breaking my conversation and let me have my own agenda and discuss with him. Only when I stop speaking, then the coach will follow up with his powerful questioning which again allows me to think deeply before answering. At times, the coach will adopt direct communication and hit me with impact to make me wonder the things that I have been doing is it correct. The coach also kick started to design my action and brain storm with me how and what is best for me to truly experience being a real coach and what coachee is looking for in a coach. The coach will sit down with me and go through my action plan and goal setting plan using SMART goals. The coach will also clearly request my action that will move towards my stated goal and etc. This is my first experience from being coached by a professional certified coach. The feeling is different and I can comfortably reveal how and what I feel inside me. The above is face to face coaching.

I did also an online coaching with a coach oversea over Skype. I do not know her and she does not know me. The difference is I cannot figure out her facial expression when I tell her certain things and not able to see her body movement too and that give me suspend as a coachee. Yes , I thought to myself after the coaching session with her, how am I able to reveal so much of my private issues with her which I do not want or cannot reveal to other people so willingly. Maybe the fact is I don’t know her and she does not know me and am not afraid to share my private issues with her. Again, I must admit that the way she does her coaching is professional and she is very frank to say what she knows and what she does not know. She makes me feel so comfortable and able to open up with her. Then I realise that coaching is something that most people need and that people do not know or aware of what a coach really is or how to approach a coach for help. I also can sense that she is with me during the whole coaching session and listen attentively what I have to say, she really made her presence felt during the whole session.

I also had chance to do some coaching on my own on some coachee. I realise the issue with me is that I tend to keep thinking what is going to be my next question for the coachee and I tend to go into the rescue mode too easily. Maybe this is I call more on consultancy work as I have been involved in consultancy work for a long time. These are the issues I am facing as a new coach and I must practice, practice and practice more. Next , I must learn bout asking powerful questions. By asking powerful questions, the coachee will be able to think deeply and able to reveal more about who they are, what they are facing and we will be able to do a great job as a coach.

For me , the take away for this being coach and taking up this coaching course make me realise that coaching is seriously a new and different dimension of coaching work. Am glad to be part of this journey.