I spent last Monday through Friday at an intensive course on coaching. I’d wanted to do this for a few years now and I finally had the opportunity. The course exceeded my expectations, plus I made several new friends. While it was an exhausting week, I don’t think I wanted it to end.
The course was from Shana Ring who founded Destination Leadership and was through the school of business at the university where I work. The face-to-face time last week and the upcoming webinars will provide me with the required 65 hours of training that the International Coach Federation (ICF) requires as part of their requirements to become an Associate Certified Coach.
I learned a lot and will definitely recommend the course to others in Saskatchewan, but while the materials, the activities, and Shana’s teaching were great (and I say that as someone who advises on such things for a living), the people involved are why it was such an amazing experience.
First, I have to talk about Shana. I initially registered for this course to take it in November of 2018, but that didn’t happen because I was deep into my depression and had scaled back my work hours considerably, so I requested postponing my registration to the spring, which she allowed me to do. By the time that course was rolling around, however, I still wasn’t feeling like I could make it worth it for me or the others in the course to take part, so I requested another delay, this time to the fall offering. Shana was gracious throughout it all and for that I am grateful.
I have tried to find good things that came out of my depression, and there have been more than I would have expected. Last week, it became clear to me that delaying my participation in the course by a year was one of those good things. Last week I found myself in a cohort of 23 people, the largest cohort for this course that Shana had encountered. I met 22 fellow coaches-in-training last week and received benefits from so many of them.
They asked great questions and provided wonderful insights. They brought deep, heartfelt moments, and lots of laughter. We connected. I walked in hesitant, but walked out feeling empowered. I learned from every person that I interacted with last week. We practiced coaching every day, which allowed me to become a better listener and ask better questions, which is the point of the course, but then there was the part that so many of us said we weren’t expecting – how helpful we found it to be coached. We had so many “ah-ha” moments (quick admission here – every time somebody said that I thought of this video).
My wife asked me if I’d made any friends at the course and I responded with a resounding “yes!” Many of us talked about how we’d connected with each other, how by the end of the week it was easy to talk about some very personal things in our groups as part of the coaching practice. I’ve taken semester long courses where I didn’t meet anyone who I’d want to keep in touch with, but I can list of several names from last week of people I hope to continue to get together with.
I still have to attend the upcoming webinars and complete assignments, plus complete 100 hours of coaching others (drop me a note if you’re interested in me coaching you) to apply for my ICT certification, but I’m already using what I’ve learned in my work and to navigate through my own conundrums that arise.
The people in that course really made it a wonderful experience, and for that I am grateful.
