All my life, I have always felt like I was a good active listener. I understood feelings, emotions and was able to help people. However, I didn’t build on those specific skills when I started my career in operations, which was probably a mistake.
It took me about 10 years to understand that I should take the risk to do what I was passionate about and naturally good at. Therefore, about 3 years ago, I started training and used my communication skills to help people do their jobs better. My ratings were extremely positive, so it motivated me to take and pass a Train the Trainer certification. With that, I built an Academy within our company to provide more structure to our employees, to help and support them throughout their entire journeys with us. We developed leadership programs, and I was finally able to put to practice skills that I had used only in my private side of life.
However, I strongly believe that coaching is not meant for everyone, and although I always felt natural at it, I needed to make sure I am doing it right. That is why I entered the SCPC level 1 and 2 fast track training program. Through this program, I intended to learn the basics, the guidelines, the code of ethics, and most importantly, meet other people on similar paths.
I was at first surprised by the number of participants and was afraid it would be a bit chaotic, but somehow we still manage to keep things constructive.
I met people from Asia, America, Europe, and elsewhere and listened to their life stories, struggles, battles, joys, successes, and victories. These are moments that books can hardly teach you, and I am learning an immense deal from each participant.
I was surprised again to see how we could easily find so many things in common. Whether it was about personalities, experiences, origins, struggles, our list seemed endless, and so were our intentions. It made us feel connected and engaged towards one another and more difficult to find what was uncommon. We settled on “paths.” We did all have different paths before meeting in this program. However, when looking closer at them, it felt like we could still see a lot of similarities as if these paths were meant to cross at some point, and they are now.
The way the program is run gives me great inspiration about how I will apply what I am learning in my professional context. I intend to build something similar for our employees before considering having it available to external clients.
Being certified both as a trainer and as a coach will allow me to support people technically and emotionally, and that really is my ultimate goal.
Observing other participants in the program, I can tell that some are already more or less ready to do that, and they serve me as great inspirations for whom I would like to become eventually. I look at how they answer questions, tackle challenges, remain positive in all circumstances, and be constantly open to learning. I need to first manage to achieve that for myself before I can hope to influence others in that same way.
This experience is teaching me as much on a technical level as it is on a human level. I was not necessarily targeting that but was certainly hoping for it.
That actually might be one of the biggest surprises for me. That even when energy runs low, I can still find deeper resources to remain constructive and build on what I am learning. From my experience in the corporate world, that is possible only when you are passionate about what you do, so I will definitely take it as a good sign.
It only confirms that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing instead of just doing what feels safe, which was the mistake I initially spoke about in this reflection.
That experience, combined with this new knowledge, will shape how I intend to support people around me. I would like to let as many people as possible understand that “safe” does not necessarily mean “right.” That “comfort” can sometimes be your enemy. Stepping out of the comfort zone to learn new things and potentially find something you will be more passionate about than anything else can be scary but can also be what you need the most.
Achieving this certification will help me get the credibility I need and the baggage required to do this properly. I intend to support people, but I am determined to do it the right way as I am convinced that coaching is not something to be improvised.
We are learning in the course that to coach, you need to build a space of trust, and once that is done, consequences can be very positive, and you do things right, but they can be catastrophic if you don’t really know what you are doing.
Hour after hour, I feel like I know better and better what I am doing, what I am supposed to be doing, and what I will be doing eventually. I gain self-confidence and motivation every time I realize that I simply understand what is happening. It confirms that I made the right move by being here and that I will be able to bring a positive contribution to my company once I am ready.
I am grateful for the time, energy, and engagement that everyone is putting into it, and I most certainly enjoy the team spirit arising from it all.
