Self-Leadership Development E-Workbook: BEING a Coach

Self-Leadership Development e-Workbook: BEING a Coach

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No part of this material may be shared, distributed, or used for any purpose other than intended. Nothing in this manual may be used for workshops, nor reproduced by any means, including electronic storage within a computer program or database, without the written advance consent of Bruce D Schneider and iPEC Coaching. Your use of this workbook constitutes acceptance of these terms.

Introduction

At iPEC, we don’t just teach you to coach, we teach you to BE a coach. This workbook will start you off on that process by letting you explore ten internal qualities that are essential to BEING a coach.

The same qualities are essential for leadership, which we define at iPEC as “the ability to inspire and motivate yourself and others into taking positive and sustainable action.” Leadership, of yourself and others, comes into play as you become a coach.

In addition, these qualities are also displayed by highly conscious people. You’ll be hearing a lot about consciousness as you progress through iPEC’s program, but for right now, think of consciousness as awareness; awareness of who you are, what life is about, who others are, and your place in the world. Consciousness can also be thought of as your mindset that creates your perspective; it is created by all the experiences you have had so far (as well as all experiences everyone you know has had, and from a quantum perspective, all the experiences ANYONE has had, is having, and amazingly, will have). The more experiences you have, the more aware you are and thus, the higher your consciousness.

As you complete the exercises, be aware of how you feel as you work on each of the sections. What are the thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and physical feelings that you experience as you work on the section? What might that tell you about yourself?

When you attend Life & Leadership Potentials Training (LPT), you’ll learn that iPEC has 33 Foundation Principles. These principles will help you develop your coaching philosophy, or your way of BEING a coach. Each of these principles is associated with high consciousness. Pay very close attention as you are introduced to these principles and study and reflect on them. The best way to do that is to “try on” a Foundation Principle, see how it will feel and look like to live with it, and then, if it works for you, adopt it as your own. Here are two foundation principles to “try on” before LPT.

Anyone’s journey is as unique and valuable as any other’s journey.

As you enter iPEC’s Coach Training program, you’ll be joining a group of individuals who each come from a different place, in every sense of the word. You’ll meet people from diverse cultures, geographic areas, and educational and work backgrounds. Each will have a different belief set, a different level of coaching experience … and the list goes on.

Whoever you are, and wherever your journey has taken you so far, have faith that you are in the perfect place, right now. In Bruce’s first book, Relax, You’re Already Perfect, he defines perfection as “unique unto itself.” Remember that definition as you venture into your training, as it will help you remember that all of us – you, your classmates, your trainers, and your clients – are part of a perfection that shouldn’t be judged, but instead, observed and modified to your liking, as you grow. In fact, great coaches help clients do just that.

As you try on this principle, suspend any disbelief for the moment and assume the above two paragraphs are true. How can those two paragraphs change the way you will perceive and experience all aspects of the Coach Training Program?

All experiences are opportunities for growth.

Each situation and person you encounter, no matter how wonderful or difficult, pleasant or unpleasant, allows you to grow. Seeing the gift and the lesson in each experience will set you up to get all that you can out of the Coach Training Program, and, indeed, out of life.

If you truly believed this, how would it change your Coach Training experience?

Your ideal image

Though there are certain characteristics and qualities that most masterful coaches share, it’s impossible to define an exact formula for an ideal coaching style. Your ideal coaching style has to work FOR YOU. Your style is based on factors such as:

· Your strengths and gifts - for example, great sense of humor

· Your personality and manner – for example, soft-spoken and encouraging

· The skills and knowledge needed to speak the language of your particular clients – for example, if you’re coaching teens, you’d want to be computer-savvy

Without reading ahead or thinking too much, list the qualities, skills, and strengths that define who you’d be as an “ideal coach.”

Introduction: 10 Qualities of BEING a coach

On the Advanced Standing teleclass, you will learn about qualities that most masterful coaches share. Some of these may be on the ideal image list you created, and some may not have occurred to you. You’ll have a chance later on to revise your ideal image, so please don’t go back to it right now.

After you’ve listened to the teleclass, complete this section of the workbook, which allows you to look at these qualities and see what they mean to you right now. You’ll be revisiting this material later on in the training, and completing this now will be a good reference point for where you began.

Many of the following qualities are interrelated, so do the best you can and don’t worry about repeating yourself.

Quality 1: Confidence

How would you define confidence?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are confident?

In which circumstances or situations are you most confident?

What would it mean to you to be a confident coach?

If you are not as confident as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more confident?

Quality 2: Enthusiasm

How would you define enthusiasm?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are enthusiastic?

In which circumstances or situations are you most enthusiastic?

What would it mean to you to be an enthusiastic coach?

If you are not as enthusiastic as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more enthusiastic?

Quality 3: Authenticity

How would you define authenticity?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are authentic?

In which circumstances or situations are you most authentic?

What would it mean to you to be an authentic coach?

If you are not as authentic as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more authentic?

Quality 4: Intuition

How would you define intuition?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are using your intuition?

In which circumstances or situations are you most intuitive?

What would it mean to you to be an intuitive coach?

If you are not as intuitive as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more intuitive?

Quality 5: Power

How would you define power?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are powerful?

In which circumstances or situations are you most powerful?

What would it mean to you to be a powerful coach?

If you are not as powerful as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more powerful?

Quality 6: Connection

How would you define connection?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are connected?

In which circumstances or situations are you most connected?

What would it mean to you to be connected as a coach?

If you are not as connected as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more connected?

Quality 7: Engagement

How would you define engagement?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are engaged?

In which circumstances or situations are you most engaged?

What would it mean to you to be an engaged coach?

If you are not as engaged as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more engaged?

Quality 8: Flexibility

How would you define flexibility?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are flexible?

In which circumstances or situations are you most flexible?

What would it mean to you to be a flexible coach?

If you are not as flexible as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more flexible?

Quality 9: Energy

How would you define energy?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are experiencing high energy?

In which circumstances or situations are you most energetic?

What would it mean to you to be a highly energetic coach?

If you are not as energetic as you’d like to be, how could you move toward having higher energy?

Quality 10: Professionalism

How would you define professionalism?

What thoughts and feelings do you have, and what actions do you take, when you are professional?

In which circumstances or situations are you most professional?

What would it mean to you to be a professional coach?

If you are not as professional as you’d like to be, how could you move toward being more professional?

Conclusion

Now that you’ve explored qualities of master coaches, please rewrite your ideal image of yourself as a coach.

For each item above, on a 1-10 scale, how do you rate yourself compared to your ideal image?

For one or two of the items above that you’d like to improve, what small steps can you take in the next few weeks to begin to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be?

After LPT, when you begin your peer coaching sessions, you may want to revisit this list and work with a coach to come up with a plan to work on any remaining items, as well as to explore the issues that are holding you back from being your ideal image of a coach.

Optional but recommended:

For one of the qualities you’d like to improve, above, write your intention. When you write your intention, state it in the present tense – as if it’s already occurred as fact. For example, you may write “I am a powerful and confident coach.” If you’d like, post your intention on the online forum so that you can publicly state your intention and get support from classmates.