Before talking about the benefits, let’s first clarify what a coach is in this context. Many of you may be familiar with the term “life coach” and you may already have some preconceptions about what that is. A good coach works with you to make the changes you want to make. It’s a partnership, the coach is not there to give you advice or decide for you. A good coach doesn’t tell you what you need to change in your life to make it perfect and then tell you how to go about making those changes. A good coach listens to you while you work out what YOU want to change in your life and how YOU want to make those changes. Those changes could be in your professional life; regarding your skills, training, working relationships etc., your student life; how to get the most out of your studies and, yes, that does include how to get the most out of your English lessons and progress faster, or your personal life; how to manage your hobbies and interests, health and fitness goals, life goals, personal relationships etc.
It might also be useful to understand what coaching isn’t. It isn’t counselling or therapy and, while sessions will be conducted in English, it isn’t an English lesson. You won’t be meeting your coach every week as you need time to implement the changes you’ve decided on. Instead, coaching sessions can take place every couple of weeks, or once a month, depending on how often you want to engage in the coaching process, because it is about your engagement and it is a process. True, you might come up with an action plan to solve some of your “problems” in one session, but maybe your bigger goals require a series of smaller steps. Your coach will work with you to plan each step and work out when that step can/should be achieved.
So, back to the question what’s in it for you, being a coachee. We all have areas or situations in our life which aren’t quite how we’d like them to be. We want to change them, but how? And who has the time? Working with a coach, building a relationship with them based on trust, confidentiality, mutual respect, and a shared desire to help you, they can help you to identify what changes you want to make, and break it down into easier, manageable, goals. The only limit is how much you want to make those changes and how willing you are to work towards seeing those changes happen. At all times, you’re in the driving seat, you choose the topic/s to be worked on and you decide in what way you want to work on them. The coach is there to guide, support, and, when necessary, reframe the problem so as to help you move forward.
At the Bridge, we run a Coaching Practioner course (and if you’re interested in becoming an accredited coach please click here) but for now we’re looking for coachees.
The coach you’ll be matched with is actively participating in ongoing training under the supervision of Mike Shreeve, himself a qualified coach and trainer. While they are not yet accredited as a coach, they have sufficient knowledge and coaching skills to be able to start the coaching process with you as they continue to develop their own coaching techniques. As a coachee, you’ll get the benefit of their knowledge for free while providing them with the practice they need in order to gain certification. For more information and to register as a coachee, please fill in the form below and let’s get you started on your journey to make the changes you want in your life.
