An opinion piece from our founder, Paul Laughlin, has been published in the Jan/Feb 2021 edition of the influential Coaching at Work magazine.
In this article, Paul lays down a challenge to the way that executive coaches are currently trained. Sharing his own experience and what he has heard from fellow coaches, Paul reflects on how much formal coaching qualifications focus on ‘doing‘. A majority of their content covers popular coaching models, head knowledge and what a coach should do for/with clients.
However, in his challenge, Paul reveals how so many coaches (including himself) come to discover with practice that personal presence is at least as important. He draws on a number of sources to make a case for the greater importance of coaches developing their identity as coaches and becoming aware of how they are ‘being‘ during coaching sessions.
Paul draws on both respected coaching academics like Erik de Haan & popular texts like “Atomic Habits” by James Clear to make his case for a greater focus on identity & presence being essential for coaches own growth & behaviour change. We hope that this article encourages reflection amongst both the coaching community and especially those developing qualifications for the next generation of leadership coaches.
A copy of this article can be obtained either by contacting us directly or by subscribing to Coaching at Work magazine. This article is published in Volume 16 Issue 1:
