Kicking off 2023 as I mean to go on by up-skilling! One of the most exciting things I’ve done so far though is the MOE Coaching Course which began mid January and finished last Wednesday. I can now officially say that I’m an accredited coach and am part of the Association of Coaches, thanks to MOE!
2023 is the year of getting shit done! All the bits I’ve been putting off, let’s dive in! All the things I’ve been interested in but unsure of, let’s learn! All the imposter syndrome worries, let’s have a look at you! So far it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve been awarded some funding from MOBO Help Musicians to learn how to produce my next EP (read more about that here!). I’m starting to learn how to drive thanks to Creative Access (which I’ll write about more when the time comes!). I’ve been sketching up a very tasty marketing plan thanks to the Digital Skills course I went on at the end of last year with Outset Bristol.
For anyone that isn’t sure what Coaching is (I wasn’t before I went on the course!) it is essentially a framework to help people to reach their goals. One of the things I’ve been thinking about on my learning journey of establishing new boundaries was how to recognise when I slip into patterns which don’t serve me. One of the questions I asked in session 1 of the MOE course is, what is the difference between being someone’s Coach and being their therapist?
I’m inherently interested in people and I like to help them – it is a default that I fall into, wanting to be helpful. It isn’t a bad thing on the surface but I have found myself in situations where I feel drained after interactions because my learned way of ‘helping’ is to let people download onto me. Which is what I wanted to explore with this course and it has been so instrumental in helping me to recognise and learn how to adapt those behaviours! A key element of coaching is to essentially be a mirror, help people find answers for themselves but be detached from the outcome. Everyone is responsible for themselves, you are merely a catalyst for creative thoughts and cheerleading.
I’ve got a whole bundle of theory and new techniques to try with coachees and I’m very excited to implement this in my facilitation as well as personal relationships. If you feel like coaching might be an area you’re interested in, I’ll be opening my books up to this new aspect n the summer!
