Coaching
The coaching approach doesn’t believe you are broken, nor that you need fixing or advice. Instead, it believes that the answers to your questions are hidden within you, and with the help of a coach, it provides the tools to break free and reach your desired potential.
In my coaching practice, I take a forward-looking approach. While acknowledging the impact of the past—it cannot be changed—we can use it to help you move forward, to create the future you truly want.
Are you ready to unlock your innate capabilities, achieve clarity, and lead with purpose? At It Takes a Village, we offer a powerful coaching experience designed to help you transform, whether you're a seasoned leader or an individual seeking clarity and direction.
What is coaching?
Simply put, coaching is a very powerful process that facilitates transformation.
Based on the ICF (International Coaching Federation, which is the world's largest and most well-known coaching association), coaching means “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to be their best personal and professional selves.”
A coach holds space, listens attentively, provides a safe environment, always has the client’s best interest at heart, while keeping an eye on their goals, challenging them, empowering them and supporting them throughout the change process.
Some say that a coach is the co-pilot while you, the client, are in the driver's seat. I prefer to be guided by you, while I gently steer the wheel, in which case the driver and the co-pilot seats are interchangeable depending on the situation. The destination is your goal, and a coach is there to facilitate navigating towards it. I'll help you discover your strengths, set clear goals, and develop your own action plan. Beyond that, I will also provide the crucial support, guidance, and accountability needed to effectively drive your progress forward
What coaching is not?
It is not mentoring: this approach relies on the mentor’s past experiences, their success and their life journey. Working with a mentor you develop a relationship that is related to the mentor’s own personal and professional experience.
It is not consulting: this approach is a solution based advise, where the consultant who relies on their expertise, evaluates the problem and provides an actionable solution to fix the problem.
It is not therapy: this process is for healing, looking back at unwanted behaviours, trying to analyse and reason.
Instead, coaching is a powerful, forward-looking partnership focused entirely on your unique path and inherent potential.
Why coaching?
In a 2013 Ted Talk, Bill Gates speaks about embracing coaching regardless of your passion or profession, opening the talk with: “Everyone needs a coach. It doesn't matter whether you're a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast, or a bridge player.” He then elaborates further: “accepting executive coaching isn't easy, but it's essential to becoming a visionary leader who can steward organisations to sustained success.”
According to Tom Landry, regarded as one of the greatest American football coaches of all time, "A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be."
Regardless of if you are very successful already or aspiring to be, getting to where you desire it starts with a single small step. Identifying the step, being confident in your approach, getting the internal talk out, articulated and validated is something that a coach can help you with.
The benefits of coaching
According to the 2022 Global Consumer Awareness Study conducted by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 88% of clients who worked with a coach were satisfied with the experience. That’s almost 9 out of 10 people saying, “This works!”
Coaching works well alongside mentoring, therapy and consultancy. The results of a study performed in April 2022, Coaching and Human Brain Creativity Mechanisms, demonstrated significant changes in the right region of the brain compared with the other experimental conditions, which was related to creativity and development of human knowledge.
This research highlights that non-directive coaching (NDC, pure coaching), especially when combined with the GROW model, significantly boosts creative insights and problem-solving. Brain activity measurements revealed that NDC uniquely activates the right side of the brain in areas linked to creativity, showing more "aha!" moments compared to self-reflection or direct advice.
Coaching at It Takes A Village
At It Takes A Village you will get transformational leadership coaching. It Takes a Village is tailored coaching practice, empowering leaders, upcoming leaders and self-leaders, to find courage and clarity to be able to reach their purpose.
A leader is a role model, so in any professional situation you are, if you work in or with a team, in a large or small organisation, and you have the honour to influence others, I would love to work with you. I believe that the work should start with you.
I work with two types of clients:
Leaders who want to develop themselves and those around them.
Individuals who are not officially leaders but lead by influence rather than authority, in both professional and in personal life.
How would you describe yourself? Do either of those sound like you?
Read more about different coaching styles HERE.
