Coach Development

The term ‘Reflective Practice” is being increasingly used in the context of coaching and is explicitly referenced in ICF Core Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset: “Develops an ongoing reflective practice to enhance one’s coaching”. Learning to reflect in order to improve one’s own practice is perceived as important across a range of professions, from teaching to counselling, and from management to clinical work. Knowing the self and managing the self are key skills for every coach. This self-awareness enables us to be in best service of our clients. In this article we consider what reflective practice is, why it ...

Just recently I noticed, in different conversations, people talking about the need to be creative and how difficult it was to find the time and space to be creative. The conversations were around various topics such as creating new products, creating a website, business development etc. I became curious to explore what it takes to find the time and space to be creative. I also wondered how that might link to how we coach our clients. Do we allow them the space and time to be creative? In this blog I am going to look at : What do we ...

“In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional” The Buddha This Buddhist parable explains that life sometimes presents us with situations, events, and circumstances that create pain for us. They are some of life’s inevitable arrows that come our way… misfortune, accidents, loss, separation, illness, bereavement, etc. However anytime this happens, there is also a second arrow that comes along with the first one – and that one is even more painful! The second arrow is our reaction to the first one. Whilst we ...

This month we have a guest blogger which is all about how to create and build motivation. He uses the analogy of building a fire, something he was taught by his father as a child.  As coaches, we can often come across clients who want to achieve big goals and sometimes struggle with ‘just’ getting started, ‘just’ doing it, and often it can come down to beliefs, confidence, and of course motivation. As you read Luke’s blog, the question to ask yourself might be, how do we as coaches support our clients to be able to build and light their ...

It’s International Coaching Week! This week we will be sharing inspiring stories around the power and impact of professional coaching and we hope you’ll follow along.  This year’s theme from the International Coaching Federation is “Reimagine the Future” and we have found that quite fitting given the events of the past few years. No one has gone untouched by the events of the pandemic and the rapid changes happening around the globe. Never before has there been a better time to be coached or to become a coach.  At Coach Advancement by Tracy Sinclair, we are excited to share with ...

What is the ultimate purpose of Coaching? The International Coaching Federation’s (ICF) definition of coaching describes the purpose as maximising the client’s personal and professional potential. Maximising our potential implies growth, and to leverage our growth we need to effectively apply our awareness, insight, and learning. Therefore, a key part of a coach’s role is to partner with clients in support of them becoming more aware, to have insights that lead them to learn new things, which, when applied through appropriate action, results in growth and development…and them fulfilling their potential!   The ICF Core Competencies are defined and described ...

A Key Strength and Skill for Any Coach Recently, a mentee shared a poem that really resonated with me. It came from Chris Guillebeau’s blog which included the author’s thinking on the meaning of the poem. The poem is from a 14th Century Sufi Poet called Hafiz and, as Chris states, it really illustrates the concept of empowerment. The Small Man Builds Cages For Everyone  The small man Builds cages for everyone He Knows. While the sage, Who has to duck his head When the moon is low, Keeps dropping keys all night long For the Beautiful Rowdy Prisoners In ...

The term “trust the process” is one that is often heard within the sphere of coaching, in fact I have used it myself when teaching coaching skills, along with other related terms such as “trust yourself, trust your client…trust the process”. In all honesty, when it was first said to me as a student of coaching, I didn’t quite understand it as I was still so fixed on trying to learn and of course, ‘master’, the skills of coaching. Over the years, I have gradually developed a greater understanding of what I think this means and one of the most ...