Why coaching?
By Hannah Jolley, StandOut Coach
Hannah has joined StandOut as an experienced coach from Resurgo’s Spear Programme. For our recent trainee bulletin, she talks about coaching - why we do it and what impact it can have.
As you might be aware, at StandOut, a bunch of us are coaches. Some of you might be like me, and will have wondered what a coach actually is, and what it involves. When I first heard of coaching, and a friend recommended I become a coach, I instantly thought of pitch-side coaching – and, given my (lack of) sporting track record, I honestly questioned whether my friend knew me at all! However, coaching doesn’t just have to look like standing next to a sports pitch.
Coaching is about asking questions that help unlock understanding in other people. It’s about empowering people to think deeply. As coaches, we don’t have all the answers – frankly, we actually have very few. We do have a few frameworks that we use, like the Cycle of Development. As some of you may remember, this is where we explore how to build a habit, identifying that we need coached practice and bite-sized amounts of knowledge. However, a lot depends on the attitude and mindset of the trainees, and their willingness to grow. Whilst the coaches might ask the questions, we’re all learning together, as we unpack life experiences and listen to one other.
Coaching has added a lot to my life; not only in doing coaching, but also in receiving it. I have seen a massive shift in my mental health since I started getting coached, as coaches have listened deeply to me and asked powerful questions. They have called me out when I have slipped into a fixed or victim mindset and encouraged me to find new ways of getting into the power and growth mindsets instead.
StandOut have been coaching for 5 years and have had the privilege of sharing classrooms with hundreds of people, getting to create a space where breakthroughs in understanding can happen. Getting to ask questions that people may have never been asked and spend time unpacking the rawness of what that might bring up. We look forward to years and years of more coaching, and we hope to continue to share those moments of realisation with you long into the future.