Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it” (Henry Ford).
Phillip is a dynamic young man. He recently quit his job as a civil servant in South Africa, after working for only four years. He has now started his own IT business. Phillip, who comes from a background where several family members are businessmen and businesswomen has previously worked with father and later with his uncle in their respective businesses and is confident that he can successfully venture out on his own.
He believes that he has all that it takes to make a success of his journey into the world of entrepreneurship and small business ownership. Speaking with Phillip, there is no mistaking the calm confidence with which he approaches his dream. He agrees that there are a lot of risks, difficulties and challenges ahead of him. But he also knows that the earlier he begins to run with his desire and passion, the earlier he would encounter the various business challenges, learn from them and also grow as a result.
Working behind a desk at the licensing office where he previously worked was definitely not the idea of what Phillip regarded as his motivation. As far as he is concerned, it was also not for him the best way to utilise his personal talents and acquired skills. It has been an absolute pleasure for me to work with the young man and to support him to make his dream a reality. He surely has powerful ideas, which he is working on and implementing in his new business, hence the need for coaching, as a means of facilitating and amplifying his ideas.
Phillip is every business coach’s dream. He is self assured, eager to learn, intuitive, independent minded, not risk-averse, and definitely value creation-driven. To cap all of these, he is like a ‘store house’ of ideas. On one or two occasions, I have jokingly referred to him as “Patrice” in reference to Patrice Motsepe, South Africa’s first black billionaire. The starting point for our coaching was of course the establishment of roles, responsibilities and boundaries. In this regard, Phillip understood and accepted that the greatest determinant of his success was no other person than himself.
His knowledge, skills, personality, awareness, passion, energy and tenacity, among other personal attributes are all contributing factors to his goal achievement. As a result, we concentrated on the issues of dreams, desires, development, discipline, distinction and delivery as the coaching road map. We also developed the issues of conviction, commitment and consistency as personal tasks. Taken into consideration as well were the issues of personal empowerment as relating to responsibility, authority and accountability. Finally, the coaching model was based on CEED Group’s AVELA system: Awareness, Value, Energy, Lifestyle, and Ability.
Every successful coaching process, whether related to business or not has transformation as its currency of engagement. If coaching cannot transform ideas to reality, there should be no need for it. Similarly, if coaching will not transform a person’s thinking in terms of ideas, ideals, belief systems, mind frames, such that every inhibition to achievement is eliminated, the coaching engagement has not achieved any purpose. Coaching must unlock and unleash the power within. Thus, through coaching, ideas and dreams must be transformed to reality. That is the primary purpose of coaching.
While every coaching engagement is unique, the process must explore and challenge personal knowledge, tenacity, ideas, ideals, values, attitudes, beliefs and mind frames. All of these must be sufficiently aligned with the goals and outcomes of coaching on the one hand, and with the ability and resourcefulness of the client on the other hand. The process of coaching powerful ideas to reality cannot be divorced from these truths.
As a result, coaching provides the opportunity to people to evaluate their progress and assess the processes in their journey to a predetermined accomplishment. Apart from compelling desirable changes, there is always the benefit of having clarity of vision and focus regarding what is required for success. Another benefit is of course the advantage of personal development, which involves the building of both personal capacity and confidence in dealing with diverse challenges and solving problems.
In the coaching engagement with Phillip, emphasis was placed on what constitutes life balance and how to attain it, with regard to work and all-round life expectations. The aim was to allow for new possibilities, greater flexibility and choice, in seeking greater satisfaction and fulfillment. The resultant effect is that there is reduced personal pressure on goal achievement, while there is increased motivation to continue to learn, grow and develop. That is how ideas become reality. You can read more about the transformational power of coaching at www.ceedcoaching.com.
Emmanuel Imevbere
