What on earth is executive coaching?

Good Morning Powerful Ladies.   Today's blog is a little different than the normal format.  I appreciate you indulging my desire to tell my story.  I promise to get back to the format you have come to know and love next week.  

This weekend, at a family gathering, I had the opportunity to meet a second cousin from another state that I had never met before.  My cousin, a surgeon before retirement, turned out to be a man of insatiable curiosity.  A curiosity that led me to articulate and define coaching in ways I never had before.  Upon meeting, this cousin asked me the obligatory questions about my children, our home, my job, you know the drill and the questions.  He mentions that he heard from my aunt that I practiced law and that I worked at the law school in our city.  I told him that I had done those things but that I had given them up to start my own company and become an executive coach.  He smiled politely at my answers and moved on to talk to the next relative.  Little did I know, that this was just the beginning…

Several hours later this same cousin approached me again.  He had a very perplexed look on his face and he said, I know you are a coach and you have your own business; but, I have talked to your grandmother, your Mom, and your sister and no one seems to know what it is that you actually do.  He then asked me to explain a little more about the details of how I earn my living.  Not wanting to bore him or sound like a commercial, I told him that I worked with other professionals to help them grow their businesses.  I told him I taught a class for professional women and that I spent a lot of time simply having conversations with clients about their challenges, goals, or other relevant driving forces. 

Again, my answers seemed to satisfy him for a little while as he moved on to mingle with other family members.  But again he returned, this time he sat very close to me and asked, “How do you know how to help other people?” I laughed and explained that I had received coaching training and that I also used all of my college degrees, job experiences, and life experiences in my work.  I told him that I believe this is the first job I have ever had where I truly used all of my education and my entire skill set.  This seemed to satisfy him and he once again moved on.

A few minutes later, having considered my earlier answers, he was back again and this time he asked the flood gate question which netted him more information, more dramatic responses, adventurous metaphors, and impassioned speech than a political pep rally.  The question, “So do you like being a coach?”  To which I responded, YES- I like being a coach!!!!

  Without any additional prompting I went on to explain that I enjoy coaching it allows me the opportunity to help people rediscover how truly amazing they are.  Coaching prompts people to remember who they want to be when they grow up.  Coaching is like having your BFF, an adoring fan, and your favorite teacher (you know the one that was ridiculously tough, pushed you to your limits, and helped your discover the joy of reaching your full potential) all rolled into one.  I explained that many professionals feel disconnected from their families, their friends, & their work.  They reach a point where they are so busy keeping up with the workload that they forget to love the process.   As a coach I help them find ways to manage the workload and rediscover the inner joy that drove them to this work in the first place.  I explained that coaches are not perfect.  There are many days where I see a name on my calendar and I wonder what I will be able to teach this person.  Yet-that is the beauty of coaching, the teaching comes from the student rediscovering what he or she already knows.  Sometimes the student has forgotten the lesson in the midst of his/her busy life, sometimes the student is afraid of the knowledge and is engaging in thinking or activities that limit their potential in order to avoid the fear, and sometimes the student has never taken the time to think beyond the paycheck, billable hour, trek to partner, or next bonus, to see the lesson hidden in the depths of their soul.  

Yes-I like coaching!  It is a new fantastic adventure every day.  Every student has their unique twists and turns and a different ultimate goal.  Often we take a roller coaster ride together through all of the mysterious dark caves of their professional lives, we climb the long slow hills up the coaster through years of bad habits, sometimes bad deals, bad partners, and other unsavory experiences to the epiphany moment that plunge them into professional exhilaration and excitement.  For many the plunge of excitement is something they have not experienced in a long time- for some ever.  

I went on to explain that during a coaching session my clients and I often learn together the unique values and offerings they have to give the world.  We discuss how to package their offering in a way that attracts exactly the type of client they truly want to work with and will give them the life they really want to lead.  

I tell him that I used to think that I loved sales, my former career, because my attention span never allowed me to remember the last rejection or the last victory leaving me living a dog’s life always hungry for a new day.  Now I realize it is not a lack of attention span that allowed me to love selling it is a love of people, learning their stories, their hopes, their fears, & their desires-often hidden deep within their hearts completely unrealized because they don’t fit within the conventional box of their profession.  I go on, unlike sales, coaching allows me to offer real solutions, support, & strength to help my clients make the jump from someone who sells their time by the hour to someone who lives each day with a mission and maybe even a passion!  

In my wildest dreams I am not sure I would ever have articulated a desire to become a coach.  I did however articulate a desire to help others, put my education to good use, and make an immediate difference in the world.  This knocking at my heart led me down a career path that has culminated in a profession, a business, and a life that ignites my personal fire.  I explain what a joy it is to be on fire for what you do and to wake up anticipating with glee the day’s work.  Yes- I like being a coach, you might even say I LOVE it!  

P.S.  To my family, thank you for making me realize that I have not done a very good job articulating how I spend my days.  To Cousin Gary- thank you for your interest in coaching.  To my coaching clients and Honoree-thank you for opening my heart’s floodgates.

About Jonelle- Jonelle Vold is an attorney, ten-year sales veteran, wife, mother of twins, and an executive coach.   Her coaching philosophy is that each of us has the potential for greatness.  To reach our potential, we must crack our personal code and live with intention.  Jonelle does a lot of work with attorneys and other high-stress professions.  Her goals is to help each client grow their business and reach maximum success while enjoying the process.  You can contact Jonelle at 520-225-9053 or jonelle@jonellevold.com