Creating Tomorrow

When I had my threshold session with C., she considered her coach training and her teaching background as the perfect platform for giving back to her community.

In the urban neighborhood where she lived, she realized that many of the young people needed more hands-on support and mentoring in order to tap into positive goals for their lives, as well as to develop the skills and discipline they’d need to actually achieve those goals. C. had already invested time and thought into writing a booklet of advice for young women and was gathering material for a follow-up.

 In the meantime, though, C. married and become the mother of a young child. While continuing to strive to fulfill her own professional purpose, she also needed to find a way to supplement the family income while also securing the necessary care of her son during her absence.

When we began working together, C. held a part-time administrative job with a youth program. The job allowed her to successfully coordinate childcare for her son, and the atmosphere was positive, but C. was dissatisfied at not being able to use her skills and experience in working directly with young people. Although she had originally considered it as an option, C. soon realized that looking for full-time employment would not be her best option. It was instead important for her to have a more flexible work schedule in order to successfully meet her responsibilities as a mother.

Her goal: To find a part-time position where she could actively use her coaching and teaching skills, leaving her time to also continue building up her own coaching practice.

“…I would say that Trina was a very sensitive and attentive coach. She made sure to stick to what my goals were at each session and what my intentions were. She was also very accommodating with our communication efforts considering that I am in the States and she is in Germany. I had a great time with Trina and she helped get (me) back on track with my new business…”

Our sessions were split between:

• strategic talks about the motivations and objectives of her burgeoning coaching practice, and
• tactical discussions about defining, finding and qualifying for a suitable part-time position.

We held debriefing sessions after job interviews to discuss learnings and reflect them back onto the LifePlan that C. was creating and confirming for herself.

Although she hadn’t succeeded in finding a new part-time job at the end of our sessions, C. did put together the blueprint (incl. marketing basics) for an upcoming women’s coaching retreat. Just recently (March 2008) she contacted me to tell me she is now committed to building her coaching practice full-time.