Learning in action - a love letter to my coaching circle
As a graduate student who also works full time, I am a big fan of multitasking. I frequently listen to my school reading while sewing or doing chores around the house, skim readings, or to be honest decide not to do assignments that are low point value but would take a long time. As I approached the halfway point of my Coaching Certification, and my second to last quarter of graduate school, I was a pro at cutting corners.
But that only worked for tasks I could do entirely on my own, which coaching definitely is not. In the fall, on top of classes, reading and assignments, we also started coaching both students early in their MSLOC career and participating in a coaching circle. A coaching circle is a group of coaches-to-be assigned to coach each other, so I coached person A, person A coached person B, and person B coached me.
I knew that in order to learn to be a coach, I needed to have as much experience actually coaching as I could. Although the reading is absolutely helpful, coaching is something I would need to learn through doing. Quickly, the scheduling concerns melted into nerves. I wasn’t hiding behind citations or reading, I was going to be coaching a colleague in front of another colleague and our professor! And I was going to be coached in front of people too! Although I had been in class and some very short breakout rooms with the two people in my coaching circle before, we didn’t really know each other. But after the first session, nerves changed to gratitude.
Coaching is generally something you don’t get to share. It would be inappropriate, in most coaching spaces, to bring along an observer or two. But as part of our education, we were offered structured time to coach, be coached and observe another coach, giving feedback to each other from every vantage point. My coaching circle ended up becoming my most trusted coaching colleagues and through that built trust, I was able to come to them when challenges emerged in other coaching engagements.
This was clearly an intentional pedagogical decision by the OLCC faculty. Not only do we, as new coaches, have a space to play and explore in coaching engagements with other coaches, we have a built in structure for learning and development moving forward. In the months since our coaching circle began, we have met during times we were graded and times we set up on our own. They’ve been my first text to work through a challenging situation with a client. Having a space that I can bring messy, new situations and be met with kindness and accountability is a huge blessing. As we move past the end of our certification program, I have no doubt that will continue.
As a coach, I can’t expect my clients to be in a space of learning, growth and development if I am not willing to be there myself. In order to meet clients where they are, it’s paramount that I am continuing to learn new ways of approaching client needs, new questions and new tools, all of which I have gotten to learn through action with my coaching circle. Being able to move what I am reading or listening to into action helps cement it. I have role played conversations and coaching moments with my coaching circle and when those situations emerge with clients, I have at least one real experience to draw upon.
In order to be a good coach, I need to also continue to experience coaching, not just from my coaching circle but from a variety of coaches. After this experience, the next time I search for a coach, a question I will ask them is “how do you continue to learn and grow as a coach?”. As impactful as things like reading or listening to podcasts can be, I want to be a coach and be coached by coaches who are committed to this kind of active learning. Because I know from experience, that reading or podcast listening can be done while doing other things, and coaching is a skill that takes active, directed time and attention to hone.
