Personal coaching has burst upon the scene. Everyone’s got one--even Jamie Lee. You think you might want one. But what do they do? Here’s one example of what coaching is all about.
Charles M. Schultz, Creator of “Peanuts,” said: “I have always been grateful for the tolerance my parents showed for the ambition I showed for a strange profession. They never tried to discourage me, or point me in a different direction.”
Not many of us had parents like that; nor do we have bosses or managers like that. For many of us, our natural talents and innate skills have been ignored, curtailed, messed with, or driven underground, i.e., "parented" or "managed" out of us.
We’re all born with innate talents, but we lose touch with them. Sometimes it's become a matter of obsessing with trying to "fix" weaknesses to the point where that's all we can see.
Buckingham and Clifton (“Now, Discover Your Strengths") came up with a list of 34 innate talents. Not things like “integrity” or “perseverance,” but a new vocabulary—Activator, WOO (Winning Others Over), Harmony, Connectedness, Strategic, Deliberativeness. Their assessment, the StrengthsFinder ™ profile, will give you your top 5 signature themes, and you can get back in touch with something very dear to you.
One thing coaches do is help people get back to what it is they were meant to do and then help them build their life around it. This is very satisfying, and it’s something hard for a person to do on their own.
These strengths are very fundamental to you and your own unique way of looking at life and dealing with people and challenges. Once you know what yours are, you can understand yourself better and also understand other people better.
In most cases, our strengths are so innate we don't even realize what else could do, they just aren't trying--though that isn't the case.
Take for example the Strength of Strategic. These people naturally see patterns where others see chaos. It's a special way of thinking--very valuable--that can't really be learned.
The point is to become "sharp," not "well-rounded." Working in the areas of your innate abilities is relatively stress free and the only way you'll achieve consistent excellence.
Here are two places where you can find a coach: www.coachfederation.org, and www.coachville.com . All coaches offer an initial FREE sample session, so research on the Internet, and then call up 3-4 to see what it's like.
Start re-discovering yourself today! There's absolutely no reason now to go it alone.
Susan Dunn, M.A., Clinical Psychology, is a personal and professional development coach who offers individual coaching, Internet courses and ebooks. Visit her on the web at www.susandunn.cc and mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE ezine.