How I Came to Be a Coach

photo shot at Aro Ha

It all started about 5 years ago while going through some transitions at work. I’d been in my current role at a large nonprofit in Chicago for about a year and my supervisor, with whom I’d built a strong relationship, was moving on to a new role.  I was fearful of what would happen next and concerned about whether my next supervisor could be as strong of a champion for my professional development as my last. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

My next supervisor, who I worked for over the next 4 years, recognized that I was craving additional support to help me navigate the path to growing and directing my career over the coming years. I was starting to figure out what I didn’t want to do, but couldn’t identify what it was I really wanted. What should I be moving toward?

My supervisor told me about coaching, something I hadn’t heard of yet in this early stage in my career. She introduced me to my first coach and advocated for organizational resources to fund some sessions. I knew then that this was an important and valuable opportunity, but I couldn’t have imagined how much it would change the course of my life.

My coach started by getting to know me – asking curious questions about my background and current reality. She walked alongside me as I grappled with difficult questions about the kind of work I wanted to do, ultimately helping me release a path I’d been gripping onto since my college years, but that didn’t make sense for me now. Throughout our work together, my coach supported me in developing experiments or tests to try out new behaviors and ideas. Slowly, I started to understand that my path didn’t need to be linear, as we’re so often taught. I saw new possibilities that excited me and my coach helped me negotiate those kinds of tasks into my evolving role at work.

We finished our sessions and I dove into my work, hiring my first direct report and navigating the experience of being a people manager for the first time. I continued to experiment with actions my coach and I had discussed and periodically checked in with her to catch up or do a spot coaching session. Between the support of my supervisor and the ongoing relationship with my coach, I had renewed confidence to step into a leadership role and lead beyond the influence of my actual job title.

Over time, I revisited some connections suggested by my coach and starting researching a Masters program in Learning and Organizational Change. I saw an opportunity to better support nonprofit employees by developing skills in leadership development, change management, organizational development and design thinking. In our sector, the staff are often unintentionally undervalued and underdeveloped. All the energy goes into serving the population we work for, which can leave the service providers and administrative staff completely burned out. This felt like a chance to create a “Both, And” scenario. Increasing supports for staff and organizational development could both serve clients better and provide the necessary tools for staff to develop and, more fundamentally, stay, in this difficult work.

I started my degree in fall 2019, newly married and full of energy about the future. A few months later, a global pandemic began and the world as we knew it changed forever. I saw people all around me struggling and barely managing to get through each day. I started to feel the toll personally, managing the weight of fear and fatigue from the pandemic amidst work and graduate studies and personal life.

At exactly the same time, in March 2020, I started what became the next turning point in my life, a certification in organizational and leadership coaching, to be completed as part of my graduate coursework. I wish I could say I knew then that I wanted to become a coach, but the truth is, it just sounded interesting and I thought it could be a helpful skillset to bring into my internal organizational work. I knew coaching was powerful after experiencing it myself, but I didn’t realize I would feel called to join this profession myself.

Over the next 12 months, I fell deeper and deeper in love with coaching, ultimately having the chance to work with a variety of incredible clients and witness their growth and transformation, both big and small. By the time I finished my coach training and certification in March 2021, I was hooked. I knew I needed to keep coaching and to make more space in my life for this energizing work.

That led me to the challenging, and in some ways, heartbreaking, decision to leave my day job in nonprofit so I could step more fully into building a coaching practice. Although it was extremely difficult for me to walk away from an organization and colleagues who became part of my identity and family, I remembered the words of my coach about how our paths can take twists and turns. This wasn’t something I’d planned for, and yet, I knew it was the right thing for me.

As it turned out, this was also a moment of career transition for my husband, and we decided to take a leap and accept an international transfer to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I knew I could coach from anywhere, but I was still terrified about how to get a fledging business off the ground while adjusting to a new country and culture.  We’ve been in our new home about 3 months and it’s clear this will be an ongoing process of learning and adjusting. And yet, my work with coaching clients has been a true anchor and joy, reminding me of who I am and what I love to do, no matter where I am.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with inspiring individuals who work in nonprofits, education, or as entrepreneurs. Each day that I get to coach feels like a gift and I’m reminded of the power of human connection and how we can help one another transform if we have the right ingredients. As the pandemic continues to evolve and I catch myself missing home, I’m grateful to this profession and my ever-growing community of coaches who keep me grounded and moving forward.