Coach In The Spotlight - Swati Pradhan

Swati Pradhan qualified with The Coaching Academy and agreed to share her coaching experience, so we have put her in the Coaching Hot Seat. Here is Swati’s story:

What brought you to coaching?

I have been managing a corporate training business for the past few years and had an opportunity to interact with a few coaches over the years. I am originally from India, where I first set up my business and later expanded to Dubai and the Middle East region. I relocated to the UK a couple of years back, and continue to be involved in my training business in India and Dubai. Through my journey as a corporate trainer I felt I had some natural skills of connecting and building rapport with people on a one to one basis. I also realised that I had been indirectly coaching people for a while, and felt with some focus and learning specific coaching skills, I would be able to embark on a new career path.  What were your original thoughts for applying the coaching? My initial thoughts on attending the 2-day certificate weekend were ‘Wow, this is what I should have done a long time back’ and got started right away!  What was your profession before becoming a coach? I manage 2 businesses – a corporate training business, and a web and graphic design business. I have now set up my coaching business, however I enjoy doing multiple things and continue to operate the earlier two businesses.

What did you find most interesting to learn?

The GROW model. I have always believed in keeping things simple, and I was extremely intrigued at the simplicity of the GROW model and how it can be applied to almost all coaching scenarios. GROW to me is a very structured methodology of identifying a goal and enabling a client to move through different sequential thought processes to finally arriving at action steps and committing to them.

What was the most rewarding part of the training/journey?

Everything really, from attending the accelerator days, meeting potential coaches from extremely diverse backgrounds, doing all my practice coaching sessions as part of the qualification, practical coaching assessments, written assessments – and of course my learning and growth through the entire journey!

Which bits did you enjoy the most?

The live accelerator days and actual coaching sessions. And finally – I was thrilled on getting a distinction for both the Life Coaching Diploma Diploma and the Corporate & Executive Diploma.

How did the qualification slot in with your current life?

I really liked the flexibility of the entire program, where you could decide on the pace you wanted to go by. This allowed me to integrate it well with my existing priorities and travel schedule.

What else did you have to consider whilst qualifying?

Meeting coaches from diverse backgrounds at the accelerator days and also coaching clients with diverse background and across geographies helped me to really think about my niche. I was able to quickly identify which clients I enjoyed coaching, and ones I was happy to coach, but didn’t enjoy as much. I also considered doing some further qualifications after I complete my coaching diplomas. I made a list of qualifications that I would like to do over a period of time, and the two priority ones for me have been a NLP and DISC certification. I believe those two can directly help me with my chosen niche and the clientele that I'd enjoy working with.

Where are you now? How are you using your coaching skills?

I have set up my coaching business, and have started coaching clients and look forward to expanding over time

What is your coaching niche and why did you choose it?

My niche is leadership and performance coaching. I enjoy working with positive, ambitious people from all walks of life, and am passionate about playing the role of a catalyst by helping people excel at what they do, accelerate their performance and unleash the leader in them.

What is your favorite coaching question?

If we were having this conversation 12 months from today, what has to have happened for you to feel proud about your progress?

What do you enjoy most about being a coach?

Experiencing the ‘A-ha’ moments with my clients! Often a simple question can suddenly shift the energy of the session and open up so many possibilities.

What are your top tips for:

- People who are looking at coaching?

Speak to other coaches and attend the two-day certificate weekend. This will help you identify whether coaching is or isn’t for you

- Those coaches currently in training?

Fill out your learning record sheets on a regular basis, instead of leaving them at the end. It’s a simple document and you will get a lot out of it if its done at the right time, and of course more accurately reflect your learning and development. Invest in some good coaching books (refer to the recommended list given by The Coaching Academy) and read on a regular basis.  Revisit earlier accelerator day modules, DVDs, notes, etc. You will always learn new things when you go back and read/listen to something that you have already gone through. Start coaching clients as soon as possible, coach real clients from different backgrounds as this will help you to identify your niche. And also be coached. Speak with a few coaches and find someone you are comfortable working with. It’s a great learning experience to be coached, in addition to coaching clients.

- Coaches that are about to qualify?

Congratulations! And all the very best for the journey ahead....the qualification is not an end, but a great beginning to possibly a new career path and some very exciting opportunities ahead.