Journey With Coaching Outside The Box

I have had the pleasure of being coached by Lucia and Karen to complete my Unlocking Conversations course. I work a full-time office job and have been doing the course alongside. This has meant I have had to do the sessions on the buses at times which Coaching Outside The Box has been completely understanding about and making an effort to still actively involve me in the discussions without excluding me due to not always having the ability to use the Mic or Video features every session. One thing I found helpful was their encouragement for everyone to communicate by Slack and their effective topic titles to streamline it. There was a lot of chance for reflection and practice with other students in the course due to the structure and options of this communication platform.

I got access to plenty of tools such as coaching session videos from previous attendees to see coaching in action and articles to read. Even after the course has ended I can go through them anytime I want. So, I can always reflect on my learning or remind myself of different methods to approach a client. After all, not every client will respond the best to every technique. Which I was a textbook explain of as anyone who had me as the client found out. I am very literal with my thought process so I struggled with metaphors however they were patient with me. The beauty of this course allows a good amount of moving at your own pace and focuses on each individual's strengths. There is nothing worse than being on a course where you feel you are always being compared with the progress of others. This is helped by an accessible tracker for the candidates to have a visual motivator of how close to the required hours of learning to gain your certificate. The certificate is also included in the cost so no nasty hidden fees to keep an eye out for.

We go through coaching sessions speaking about the foundation elements but also get the hear personal stories from professional coaches. I found these incredibly encouraging as they showed us how to overcome potential challenges while maintaining a professional approach. You also get hands-on experience coaching which allows the coaches to give you real-time feedback and suggestions for development. So you can focus your reading on a more streamlined development plan for yourself.

In between sessions, we have a learner's journal which reminds me of a reflection journal all most so it doesn't matter if you are forgetful as you have somewhere to log all your thoughts as you're reading or watching. The quiz activity was my favourite as it was an eye-opener I wasn't expecting. You will also get access to an interactive board both in-between and during sessions which helps a lot to see what people feel their strengths are so you can practice coaching with someone that can better your weaker areas and vice-versa.

I have learned a lot from the course such as finding my style of following the arch, without causing it to be choppy, instead smooth transition from one stage to the next. It's funny, we all think we know how to have a conversation with someone. Well, do we? Do we know how to be mindful of our body language as if it's second nature so we can live in the moment with that person? Do we connect without our subconscious judgments blocking us every time?

These are just some questions the course surfaced in me where before they wouldn't have even been a whisper. You will never be a perfect coach but with their help and guidance, I would like to think I can be a dam good one. This includes recognising what can be considered my disadvantages and not being afraid to take on further courses. Maybe even move up and take the next level course in the ladder that Coaching Outside The Box offers? Who knows. I am just glad to see my self-esteem and confidence grow despite all the background chatter of how Autism will stop me from maintaining communication or building a career of self-employment. I want to slip in a little thank you to Karen for sharing her diagnosed disability with us during the course and tips that helped her be the coach she is today.

Overall, I feel it was a useful course as the skills you are giving can be used in many ways you wouldn't even realise before taking it. After all, every interaction will ever have with someone starts from some indication of communication whether it be verbal or non-verbal.

For anyone that would like to check the course out please see the link below.