By Leon VanderPol
You must come from a place of “knowing” to be a great transformational coach.
I had a conversation last month with a few coaches on the question of what it takes to become a great transformational coach. Interestingly, most of the ideas presented had to do with skills or techniques the coach could possess or offer. And while this is partly true, I think the most essential element was overlooked. Here is what I believe makes a great transformational coach:
You need to commit deeply to your own transformation.
This is the one factor that separates the true transformational coach from the pretender. If you desire to become a great transformational coach, it’s worth reflecting on this question:
How deeply am I committed to my own transformation?
And not just to surface level change, but to true transformation?
Some years back I moved through a long period of intense inner transformation. It was tough—as transformation always is—replete with great uncertainty about myself, my work and my place in the world.
But because of the level of commitment I had to the journey, when I now teach transformational coaching, I come from a place of knowing, which provides a quality of wisdom and depth to the work that simply cannot come from one who has not made the journey.
A personal inner commitment essentially says, “Nothing else is as central in my life right now than becoming the person I know I AM, so that I can do the great work in this world I know I am here to do.”
You may be busy and have many responsibilities in your life, but when you make your transformation the center of your life, something essential shifts, and it’s permanent. You gain an insight and wisdom into life that enables you to become a way shower for others.
More than anything else, it is your experiential understanding of a profoundly intimate and intense journey into the nature of being that will make you a great transformational coach.
People will come to you because they see this in you.
If you do not commit to your own transformation, how can you make that request of another person? If you do not commit, how can you know what it takes to transform?
True transformation takes incredible commitment. And you can make sure you are aligned to that because you have done the same for yourself.
You will then understand what transformation means and asks. You will understand what it takes to renew your commitment day after day.
And when you speak from this place, people will listen. They will know that you know what it takes; they will know that you are a true way shower, and not a dabbler.
If you are dabbling in your transformation, always busy, busy, busy, and giving it very little of your attention—what is the result? Oh, I didn’t have time to meditate today. I didn’t have time to explore the depth of my being. I know it’s important, but I just didn’t have time for it.
What is the result of dabbling in your own transformational process?
It’s worth looking honestly at how committed you are to your own transformational process. Are you committed or are you dabbling?
There will be a noticeable shift in the orientation of your mind and frequency of your being when you commit fully to your own transformation.
To become a great transformational coach, above all else, commit to your own transformation.
When you do, you will create an impermeable foundation of knowing that enables you to sit with others through their own transformation, and to be a beacon of possibility for them in a way that few others can.
Leon VanderPol is the Founder & Director of the Center for Transformational Coaching. He is the creator of the Deep Coaching Program a coach training and personal growth journey designed to help people gain the capacity to support others through profound inner growth and transformation. Visit the Center to download your free report: How to Make a Living As a Transformational Coach—12 Key Considerations as You Build Your Practice