Impact of Coaching

A simple search on Google (more recently ChatGPT) will tell you all about the impact of coaching and coaching programs. To name a few, better communication and enhanced awareness, development of collaborative skills, and improved relationships with team members and colleagues. It is well established that the impact of coaching can be seen in how these skills grow. And while these are important in the context of organizations, how coaching drives transformation in individual lives is of utmost relevance.

With the spirit of going beyond the oft-repeated advantages of coaching, our webinar on the Impact of Coaching also centered on how coaching impacts other sectors. We had the opportunity to interact with Coacharya alumna Beth Berila, a Feminist Embodied Leadership Coach, Facilitator, DEI consultant, and Educator. Beth talked about her various passions and the impact coaching has made in each one of them.

As Beth talked about how coaching has empowered her to understand the nuances of many other disciplines, we got to learn a lot from her experiences. Here are a few takeaways and key highlights from the webinar summarised for you:

• We live in a world where inequalities run deep and large populations are bereft of even a voice to assert their concerns and needs. People with power have the responsibility to give a voice to people who lack it. Apart from the obvious impact that coaching has, it also puts us in a better position to empathize with people, regardless of their backgrounds, and provides a platform for people to be heard. Coaching not only gives voice to those who need it the most but, as Beth rightly said, gives the space to hold that voice even when nobody else believes in you.
• Sadly, many of us have been in situations where we weren’t heard, ideas ignored, or worse still, ridiculed and put down. Beth talked about how coaching gives clients the space they need to bring their perspectives to the fore which then cultivates change. Once we get a platform where our concerns are heard without judgment, people get the confidence and strength to talk about it more openly.
• It is important to find people who can support us through times of difficulty and transition. A community of support helps us feel supported and gives us a space to talk about our fears, doubts, insecurities, and what bothers us.
• Most of us have experiences where we feel wronged and there is lasting anger after such incidents. Responding to a very poignant question on a similar theme, Beth beautifully said that this is where doing our own self-reflection and healing work comes in handy. Through this work, we understand our anger–where it comes from–and can use it skillfully. What counts is not the incident, but treating that anger with some care, discernment, and dignity.

I would encourage you to watch this webinar to know more about Beth and how what she does as a coach and educator is making a difference. You will also get to know how coaching has helped Beth understand the subtleties of her work in the spheres of equity and inclusion. Please do share your thoughts with us on CoachNook or in the comments below.