I came across this post on the Life Coaches Blog, it’s Alvin Soon’s own Life coaching Manifesto:
1) Believe in people.
See them better than they see themselves.
2) You are no better than the people you coach.
Walk with them shoulder by shoulder. You’re both on the same path.
3) Skill doesn’t change people. Love changes people.
All the skills in the world aren’t worth a dime if you don’t care.
4) You still need skill.
Effective coaching is not an accident.
5) You don’t change people. People change themselves.
You can show them the door, but they’re the ones who walk through it.
6) The most important person you coach is you.
Do your best to walk the talk and lead the way.
7) Your client is a magnificent being, and so are you.
Written by Alvin Soon on March 7th, 2007
It struck a chord with me. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day in and day out business of being a coach, but I think at the same time we need to be writing our own Life Coaching Manifestos – or maybe Foundational Values would be a better name for it – something to help us make sure we are staying the course even as we do the work.
Why do you do what you do? How will you know when you’ve gotten off track? And, most important (to me), is #6 in Alvin’s list, what are you doing towards coaching yourself?
I think that lists like this help us maintain our integrity. What’s your Life Coaching Manifesto?
Hi Megan, Your recent post on writing a coaching manifesto struck a
cord with me. I’m a fairly new coach, still enjoying the newness of
the passion stirred up by the profession…and especially in my
clients. As I look around at fellow coaches online, I see the kind
of community we’re able to create with one another. How much
powerful we all are energetically doing this work in alignment.
Please consider linking to me or my blogs, and I will do the same.
Best regards, Lauree