Exploration, Surprises, and Growth

The six-month coaching journey from late March to September this year was indeed an adventure worth celebrating.

Working with my coach, Richard, allowed me to experience the transformative power of coaching and shifted my perspective on personal growth. It has helped me continuously progress toward becoming a better coach. This journey was both challenging and inspiring.

When I started this coaching partnership, my goal was clear: I wanted to help myself become a better coach. However, even though I had received professional coach training and understood that the role of a coach is to guide actions through exploration, I still felt lost when faced with such a broad and open-ended goal. My agenda felt vast, with seemingly countless directions to pursue, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. I knew I needed more focus, but facing the unknown always felt overwhelming.

Breaking Through Mental Barriers: Insights from Coaching

Throughout this process, Richard demonstrated his exceptional ability to ask insightful questions.

One of the questions that left the most profound impression on me was, “So what?” This seemingly simple question often led me to profound contemplation. For example, during one session, I shared my value of “collaboration,” something I hold dear. Through my coaching service, I hope to foster collaboration among business partners, team members, and even spouses. But Richard posed a critical question: “So what if there were no collaboration?”

This question prompted me to re-examine my fixation on collaboration. Through our discussion, I gradually realised that while collaboration is crucial to me, it is not necessarily what everyone else needs. I learned not to assume that my values should apply to everyone. Instead, I began to think more about how others might have different priorities.

Overcoming Perfectionism: Growth Through Action

Of course, Richard didn’t just help me break through mental barriers; he also helped me overcome the trap of perfectionism. With most of my talent strengths in the “strategic thinking” domain, I often felt like I hadn’t thought things through enough to take action. During our discussion on creating marketing videos, I was stuck in the mindset of “I’m not ready yet.” Richard casually asked, “So what would being ready look like for you?” I was stunned and began to reflect on my excessive pursuit of perfection.

That moment made me realize that my audience wouldn’t care as much about whether I looked perfect or the technical details; only I was concerned. Under Richard’s guidance, I set a specific deadline to start producing videos, with the goal being simply to “produce,” not to “produce perfect videos,” let alone “publish the videos.” This decision made me realise that action is key. I don’t have to wait until everything is perfect to start, but I can continuously make adjustments as I move forward. It felt like finally putting down a heavy burden and moving forward easily—which was exhilarating!

This experience taught me to find the power to act amid imperfection. Just like the short video project, “100 Ways to Leverage Strengths”, that I am working on. I don’t have 100 ways in mind now. Instead, I film what I have, finding inspiration as I go. I’m still not satisfied with the lighting and backgrounds, but I continue to film them on my own, sharing one idea in each video and uploading one per day, intending to reach 100. This is my path toward establishing my presence and claiming my space.

From Good to Great: The Power of Coaching

Coaching is about exploring possibilities, breaking through towards the unknown, and helping clients move from good to great—taking something good and making it even better. As the GROW coaching model suggests, it’s all about growth.

This journey has strengthened my conviction for the future. Not only do I aspire to improve myself continually, but I also hope to pass on this experience of moving “from good to great” to each of my future clients. Through my coaching service, I hope to help them overcome their self-imposed limitations, discover their potential, and achieve excellence in their careers and lives. My biggest takeaway from this journey has been understanding that coaching is not just about solving immediate problems but guiding others from a good state to an extraordinary one.

(Translated by Richard Lim)