Finding Your Voice. For dating-lovers and coaches who aim at success.
When I was looking for the love of my life, I tried online dating. I was repelled by it, seeing it as a ridiculous way of selling myself on the meat market, until a dear friend said to me: “Pernille, there are so many people out there who are longing for love”. It changed my perspective. It became an exploration of what is mine to give, of whether it would be a good match with the other, and whether I enjoyed the exchange. I relaxed.
I have educated 500+ coaches over the last 11 years. Some of them were NVC practitioners who wanted to expand their palette of offerings. Others were psychologists seeking practices for creating connection and building trust. And some were wondering about a career as a self-dependent coach.
In each case, knowing the skills and roadmaps of Needs-Based Coaching is not enough to provide a satisfying career, just like crafting the most beautiful furniture doesn’t bring you money to pay your rent; you also need to have a showroom and people stopping and noticing your products while imagining how they would fit into their livingroom.
As a coach, you need your potential clients to know about you. People don’t find their coach on Google as coaching is not just a commodity. They want to engage with someone they already trust through referrals or through having connected and found them trustworthy.
So, the best way to connect with potential clients is to have happy clients, and to make yourself visible. If you have no clients yet, you need to make yourself visible in order for your business to develop from a hobby for a few selected friends to a thriving business that replaces your ordinary job.
The journey of coming out and be seen as a coach involves stepping into the spotlight with authenticity and courage, and it is darn vulnerable. You're not only showcasing your skills and expertise but also revealing your true self to the world. If not, people will probably not notice you. If you want to touch them, it needs to happen from a tender place in yourself.
Coming out as a coach requires vulnerability because it means opening up about your passions, beliefs, and aspirations which may not be shared by everybody you reach. It means risking rejection or criticism. Your grandmother or boss might see you in a new light. It's necessary because it allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level, build trust and authenticity, and attract clients who resonate with your values and vision, and who recognize the act of showing yourself this way as rolemodeling what they want in their lives.
Ultimately, the journey of coming out as a new coach is about owning your story and your uniqueness, and showing your dedication with confidence and authenticity. It's about daring to be seen and heard, knowing that your message has the potential to inspire and transform lives.
This process can be daunting as you navigate through self-doubt, fear of judgment, and uncertainty about how you'll be received. However, if you see it as another transformative journey of self-discovery and growth, there is a double bonus to harvest.
It is central to remember that it is not about you, the coach, just as it was not about me when I went dating. It is about what you offer to the world, your trust in what you offer, and how you hold both your own needs and the needs of the other at the same time, including finding a way of speaking about your offerings that feels good to you.
And whether you have a dream of becoming a successful coach or not, this seems to me to be an obligatory assignment in these times: If we want the next generation to live in a more beautiful world, we need to outgrow our limitations, find our voice, and sing our song to the world.
We don’t need to do this on our own. At the Needs-Based Coaching Institute, we are content to notice our MasterMind group and the Supervision group are received well in our alumni community. I am so delighted that we found a way to meet the needs for fellowship and ongoing learning which these fora offer.
Now, we’re launching Becoming Visible, a 6-week course developed with a dual intention:
To notice, explore, and dissolve the blocks within of becoming visible and for our participants to finding their true voice. And growing the courage and stamina to let it be heard.
To equip coaches with knowledge, skills and resources to discern and navigate the jungle of websites, subscriptions, social media, newsletters etc so that they get to use their limited time and money for PR as wise as ever possible.
6 weeks of 2½ hours in a group of limited size ensures that the skills and practices you learn get activated right away through accountability toward your fellow group members. Expect stimulating challenges - and expect results while you are still in the safe learning container, so that you can be celebrated wildly on each baby step!
Read more about Becoming Visible here: Becoming Visible - from calling to business - 6 week workshop series
