These are your assignments you must complete for Module 1 prior to our first class webinar (5 May 2020).

Self Study

1. Listen to lesson 1.1 - Welcome Messages from the Program Facilitators
2. Read 1.2 - Course Introduction. Come to class with any questions for facilitators.
3. Read 1.3 - A Brief History of Coaching
4. Read in 1.4 on The Learning Journey and Listen to 1.4.1 - The Learning Journey. Consider a time you learned something new and reflect that to the learning journey. Be prepared to briefly share in class.
5. Listen to 1.5.1 - Podcast - The ICF Core Competencies. Be prepared to share how you think the ICF and its Core Competencies are important to the coaching profession.
6. Complete activities 1.6 (Self-Questionnaire: Is Coaching Right for You?) and 1.7 (Measure Your “Coachability” Temperature). Be prepared to share a couple insights you gained from completing these activities.

Peer Coaching Activities

1. Spend some time getting to know your peer, arrange your schedule etc.
2. Go over the ICF core competencies together. Summarize them between yourselves, just to get a basic understanding of them.
3. Share your findings from the 2 questionnaires and talk about things you would like to work on as a coachee.

Weekly Discussion Question

(submitted AFTER all pre-study work is completed):
In your own words, write a short paragraph of what you think coaching is.

In my opinion, "Coaching is to listen fully, to be present, to help coachees find the solutions in their mind!"
"Together to
Redirect the
Underlying situations to
Solve the problems and
Target on the positives"
TRUST is the key to coaching!!
We won't reach our goals if we can't trust each other during the process.

In my view "Coaching is a process of a coach asking effective questions to help a coachee overcome their own problems through a safe, agreed, respectful , transparent and meaningful engagement taking place in the present"

@shira-liwen-lai Thanks for sharing your opinion and being the first person to comment! :-)

@matumon I like your statement! It embodies a lot of what coaching is really about.

A coach is someone who acts as an ‘active’ mirror for the coachee, who helps :

• organise their thoughts
• the coachee to better understand themselves by replaying their thoughts succinctly
• to enable the coachee to take action to reach their goals, objectives or overcome challenges
• focus on the things they have control over.
• provide structure and vision.
• the coachee think positively, and improve their self-worth.
• the coachee gain self-awareness

A coach should act as a guide to get the coachee from where they are to where they want to be. It's up to the coach to identify the coachee's specific goals and ambitions, then use questioning to coax them to reveal their own solutions. A good coach should listen, question and motivate, all whilst respecting the coachee's values and beliefs, maintaining a professional distance and abiding by the code of ethics.

Thanks @peter-michael - You have put together a clear and accurate description of what a coach does. How this is different from your initial thoughts about coaching?

Thanks for sharing @neil! Which aspect of coaching do you think you will find most challenging based on your statement?

Thanks @peter-michael - You have put together a clear and accurate description of what a coach does. How this is different from your initial thoughts about coaching?

@paul-marks - The piece i was missing was whether advice should be given, where you think you can add value based on past experience or where you may have failed trying similar things. However, based on yesterday's conversation, this has been clarified and im pretty clear in my own mind. What i now need to clarify is whether i should focus on a certain type of coaching (exec, life etc)

Thanks for sharing @neil! Which aspect of coaching do you think you will find most challenging based on your statement?

Based on my teaching habits, it's going to be challenging to keep quiet! But I'm looking forward to using my experience of questioning (as both a teacher and a journalist) and learning how to frame those questions in a coaching capacity.

What is coaching to me?

prior to reading & 1st lesson:

*coach is a trusted partner for one to share one's doubts/challenge in hope to find answers through powerful questions asked by the trusted partner

post 1st lesson:

*coaching is one of the tools in an agreed-upon relationships between two parties where the coach uphold ethical code of conduct and professionalism and has powerful skills including listening without judgement, asking the right questions at the right time, showing humility and have empathy, open-minded and is passionate about supporting the coachee and able to distill the spoken and unspoken language shared by coachee.
Ohh … it will be a journey to pick up so many skills.
I am grateful to also learn about the difference between mentoring and coaching where each has their strengths.

Thank you Tom, Paul and all for sharing your wisdom and experiences!

@foong-sin Thank you for sharing! It seems that you are very clear about what coaching is! Which aspects of coaching do you think will be most challenging for you?
Its a pleasure having you on the program!

@paul-marks Which aspect most challenging? I would say being fully present and not rush into thinking what to say next and let the conversation flow naturally and having the goal in mind. Practice, practice and more practices to achieve this goal. :)
One also need to accept that silence in the coaching session is ok. [Is it really ok? ]