Personal Coaching
By Carol Kauder
FIT Staff Writer
Daily Camera

What does a personal coach do?
”Coaching is a partnership with two people to bring the client into a place of integrity aligned with their values, reach goals, discover passions and improve their skills in relationship, so they can be a better person.”

What do you mean by “a place of integrity?
”In the sense of what you feel is right for you. If you are working a job and dread going to the office every day, you are out of integrity. I think that if someone is willing and ready to stop tolerating what they don’t like in life, and they actively seek avenues to support their transition, then anything is possible.” Coaching provides that support, Pike said.

How does the coaching work?
”The majority of my clients I coach over the phone.” At this time, none of Pike’s clients lives in Boulder. They learn about her through word of mouth. “Every week, there is homework.” It might be a written self-assessment test Pike gives the client, or it might involve the client’s taking steps toward the named goal.
’Let’s say you are starting a business. (Your homework might be) five things you need to do to get that business moving forward. “It could be cleaning out your closets.”

She talks with each client about once a week for 30 or 40 minutes, with shorter interactions throughout the week. “Ninety-five percent of the time, I’m listening. I’m listening to what’s being said, and what’s not being said. In that, because I’m totally objective. I can point out things that the client can’t see.”

Will you give an example?
”Someone is angry about something. What is behind that? Usually, someone doesn’t say ‘I’m pissed off because my need for recognition is not being met.’ Usually they tell you they are frustrated about somebody else getting apro9motion. I listen intuitively for the energy behind what is being said. I assess the situation and mirror it back to confirm. Then we set up a solution for the shift.

In the case she describes, it is often a circumstance of someone’s being in the wrong job, she said. “So of course they’re not getting promoted, because they don’t like what they are doing.” The long-term goal is to move the client into a situation that will meet his or her personal needs.

How is it differ4nt from psychological therapy?
”The key difference is therapy looks at behavioral patterns and how to change those. Coaching is very future-oriented. It’s having someone to talk to once a week with 100% unconditional support. It’s not analysis.” Pike said many people have both coaches and therapists, sometimes at the recommendation of the therapist, sometimes the coach.

“As a coach, you recognize when something comes up—it’s not a coaching issue; it’s a therapy issue.”

How is it different from a regular friendship?
”Society is too busy, it is seldom that anyone can spend 40 minutes just listening to you. It’s all about you. And then giving you insight and action to take is really valuable.” Pike herself works with a coach.

“People around you are going to benefit. When people are happy, people around them are happy. In my own life, I’ve noticed huge change.”

What kind of people hire a coach?
Pike said the broad spectrum of clients ranges from the CEO of a company seeking to be a better leader to a person in transition figuring out what to do next to someone simply overwhelmed with managing life.

“It has to be a the person’s choice. Coaches work with people who are ready. It’s really the difference between being a victim of your life or stepping into your power and taking charge of your life.” Pike said it is really important that the person realizes coaching is a partnership—that the coach is not someone who is going to do it for you. Each potential client must first answer several pages of question and meet with Pike for her to determine whether a coaching relationship would be a appropriate.

How did you get involved with personal coaching?
After reading a magazine article., Pike knew coaching was for her. “Basically, I have been doing it all my life, just with friends. It was a skill I already had. I was a natural at it.”

Pike traveled extensively after college and held jobs in several fields, including advertising, river raft guiding and outdoor-gear design. Wherever she went, she said she found herself befriending those in transition and motivating them to make major life changes. “I didn’t realize I was doing it; it just happened.”

She tells a story about being unsatisfied with her position at one company and meeting with the human resources director to discuss options for improving her situation. By the end of their conversation, the H.R. director was in tears and told Pike how much she valued the things Pike said. A week later, the H.R. director quit her job and moved on.

kathy@coachpike.com
503-232-8490
back to articles , home