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The Best Coaches and Teachers Have Something in Common

- August 17, 2011 | by April -

{Personal Image}

The best coaches {and teachers} love to learn. I’d even go as far as to say that they love learning just as much as they love coaching and teaching.

I’m not just saying this, because I love learning {even though I do}. I’ve always felt that I could be a lifelong student. I’d love to get degrees in photography, creative writing, and design. I’m constantly considering new skills I want to learn and classes that I could take. In the past year, I’ve paid for consulting with a professional photographer, participated in a group coaching program, and joined an online learning community to learn more about Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I’ve taken learning into my own hands and make time for learning new things every day.

This type of learning helps a lot, but the type of learning that I’m really referring to is learning more and more about one’s profession. Learning about what makes their clients tick, what motivates them, how they learn, and how to connect with them. If a coach is excited about the learning process, it’ll make a huge difference in her practice.

I know this makes me a better coach. I know this through experience, but I also know this because research in psychology proves it.

“The great teachers believe in the growth of intellect and talent, and they are fascinated with the process of learning.” –Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

There are basically two types of coaches and teachers.

The first type believes in natural ability and fixed talent and intellect. If you’re an artist and you don’t show a high level of talent, they think it’d be a waste to spend a lot of time on you, because you won’t ever be one of the greats. This type of teacher focuses all of her time on the students who show the most ability or intellect at the beginning.

The second type believes in growth and the power of effort. If you’re an artist and you don’t show a high level of talent, they think you need to put in more time and effort. You need to practice basic skills and then learn more advanced skills. You need time to grow and evolve. You haven’t reached your full potential, and they feel it’s their job to help you reach that full potential.

If you feel like you fit in the first type, you can change things if you want to. You’re not stuck! There’s always room for growth and improvement.

Great coaches {business coaches, life coaches, sports coaches} understand that effort and grit get you to the top.

These coaches push their clients to learn and grow within their fields. They help their clients take away positives from their failures. They don’t praise their clients when they haven’t earned it. They tell their clients the truth—in a nurturing and nonjudgmental way.

When a client asks, “Why aren’t the sales rolling in?” the coach doesn’t say, “Don’t worry. You’re so amazing and your products are so amazing. It’ll happen so soon—maybe this week!” The coach says something like, “I know it seems like it’s taking a while to build momentum, but the truth is that building an online business takes a lot of effort and often takes more time than we’d like it to. Even though we all wish for overnight success, it very rarely happens. You worked really hard to get five new products listed in your shop this past week and it paid off with your first sale! Let’s focus on the basic stuff that needs to happen this upcoming week to make more progress.”

These coaches don’t let their egos get in the way. They realize that they don’t know it all, and they don’t pretend to know it all. They understand that not knowing something doesn’t mean they aren’t good at what they do—it’s just not in their area of expertise. They either point the client in the direction where she can find the answer or they figure out the answer through research and learning.

Three examples that rock my world.

Participating in a group coaching program co-led by Marie Forleo was one of the best examples of great coaching that I’ve experienced. She pays close attention to the person she’s talking to and focuses on engaging that person. She knows how to motivate others to change while telling them the truth. Marie doesn’t have a problem saying something like, “If you’re not making any money, you don’t have a business.” She follows it with actionable advice on how to change it so you are making money. And, Marie will be the first one to tell you that you’ve got to work hard for it.

I’ve never received coaching from The When I Grow Up Coach, Michelle Ward. Mainly because I knew what I wanted to do with my life before I met Michelle, but I can guarantee if I’d been in that “oh gosh-I’m a hot mess-and I don’t know what to pursue” phase, I’d have handed her my debit card. From the conversations that we’ve had, I know that Michelle is the type of coach who believes in hard work and motivates the people she works with to make serious changes.

Danielle LaPorte is another lovely lady who stands out in my mind as truthful, inspiring, and straightforward. A few months ago I listened to a coaching call where Danielle called someone out on his website. She let him know that his site didn’t do his business justice and if he wanted to reach his goals, he’d need to revamp it. She wasn’t mean or uncaring. In fact, she was the opposite. You could tell that she really cared about helping this person succeed, and she wasn’t going to help him succeed if she didn’t get honest with him and help him grow.

Okay, why am I talking about this?

I haven’t talked about coaching before on Blacksburg Belle, but over the last couple months, I’ve realized that I have a good number of coaches and teachers {and aspiring coaches and teachers} reading my blog. I’ve consulted with creative entrepreneurs who want to teach their craft. I’ve talked to successful artists who want to help other artists become successful. So, I thought that every once in a while I’d include a post for those of you who want to teach or coach. I hope you find it helpful!

13 Comments · Filed Under: Coaching and Teaching

Comments

  1. Stacy aka Stacybeads says

    August 17, 2011 at 7:16 am

    Nice post! One of my jobs is teaching knitting lessons, and I encourage my students to practice, practice, practice. Sometimes I’ll have a student who catches on immediately, which is great, but many don’t. I don’t ever want the latter to feel that they can’t do it just because they are taking a little longer to “get it.”

    Reply
    • April says

      August 17, 2011 at 8:21 am

      Thanks Stacy! Ohhhh…you teach knitting lessons…how fun! I’m trying to learn how to knit something besides a scarf this year 🙂

      When I learned how to knit, I found it to be all about repetition–the more I did it, the better I got and the fewer mistakes I made. So practice, practice, practice definitely helped me!

      Reply
  2. Meagan says

    August 17, 2011 at 8:37 am

    Great post April! I liked the part where you said that coaches “realize they don’t know it all & they don’t pretend to know it all”. That’s probably one of the biggest turn-offs to coaches IMO. If they act like their way is best & they’ve got all the answers…it’s a bit of a red flag. I’ve seen several “coaches” out there that seem like they’re always posting & tweeting their disagreements with others. Not someone I’d want mentoring me, you know! And in a way, we’re all teachers in some form or another. I think this lifelong learning is good to put into practice no matter if your considered a “coach” or not. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • April says

      August 17, 2011 at 8:57 am

      Thanks Meagan! I think it’s easy to feel like you need to know it all when that’s not what people are looking for–clients want coaches to be themselves and be honest. That’s a really good point that we’re all teachers. So true! Parents teach their children, supervisors teach their employees, etc.

      I hope your pregnancy is going really well!

      Reply
  3. Jessica Jones says

    August 17, 2011 at 9:18 am

    …and on that note, it’s time I started working my way through your “Make It Big” library! Great article, even for a crafter. Cultivating a love of learning is so important, and I feel the same way about being a lifelong student. I’d study archaeology, women’s history, horticulture, and graphic design.

    Reply
    • April says

      August 17, 2011 at 9:30 am

      Hahahaha…do it! It’s definitely true for crafters as well–the more you practice and the more you learn about your craft, the better you’ll be.

      Reply
  4. Michelle | When I Grow Up Coach says

    August 17, 2011 at 11:53 am

    Stop your face right now! What a lovely gift awaitin’ me in my Google Reader today. Thanks for your kind words about me, and for writing this post to begin with! So appreciate ya, Miss April.

    Reply
    • April says

      August 17, 2011 at 4:55 pm

      No, I will not stop my face right now!

      Glad it was a fun little treat for today 🙂

      Reply
  5. Meg says

    August 17, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    So true! Years ago I heard one of my favorite teachers say, “Our job is not to find talented students, but to find the talents WITHIN students.” It’s been my motto for teaching, and for pretty much everything else, ever since. Because when you’re face-to-face with somebody and you really *recognize* their unique gifts, they feel it in their gut. And THAT is one of the greatest motivators to get that hard work done! Thanks for the great post!

    Reply
    • April says

      August 17, 2011 at 4:56 pm

      Love that Meg! Thank you so much for sharing!

      Reply
  6. Erin Giles says

    August 17, 2011 at 6:43 pm

    Thank you April, it was helpful and I definitely need these types of articles:)!

    Reply
    • April says

      August 18, 2011 at 8:32 am

      So glad you found it helpful 🙂

      Reply
  7. Erin says

    August 18, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    These three are such great picks! They are all fabulous teachers and coaches in their own rights. Thanks for highlighting 🙂

    Reply

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