News
News Headlines
By: Kathy Norton, Assistant Professor, Division of Business and Computers at HCC
Today, I serve as an assistant professor in the Division of Business and Computers at HCC. Before I joined the college full-time, I was a certified life coach. My experiences taught me a lot about the value of tapping into a person’s spirit to really understand what is most important to them, along with the steps they can take to achieve their dreams and goals.
Coaching is all about digging deep to understand a person, their goals, what matters most to them, and where they want to go in life. Those who turn to a coach for support do so for a wide range of reasons. Some want to focus on school and improving their grades, some need relationship help, some need guidance on finances, and others are more career focused; they may need support in deciding on a career path or figuring out how to strike a better work/life balance. In all scenarios, it is important to find a way to focus on the positive and to understand that a lot of what we struggle with as individuals boils down to perspective. There might be one difficult or challenging thing happening in your life that becomes so consuming that it is hard to focus on the nine or 10 things happening that are incredibly positive. As a life coach, one of my goals was always to help my clients broaden their view; to see the “big picture” and that a pathway really does exist from where they are today to where they want to be in the future.
One of the most important jobs of a life coach is to encourage clients to believe in themselves and help them see their true potential. Teachers have that job too, as do managers and leaders in both public and private corporate environments. When people believe in themselves, they gain confidence and inspiration, and that is when you get the best out of them. For this reason, I encourage leaders at all levels to make it a priority to really get to know the people you are working with, and to coach them to see their true potential and to give each day their best. When their leader is there, present, open-minded, and invested in their success, they feel it. And then they begin to truly thrive and contribute their best to their organization.