Week 2 Reflective Entry

by Noora Haraholma

I think that our first coaching session was a really interesting experience for all of us. It taught me that the coaching process requires input and active contribution from everybody. Conscious listening, asking questions and reflecting on what the others say really makes a difference. A good coach is able to empower the coachee and to make him feel validated and during the coaching session I noticed that this can be done easily for example by nodding and smiling. This also helps to build the relationship between the coach and the coachee and makes the communication more open and honest.

I was also able to learn a lot more about coaching during our session. Before the session I considered coaching as a development process for the coachee but my own coachee Muriel helped me to see the coaching session as learning process for the coach too. In an ideal coaching relationship both the coach and the coachee are able to get some kind of feedback from each other and therefore they both are also able to develop themselves. I think it was really useful to get feedback from Phuong while he was coaching me. He asked me many questions and made me to justify why I stated something which was a great thing for my learning process.

We were able to go through most of the steps during the role-play. While being coaches we were all listening, making notes and actually paying attention on what the coachee said. Based on this we were able to ask clarifying questions and to summarize the key points that the coachee mentioned.

I am really looking forward to our next coaching session. I feel that we can already express ourselves quite freely and I am interested in seeing how the coaching sessions evolve after we get to know each other even better.