We love sharing this participant story with you in which Paula Ranta reflects upon her course experience just a month after the course and sheds light on what growth means to her.
The course was a fun, intense and inspiring introduction to the world of coaching. The best thing about it was that it gave me the tools and confidence to immediately start practising – after only one weekend.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about my career and what it is that I actually want to do. I have never had a real passion or clear idea of what I want to be when I grow up. I have drifted to different kinds of jobs during the last ten years – administration, research, communications and event production to mention a few. At every job I learned more about what I liked and disliked. Turns out I really really like to work with people! Sometimes it was customer service, sometimes research interviews, sometimes hosting a language café… This realisation (together with my huge interest in personal development and growth) eventually led me to coaching and to WCO’s coaching training, of which I had heard good things about.
What I think about the course now
To be honest, participating in the coaching training was an excellent move from me. It was a fun, intense and inspiring introduction to the world of coaching. The best thing about it was that it gave me the tools and confidence to immediately start practising – after only one weekend. The trainers were true professionals and the weekend was really well structured with a lot of theory and practise. Also the coaching manual we got and the extra videos have been helpful when I have been preparing for my coaching sessions. I feel like I have never learned this much in such a short time. And I certainly found out that I didn’t know what coaching is.
I really recommend the course if you are wondering if coaching could be your thing or if you are eager to get down to business and start practising as soon as possible.
How I started practicing immediately
Now, one month after the course, I am practising coaching with a few volunteer clients. My dream is to eventually work as a career coach and maybe do some other kind of coaching on the side. There is still a lot to learn and it’s fascinating to see how the process works for my coachees. I am really excited about this new journey and turning point in my career!
What I think about growth
Growthroom’s theme for this year is growth. It makes sense, since that’s what coaching is about at its best. To me growth means seeing things in a new light, to learn to question and understand your own behaviour and interpretations that have always been there. It’s learning to decide how you act instead of being on an autopilot, and understanding that there are options how you can behave. I believe that growth begins with becoming aware, and then the real work starts. Growth requires going outside the comfort zone and tolerating some unpleasant feelings. I think all this is very cliché, but also very true. I am convinced that growth is important for all of us and has a huge positive spillover effect, as by growing we become nicer to each other.
Thank you Paula! It has been our pleasure to get to know you and we wish you an insightful coaching journey!
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