Contemplating Life’s Choices

It’s official! I completed the Embrace Change Coaching Certification program as part of the inaugural cohort I officially got the final confirmation that I passed the certification requirements.

This program required live online classes, peer coaching, mentor coaching, self-paced work, and real coaching.

As someone who has mixed feelings about certifications, and other forms of paper ceilings, I wasn’t sure I needed a formal program to dictate if I was or was not worthy or capable of coaching someone.

I had plenty of evidence over time of my ability to coach and mentor people. I decided to take a chance on this program because of the unique difference that it was built by and for coaches of color to coach clients of color.

One of the things I’ve seen in my insatiable quest for knowledge and wisdom, was that so many science based, research backed, best practice driven programs always missed the nuance and experiences of diverse folks.

If I was going to be a coach I wanted to know how to best support people who weren’t currently being centered in existing practices, who’s lived experiences weren’t taken into account, and who wanted to connect with someone who could truly empathize and understand what they were going through.

This isn’t to say I’m an expert in all facets of diversity and I have a tremendous amount of privilege in many ways, however, that doesn’t negate the fact that what I’ve wanted most for myself continues to not exist in a meaningful way.

So, I jumped in to the ECCC program in a year that was already full of other learning experiences and a lot of chaos at work. It was hard, at times I wasn’t sure I’d finish the program, and in the end it was 100% worth it.

I met some of the most incredible people in the other coaches that joined this group. I loved learning from the mentor coaches and instructors and through it all I confirmed I already had the foundation for being a good coach.

Now it’s on to continuing to develop my capabilities, to be the best coach I can for others, and to create more of the work I wish I had access to growing up.

If you want to learn more about what I’m offering through my coaching work you can visit this page. I can’t wait to see what comes from doing this work and building some of the cool programs and experiences I have in mind.