Michelle Gasiorowski of Bowman & Co
Professional coaches, personal development coaches, life coaches—I have always felt as though this was something I did not need and could not benefit from. I was wrong!
Through a program at my Firm, I had the opportunity to use a professional life coach. One of my colleagues and I were paired with a coach to see if it was something others in the Firm would benefit from. I told myself to go into the experience with an open mind because, again, this is something that I thought I did not “need.” Despite having doubts, I was appreciative of the opportunity and admittedly a bit curious too!
As I sat down for my first session, I was skeptical and cautious; I listened closely, took notes and answered the coach’s questions when needed. The coach told me that I could take these sessions in any direction I wanted and encouraged me to come to the meetings with things I wanted to discuss. After a few more sessions, I found myself more relaxed and trusting of the coach. As I shared more and more details about my background, I started to gain clarity about what these sessions were going to accomplish. The coaching I never thought was ‘for me’ now felt like the missing key to my professional pursuits.
I found the coach to be a sounding board that helped me recognize and process both areas of victory and conflict. Her familiarity with my industry paired with being outside of the organization made the experience particularly rewarding. This dichotomy allowed the career coach to understand the hurdles of scaling in my position while advising objectively without bias or possibility for organizational consequences. With each continued session, my trust in the coach and what we working to accomplish grew stronger. We started to develop a plan, or rather a rough idea of what goals and topics we were going to work on. A plan that focused on closing the gap between where I was and where I hoped to be in the future.
We have identified, discussed and worked on:
- Short-term and long-term goals
- Strengths and weaknesses to improve upon
- Explored marketing my specialties
- Self-awareness in daily activities
- Personal accountability
- Making the transition into a new role in my firm
- Having the mindset of a business owner
One of my greatest takeaways from our sessions has been taking on a business owner mindset instead of an employee perspective. Regardless of the type or size of an organization, it is easy to become consumed by small hiccups. Instead of being caught up in the nitty-gritty details of day-to-day operations, her insight helped me focus on the bigger picture. Through the business owner mindset, I was able to envision and work towards my career goals in the small actions. A year ago, I would have typically looked for the most efficient way to complete a job, while allowing the quality of my work to speak for itself. Since working with a career coach, I consciously recognize opportunities to market my expertise in the completion of tasks. This newly achieved mindset lets me weave my career objectives into actionable measures taken on a daily basis.
I am very happy to admit I was wrong and that I look forward to my coaching calls. On a personal level, I truly enjoy talking to the coach and like her style of coaching, personality and honesty. If you think coaching is not for you—I encourage you to take a second look at it, be open minded and give it a try.
Michelle Gasiorowski of Bowman & Co