I started coach training last week. I’m doing the Foundations course from Mentor Coach, a training program aimed at “helping professionals” and rooted in positive psychology. I first heard of Mentor Coach from Karen Shue, whom I met with for coffee one morning a few months back. She only had good things to say about the program and especially the wonderful Mentor Coach community.
One week in means one hour (plus homework) in, so I don’t have too much to report. My teacher for this 31-week course is Ann-Marie McKelvey, a psychotherapist, coach, and Buddhist chaplain. (I’m fascinated by this combination.) The first assignment was to do a phone interview with a fellow student and then write a brief profile to post to the course listserv. Me and my partner did ours last week, and the others are slowly coming in. I’m excited to learn more about the people I’ll be learning with and from over the next several months!
In time, I can see myself working one-on-one and in groups with people transitioning out of academia. I see this as one pillar of my future professional life. We’ll see how things go. In the meantime, wish me luck with all the learning and doing!
