Lessons from the Certifiers

 

Ask the Certifiers: Maintaining Authenticity
by
Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC

Q: Can you find and maintain your authenticity as a coach using the Masteries?

A: For me, the Masteries have become my self-awareness touchstone. Over the
years I have found that any learning, understanding or studying I’ve done
on my personal journey embodies the qualities I most revere within the Masteries.
It’s that simple. And it’s that deep.

This personal journey is where I find the strength of my truest self as a coach.

In coaching conversations, often a client’s desire to be authentic emerges.
This is a powerful and yet often elusive concept. What does it mean to be authentic?
This word keeps popping up in business, personal development, pop culture and
so on.

For me, it comes down to the distinction of “be” authentic vs.
“be authentic.”

Take a moment to contemplate that distinction.

We can all appreciate how to “be authentic.” We can use facts and
figures and values and speak from our integrity. As coaches we follow a certain
code of ethics and coaching standards. We are authentic in our desire to help
our clients maximize their potential, clarify their important goals and create
the environments that are most meaningful for them.

But masterful coaching requires more than this. It invites us to model authenticity
for our clients in a way that is profoundly deeper than the surface of doing
authenticity.

I’ll demonstrate using a couple of the Masteries.

In Mastery #3, the coach must be alert to the discrepancies in the client’s
communication. Does the timbre and tone of his/her voice match the words being
used or the emotion being expressed? How often do you find yourself in a situation
where you hold back your expressions, or judge the way you are feeling about
something? We all do to one extent or another, for a variety of reasons. It
isn’t good or bad, or right or wrong, but it is valuable information into
the authenticity of one’s self expression. Tuning in to your own way of
expressing creates an awareness that will allow you to see where you may be
having trouble with genuine expression. It doesn’t mean to blurt everything
you have to say? All out at once, it is simply a way to notice, reflect, then
decide what you’d like to do with the information you’re holding
back?

Mastery #6 points to the distinction of Source vs. Symptom. When we don’t
go beyond what the client sees as an issue, or a block or a challenge, and venture
into the reasons hiding behind the challenge, we are more apt to coach about
a situation rather than the “who” of the client. Are there times
you avoid looking past the symptom in your life? Do you notice the same unwanted
things showing up time and again? This can often turn to blame, or looking outside
yourself for a cause, which can cast a shadow on your authentic self. Being
responsible for the events in your life is another way you can shine a light
on the true, wonderful you and get to your source.

The Masteries can provide the roadmap for growth for our clients, and when
we are dedicated to our own authenticity, they are our roadmap as well.

Please share your thoughts on this important topic!

Do you have a question that you’d like to ask the certifiers?
Submit your questions here: http://certifiedcoachblog.typepad.com/blog/ask-the-certifiers.html.

Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, is the Lead Certifier and a certifying
examiner at the IAC, as well as Past-President. Natalie is founder
of Ageless-Sages.com Publishing (www.ageless-sages.com),
and creator of the literary genre, Picture Books for Elders™.
 

Please send your questions on the IAC Coaching Masteries^®
and the certification process to certification@certifiedcoach.org.