Tribute to Rob Huston

by Terri Hase

On July 3rd, 2014, the global coaching community lost a real friend, and it’s a loss I’ll personally mourn for some time to come. Our dear friend Rob G. Huston, (aka: ‘Rob from Alberta’), passed from this life. Rob’s final days were spent with loved ones, well cared for, and making connections to beloved family.

Rob and I met virtually in 2002, and have been friends ever since. Rob dazzled me by being able to lead teleclasses from a pay phone in the middle of the wilderness, from the top of the ski slopes, and from pay phones in tiny rural diners across Canada! He was always on the go, always willing to find a way to ‘be there’ for class, and be there for the coaches, all of whom he called friends.

We’ve shared many coaching related activities together and a personal friendship I greatly valued. But, through all of the years Rob was in the coaching industry, he was hiding a little known secret that I want to share with you now. It’s this secret, that he let me in on some years back, that is the reason he will be so deeply missed.

In all the years and years of being a coach Rob never built a business. In fact, in total, I don’t think the total number of paid or private clients Rob worked with was over a dozen. This suited Rob just fine! He was never in the industry to build a business: he was here to build “us”. Rob’s number one joy, and total focus for over 12 years, was to make sure that you and I, and every coach he met, was encouraged and uplifted into our potential. Rob was in coaching for the coaches.

Rob lead more teleclasses, study groups, dyads, and triads than any other 10 coaches combined. He took hundreds of hours of classes, dozens and dozens of workshops, and went to many conferences and presentations. He graduated from two different rigorous coach training schools. Rob did not lack skill, nor drive. The thing is, his drive was in being able to see coaches thrive. His joy was in helping every classmate he met to go on to do, be, engage, and grow into the coaches he knew they could be.

For over a decade, Rob Huston was our own, personal, undercover cheerleader and supporter. He was kind, funny, and so willing to volunteer for almost anything, if he felt he could help other coaches succeed. His voice was almost always the first on the line in every class, his hand was always the first one up with comments, (or more often, another provocative question), and his voice is on over 1000 class/conference recordings – seriously. His finger print, his heart print, can be found on over 1000 coaches as well.

Rob studied coaching for us. Rob practiced coaching with us so we could grow to believe we could do it on our own. Rob held our hands. He was the friendly voice in class, and the champion of each of us that knew him.

The coaching world, upon losing Rob Huston, lost a little piece of its heart. Please take a moment in Rob’s spirit, to reach out to another coach, or a classmate, to help lift them today. Help us all heal this loss by carrying forward the spirit of ‘coaches supporting coaches’ to succeed on their own terms. Rob wanted us all to win….and I’m sure he still does.

Please consider sharing your Rob Huston stories on his Facebook page. It’s still up and collecting memories here.