A Coaching Model Created by Yuri Cavallin
(Career Coach, SPAIN)
Introduction
I would like to become a career coach, helping young people identify what are their passion, their values, and support them while they build the career they want.
When I imagine this process I picture a train, one of the old models, a steam train. Those heavy train who needed a huge amount of coal just to make a little step, to move a few inches, but which after a while we’re able to keep going by themselves, simply adding a little bit of coal from time to time.
When I think about this scenario I like to associate it with starting a new career. In the beginning, the client will need to put in a lot of passion, a lot of effort without seeing any results. This process will be long, it might exhaust him, and he doesn’t even know when he’ll start moving forward. The only thing he can do is keep putting coal, trusting in himself, trusting that this will make him move towards the direction of his dreams.
The good news is that after the first efforts, he’ll start moving, he’ll start seeing some little results, and with these results, he’ll start confidence, so he’ll be even more determined to keep putting coal, to keep pushing himself. After a while the train will start gaining speed, it will start moving by itself, and he’ll be able to reduce the number of efforts required, he’ll just need to make sure the train never stops, but he’ll have overcome the initial impact.
For me starting a new career is just like that. You need to find what is your coal, what is the thing that will make you move forward, what is that passion that will help you gain speed and make your move in the direction of your goals. Once you find it you transform it in efforts and put it inside the train, inside yourself, and start making progress, week after week, month after month, until the train can leave the station and be free.
Moving the train
I’ve been reading several books regarding finding an ideal career, and I’ve been living on myself the experience of searching for one for myself. From my learnings, I designed a model that will help my clients discover what they like, what are their values and build a plan to start a new career.
Test
At the moment a client feels lost, confuse, unsure of what he should be doing, his only option is to start exploring himself. It’s easier to simply stay still and keep repeating “I don’t know what I could do” to himself; everyone can do it, and actually most people choose to stay where there because they don’t know what else they might be doing.
This phase consists of inviting him to start testing, start exploring the unknown. Staying still will not support him, it will cause his feeling of frustration to increase and just making him feel worse. Asking him a powerful question, to move his consciousness is the only option. Testing himself, putting in doubt everything he knows about himself, forcing him to think as if he was a kid again will boost his curiosity and energy.
Testhimself and explore the unknown. There is where his answer waits.
Resistance
A natural response to this process is resistance. His mind will be pushing against the changing, will suggest he stay where he is, even if it makes him suffer, just because it’s easier to stand still instead of moving. It’s important to help him understand that this resistance is normal, it’s a natural reaction towards something new and unknown, and support him in dealing with it.
In this phase, the client must understand what the consequence of not acting might be, and what are instead the positive ones if he’ll be able to overcome his mind’s resistance.
Attrition
Apart from the client’s fear, a new way of acting and thinking will cause attrition with what surrounds him. His family and friends will start looking at him differently. He might have less time to spend with them, making feeling him selfish because he only thinks about himself.
It’s important to help him realize that to be the best version for their dear ones, he must take care of himself, and do what’s best for him. He must be able to absorb this concept and at the same time communicate it with his surroundings.
A change will always bring new behaviors and the response from the client’s family and friends might cause attrition. It’s important to support the client dealing with it.
Inspire
During the session, to support the client overcome his doubts and fears, it’s useful to inspire him. Whenever he feels he might not be able to do it, it’s important to remind him of his strengths, his reasons for making this change, what the outcome of this change will be.
Keeping his motivation high, sessions after sessions is crucial to support him in this journey. Remember his original reason and inspire him with other’s success stories is a good way for doing that.
New behaviors
The client will need to build new behaviors to achieve this new career. Working together we’ll make sure he’ll design them correctly and will stick to them. Studying on the weekends, saving more money at the end of the month, saying no to the beer with friends after soccer. It will not be easy to introduce a new change in his life.
That’s whereas a coach I’ll support him perfectly designing them that he’ll be able to stick to.
Conclusion
Making a career shift is not an easy task. Moving a huge steam train is not an easy task. That’s why a coach is important in this delicate phase of a person’s life. With my support the client will receive the right questions to discover himself, he’ll realize the best way to deal with his fears, with his dear ones and he’ll make a realistic plan for himself he’ll be able to stick to.
Working together, this big change will be easier and funnier, as the client will not be alone in this difficult phase, receiving the constant support of a career coach.