A Coaching Model Created by Sarah Anna Fiorina
(Performance Coach, SWITZERLAND)

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to introduce you to my coaching model and elaborate on the influence that my model has on me as a coach, my clients as well as on the coaching process.

I was very much inspired by Franklin’s (2019) key of masterful coaching which states that the coach needs to trust in him-/herself, in the client, and the process. To me, this means trusting that everything that is needed will emerge during the coaching conversation. Everything that is needed is within the client and everything that is needed is within the coach. So, for me, the base for a powerful, transformational coaching session is to trust that “all you need is you”.

Like a star, that is combined with multiple tips to shine, we also have multiple tips in our lives with things that are important to us. Important to understand is that at the center of the star is YOU. And that’s all you need – you. You have everything in you to live the life that you want.

Me as a coach

I am at a very comfortable place to say that everything that I have achieved in my life, comes from within me. It was not always that way. I have lived quite a lot of years with an attitude, that life happens to me instead of for me and I saw myself quite often as a victim of the circumstances. In hindsight, one could call it luck – I call it destiny, but it was only in my early twenties, that I met a person who talked to me first about the power of thoughts and that every one of us is responsible for our own happiness. At first, this idea was so distant to me, but then I started to read books and watch movies about the subject. The more I read, the more I realized that my friend was right and that it was me and only me deciding how to live my life. Also, I began to apply the principles to change my life to a life that I wanted to live. Slowly but steadily, things started to change, and thinking of it now, I can barely grasp that I did not understand this before.

As of today, I can say that I love my life and I know that everything that I have and everything that I am is because I always had it in me. I had the right questions to ask in me, I had answers in me, strategies, solutions, and visions.

Professional-wise, I am advancing in my career and have a very nice job. This did not happen because of the circumstances, it happened because I applied for jobs, I did well in the interviews, I proved my worth when I was working at the different jobs and I tried my best. I had everything in me to make this happen and I am confident that it will continue this way.

The way I started with my coaching practice also emerged from within. Nobody told me that I should, can, would need to start to be a coach. It was me deciding for it, taking the classes, show up for peer coaching, and put effort into it. It was all in me.

I am also a very happy mum of a beautiful song and I love to spend time with him and enjoy the quality of our relationship. Even though it was scary at the beginning, I know now that I have everything in me to be the best possible mum.

And so the list could go on, and on, and on for every aspect of my life. Even though I do not want to focus on them, but of course there are also negative aspects in my life. And as it turns out, they also happened or are happening because of me. I am in full control and can decide every day how I react to what is happening.

It was always me making the decisions, it was me taking the steps and it was me cleaning up after I did something wrong. I t was me deciding how to live my life and how to approach tasks or problems. It has always been, is, and will always be me and I know that I have everything within me that is needed.

Because I know this so well, I also know and trust that my clients also have everything they need to live the life they want– all they need is within them!

My clients

I see my client as the perfect human being they are and trust that they have everything within them that they need. My ideal clients are working mums (or Supermoms). They come from very different places in this world, but they all work in a global environment, which means that they deal on a day-to-day basis with customers, colleagues, bosses, peers, clients from all around the world, in various languages. They know the challenges and hassles that come with it well.

Being a mom itself can already be a very demanding challenge, the same applies to a job that involves dealing with people on a global scale. Those two combined means that there is a lot of strengths required from the moms to perform well – AND, not to forget, even have the energy to take care of themselves, of relationships, hobbies, etc.

My ideal supermom clients know that they want more in life, and subconsciously or consciously they know that there is more. However, they don’t know how to get to that “more”. The clients may be part of an environment that is not supporting, not confident to step out of the comfort zone, or feel stuck.

Nevertheless, my ideal client is proactive and open to new things. In the course, but definitely at the end of our coaching relationship, my clients know that all they need is within them (all you need is you!).

My coaching process

My coaching process starts with discussing the vision of my client. Once having the vision we work on filling the gap from where she is today to where she wants to be.

For all the coaching process steps it is important to be aware that everything is within us, however, it is most crucial for the step of filling the gap between where a client is and where she wants to be. Many Supermoms know how they would love to live their life, but they feel stuck because they don’t know how to get there.

I will serve my clients in creating the awareness that there is a possibility to live the life they want and to see that there is more. Plus, they will gain the awareness that they have everything in them to get what they need and want to live the life they want. Along the way, I see my role as a coach to support my client when it comes to make a step out of her comfort zone and encourage her to celebrate the successes in between. My coaching is transformational and can change the life of a client forever. I trust that all he/she needs is in her/him, therefore I work with the model “all you need is you”.

 

References

Franklin, M., 2019. The Heart Of Laser-Focused Coaching. Wilmington: Thomas Noble Books, p.24.