How did you find life coaching?
I was led to pursue a career in coaching after striving to make positive changes in my life. After a career halt in Marketing and Sales due to getting married and shifting country residence, and getting immersed in a new role as full-time invested “Mom”, I decided to upgrade my CV to re-join the working force. I needed to compliment my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Masters’s degree in Psychology. Studying Psychology was only a hobby until I re-enrolled at the university to make my hobby more grounded academically. I graduated again 20 years after my initial graduation and was directly recruited at the university as an instructor. I realized that I don’t just teach my students; I coach them.
As Mark Twain once said, I realized that my vocation was my vacation.
That is when I decided to earn my certification in coaching through the International Coach Academy. I, also, joined the Clinical training program as a psychotherapist. I am currently wrapping up my graduation requirements and have founded my own practice based on my experience in the business world and in my expertise as a psychologist. That led me to focus on life and career coaching and gave my practice a name that reflects my own life journey “Coaching Ur 3Ps (personal and professional progress)”. I did “walk the talk” and progressed in ways that led me to greater life-satisfaction.
How are you using coaching to make a difference?
I am, now, working hard to introduce the profession of coaching in my country. In Lebanon, very few know what “coaching” is. To overcome this concern, I founded the “Lebanese Coach Association” by gathering a group of other practicing coaches in Lebanon. We have a diversified body (in niche terms) that are collaborating efforts to bring awareness to coaching through different activities. The inauguration of the Association will take place sometime soon and we are planning our first free public seminar to introduce the profession and highlight the importance of the service in our community. Our plan does not stop there. Our vision is to create a chapter in Lebanon for the International Coaching Federation and other umbrella coaching bodies in the world. Very few coaching chapters actually exist in the Middle East. The Lebanese Coach Association is, in fact, the first Arab Middle Eastern body to exist so far. My personal vision is to create a self-development center that involves both therapy and coaching in the near future. I would like to be there for others who have difficulty adjusting to life, move them from a dysfunctional mode to more functional terms (through psychotherapy); and partner with them to move from being merely functional to exceptional through coaching. That’s my vision! And am working passionately on continuous personal and professional progress.
What was the most valuable thing you learned at ICA?
I was introduced to the International Coach Academy by accident; yet, everything happens for a reason and those reasons are usually for our own benefit. Joining the International Coach Academy was a life-changing experience. Not only was I able to interact with like-minded people, but the wealth of information I learned through joining had also impacted my life and my career. I learned a lot through the modules. I was probed to reflect on my learning. I started blogging and developed a “know-how” of all I needed to help me and my practice grow. All the learning process was made so time-flexible. I was able to build my career gradually and without having to give my other profession. The transition phase was made so alluring and easy. I consider myself an ambassador for ICA now in my own country – Lebanon; and am constantly directing anyone who is interested in having a career as a coach to follow my lead. We have all to gain and nothing to lose by joining. It’s an awesome experience that I would like to share with others.
Find Out More About Dania at Coaching Ur 3Ps