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To create
truly sustainable change, external shifts need to be grounded
in internal shifts – shifts in how we view ourselves, our
options, and our world. As I work with each client, I listen for
values, energy, aspirations, blocks, and threads of new possibility.
Magnifying and mirroring back what I hear, I help clients connect
with their own internal compass.
This
is the heart of InnerCompass Coaching: helping a client tap into
the deep well of energy and possibility that exists when we connect
with the positive forces in our lives – both internal and
external – that make new perspectives possible. This is about
living life from the inside out--with focuses, strategies, and
sources of renewal that strengthen effectiveness, authenticity
and integrity.
To help
clients shift perspective, hone skills, and take appropriate risks,
I coach with two polarities in mind: challenge and
support, and action and reflection. Powerful
questions are central: these questions focus and deepen the reflective
process, uncovering old perspectives and revealing new ones. The
essence of a powerful question is that it's the right question,
at the right time, with the right tone, with the right balance
of challenge and support.
Finishing
recently with a client with whom I'd worked for a year and a half,
I asked what the greatest value had been for him. His reply was
immediate: access to new perspectives. He's right. When we shift
what we perceive, changing our actions comes naturally. When we
do both with the challenge and support of a skilled, committed,
coach – someone who is 100% in our corner – the seemingly
impossible becomes possible. This is the power of coaching.
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 While
coaching is focused on the client, its nice to know a little about
a prospective coach! Prior to my organizational leadership roles
and my formal coaching training, I spent years leading week-long
wilderness-based personal learning programs: Life/Career Renewal
for adults in transition, and Professional Development programs
for organizations. Hundreds of students taught me what works, what
tends to be universal among us, and how to pay deep attention to
individuals. They taught me about the depth of spirit, the patience,
and the courage that it takes to be effective in this work.
My current
coaching venue is a seamless continuation of that earlier work
– one that allows me to contribute to the world, gives me
deep satisfaction, and allows me to maintain a healthy balance
between my work and the rest of my life, which includes co-working
and co-parenting with my OD-consultant husband, Michael Welp,
founder of EqualVoice; raising our delightfully spirited daughter
Lydia; community service; a passion for gardening and travel;
and extensive forays into the woods for rest, rejuvenation, and
renewal.
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