‘LIFE-COACHING COULD HELP INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY’
BY SEMEEN GHAZI (Contributor)

14 May 2005

Coaches Training Institute (CTI), a US-based organisation, accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF), is all set to commence its Dubai operations. Starting this month, in partnership with PF ...

Interaction Coaching and Development of Dubai, CTI will start its world-class basic, intermediate and advanced Co-Active Coach Training programme for individuals and organisations in the UAE.

Over the last decade, more than 11,000 coaches, consultants, managers and new career explorers have developed coaching, leadership, and business development competencies through CTI.

While the CTI programme is ideal for anyone who wishes to further their skills as an executive coach or a life-coach, it is particularly useful for professionals working in the fields of human resources, directors of large corporations, individuals in a leadership positions, managers, training managers, consultants, in-house coaches, teachers and counsellors.

CTI's Co-Active Coaching Method has captured the imagination of thousands of managers, leaders, and coaches in the United States, UK, Norway, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Australia and Spain.

In addition to the public courses, CTI will also offer tailor made, in-house workshops for individual companies.

Gonan Premfors, Co-Active Coach of PF Interaction Coaching and Development, was a financial advisor handling more than 190 clients simultaneously. Her ability to connect with people has always played a powerful part in her career.

Her formal training as a coach helped her channel her talents into a structured coaching format. In 2004, Gonan graduated from the CTI (United States).

She is presently pursuing a six months certification programme with CTI. Her vision is 'to touch as many people and organisations as possible with coaching, in order to help increase the quality of their lives and organisations' She is a member of the ICF, and all her training programmes are accredited by the federation.

City Times caught up with her to know more about coaching.

Why and how does life-coaching work?
It is our nature to keep on learning and improving. Coaching is simply a tool, which helps us realise a sense of fulfilment.

There is always room for improvement, no matter how happy or successful you are. If you are ready to be honest with yourself, coaching could change your life.

Life-coaching is a dialogue between the coach and the client, where the role of the coach is to ask questions. My role as a coach is to help the client find his or her own answers.

What is its importance in today's corporate world?
From the corporation's point of view, coaching could help increase productivity, offering better quality, organisational strength, increased customer satisfaction, higher employee retention, cost reduction and as a result increases profitability.

Do you coach people from different walks of life or provide training to people to become life-coaches?
I work with people who come from all walks of life and my clients include government employees, professional sports people, business owners and business professionals.

When I realised the impact of coaching, I decided to bring training courses to the Middle East. Now companies and organisations can benefit by having their own leaders trained as coaches to shift their styles. In addition, our training courses enable individuals to become professional coaches and life-coaches themselves.

Do you follow any life-coaching models?
Yes. The specific coaching programme we use is called Co-Active coaching. It is a brand just like Gucci and when you go to a Gucci store you know that quality and service will be at the highest level. The same applies to this coaching model. Co-Active coaching follows the highest standards worldwide, no matter where you are. As long as your coach is a certified Co-Active coach you will always get the same quality.

How long does it take to qualify as a coach?
There is one basic course, which stands on its own. Anybody can take this course to gain a better understanding about coaching. I would recommend this initial course to managers, leaders, department heads, parents, counsellors, consultants or simply anybody who is dealing with people. Following the introduction course, there are four intermediate levels. These courses are more for people who are coaching people at the work place or for someone who wants to become a professional coach. CTI believes in training in person, therefore, all these courses are conducted in person. These five CTI courses and a total 116 ICF accredited training hours will see you graduate as a coach. Following the graduation, there is a strenuous six-month certification programme. In order to become a certified coach you will have to pass a series of written and oral exams.

Are you a certified instructor?
I am not an instructor or what we call a 'leader', but a CTI and ICF accredited coach, This means that I am qualified as a professional Co-Active coach —I have completed the five courses mentioned above and that I have a minimum of 116 accredited coaching hours training. I am currently in the middle of my certification programme. The courses we are offering in Dubai are conducted by instructors who are flown in especially for the events.

Is there any organisation that monitors the professional coaching ethics, training and practices?
The International Coach Federation actively monitors the coaching marketplace. Their primary function is to inform the general public what coaching is, how to find professional coaches worldwide and implement the code of ethics within their members.

You were once associated with the hotel industry and then worked as a financial advisor. Why did you switch to life-coaching?
It was a natural transition, as connecting with people always played a very powerful role in my career. In coaching, we help individuals improve every aspect of their life and finance is just one of them. Now I deal with every aspect of my client's life rather and not just their finance.

What is the scope for life-coaching in Dubai?
Coaching is a new industry in this part of the world. Judging from my experience and our success, I see a great future for coaching in the UAE.