This is an audio recording of a live Q&A from 03 August 2021 with me (Ross Nichols), hosted by ICF UK: ICF - Event (coachingfederation.org.uk)

The topic is a discussion of my 3 articles published by ICF UK June-August 2021, which are also available on this blog:

• Coaching the Human #1: Love
• Coaching the Human #2: Shadow
• Coaching the Human #3: Being

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Further to my previous articles in this series, ‘Coaching the Human #1: Love’ in early May; and ‘Coaching the Human #2: Shadow’ in early June, here is the third article, ‘Coaching the Human #3: Being’, which was published in early July as part of the ICF wellbeing series.  These 3 articles form a trilogy of what I’ve learned on this amazing journey that we share as coaches.

COACHING THE HUMAN #3: BEING

The Importance of Being

We are known as Human Beings yet most of us in the...

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Adverse life experiences can cast a shadow over people’s lives, yet I find myself drawn to my clients’ shadow side. What is the client’s shadow?  It’s their dark side, the place inside they don’t want to look at, that’s often been suppressed for many years, unacknowledged but hanging over them and casting a shadow over their life.  The shadow holds powerful emotions that are hard to live with, such as guilt, grief, shame and fear – is it any wonder that people don’t want to go...

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I’ve heard it said that there are only 2 forces in the universe: love, and the absence of love.  In the Elizabethan era play, ‘Dr Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe (a contemporary of Shakespeare), when asked about hell, the fallen angel Mephistopheles replies,

“Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss?”

Just as the absence...

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In early 2020, I had a ‘pinch me, am I dreaming?’ moment: I realised that everything I wanted in my coaching practice had been manifesting for over a year.  This was a surreal experience, seeing ‘success’ in the rear-view mirror without realising that this had become my new normal.  This got me wondering: how did I get here?

What is success anyway?   I’d written a detailed vision statement when I started coaching and it was all now happening, albeit in surprising ways that I had no...

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If the International Coach Federation’s (ICF) core competencies are the crown in its ‘crown jewels’ (and in my view they are!) then the ICF Code of Ethics is it’s sceptre. The Code is reviewed every 3 years and I find the revised Code, effective from 01 January 2020, to be a welcome ‘refresh’ and easier to use.
ICF members need to understand the Code in order to comply with ICF coaching competence No 1, ‘Demonstrates Ethical Practice: understands and consistently applies coachin...

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The International Coach Federation’s (ICF) core competencies are its ‘crown jewels’ – and they are now even better! 

Following a rigorous, 24-month coaching practice analysis, the ICF announced an updated ICF Coaching Core Competency Model in November 2019.  Additionally, a new ICF Code of Ethics came into effect in January 2020.

If you want to coach under the ICF banner, then you need to be familiar with the updated ICF Core Competency Model and Code of Ethics.  If you are not y...

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I undertook some time ago to speak more about my mental health simply to help de-stigmatise the subject and encourage others to be more open about mental health issues.  Inspired by Sam Ortyl, I’m now following through on this.  This is a post on how my relationship with uncertainty drives my anxiety and how understanding a model of social threat has helped me.

I recently stumbled across an article in ‘Project’ magazine (Issue 298, spring 2019, p. 28-33) entitled ‘Walking in Fog’...

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‘Flying is easy; it’s take-off and landing that are difficult.’ (Anon)

I’ve been an ICF-registered mentor-coach for 4 years, supporting other coaches to gain their ICF credentials.  I’ve noticed some common patterns in the recorded sessions I critique and I share my observations here to help new coaches improve.

With reference to the flying quote, one way to consider a coaching session is in 3 phases: take-off, in-flight, and landing.  Let’s look at each of these.

TAKE-OFF

I...

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From 8-14 May 2019, I walked the WW1 battlefields of ‘Flanders Fields’ in a personal pilgrimage of remembrance, sleeping rough under my old Army poncho and fundraising for #homesforveterans: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ross-Nichols

I did this for 3 reasons:

1.  I'm the organiser of Salisbury International Coaching Week. We have been hosted annually since 2017 by a Salisbury-based charity, Alabare.co.uk, free of charge, so I would like to give something back to recognise th...

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Before starting my coaching Diploma, I mapped out what I needed to do to earn the ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential from the ICF.  The criteria are set out clearly on the ICF website: https://coachfederation.org/icf-credential  I built my log of coaching hours and set out to meet all the criteria required by the ICF so that I could apply for ACC at the earliest opportunity.  As it happened, I had everything in place on completion of the Animas Diploma.  My ACC certificate arrived i...

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BUSINESS PLAN FOR COACHES: ADVENTURE, INTUITION, TRUST

Further to my recent posts on Start-up for Coaches and Personal Branding for Coaches, few self-employed coaches have a business plan.  We all keep putting it off; frankly, most of us would rather go to the dentist!  A conventional business plan can be helpful however it’s my experience that the energy and commitment in the coach is more important for business success than the coach’s written plan.  If your business comes from your ...

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PERSONAL BRANDING FOR COACHES: MOTIVATION, VALUES, INTENTIONS
Further to my recent post [‘Business Start-up for coaches: Labels; Niche; Style'], I’ve been reflecting on how coaches establish their personal brand. New coaches can get hung up on the trappings of branding, such as business name, logo, strap line and so on. These are important, yet superficial. What’s more important is the experience your prospects and clients have when engaging with you. In my view, the key to creating a b...

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In recent sessions with start-up coaches, I’ve noticed some common issues around how coaches describe themselves and present themselves to the market place.  Here is my suggestion, which may be helpful for new coaches launching their practice.

There are 3 related issues: what labels you give yourself, the niche you are aiming at and your coaching style.  Let’s look at each of these in turn.

LABELS. 

This needs to be clear and simple so people who are looking for the service you offe...

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During a coaching session yesterday, I was asked what I thought coaching was. The session was recorded (with mutual consent) and the client transcribed my answer and emailed it back to me later. I share it here as it feels appropriate.
For context my coaching style is 'Transpersonal': working with the client's values, energy, vitality and spirit in an intuitive way. I coach for business, career, wellness and cancer and I'm drawn to coaching with the client's shadow side, which I've previou...

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As I prepare for my talk on 'Wellness Coaching' to the Salisbury Coaching Circle on 25 October, I thought I'd write a poem about wellness. The talk is based on a chapter I've contributed to the inaugural book by the Cancer Coaching Community due publication in 2019. Heather Nichols (my wife) has also contributed a poem, which I include here.

Here are the 2 poems: 'I Want to be Well' and 'Un-wellness Poem'

I want to be Well

When someone says, ‘I want to be well’,
do we reach for a pill or...

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Do you ever walk mindfully?  Another beautiful summer morning drew me outdoors for a walk around the enchanting Iron Age hillfort of Old Sarum just north of Salisbury in Wiltshire.  I can see it from my kitchen window and it often calls me to walk around it.  So far so normal however as I stepped off gravel pathways and onto grass, on a whim I took my trainers and socks off and went barefoot.  This had instant and surprising effects: I slowed down and became more aware of where I was placin...

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I find myself drawn to my client’s shadow side. What is the client’s shadow?  It’s their dark side, the place inside they don’t want to look at, that’s often been suppressed for many years, unacknowledged but hanging over them and casting a shadow over their life.  The shadow holds powerful emotions that are hard to live with, such as guilt, grief, shame and fear – is it any wonder that people don’t want to go there?  And yet the unresolved shadow always follows them, holding ...

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I was delighted to be asked to run a career planning workshop for the London-based alumni of ESSEC, one of the top global business schools.  I used my Intuitive Career Plan as the basis for the workshop and very much enjoyed the experience.

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In my work as a coach, I find that suppressed emotions often surface for the coachee.  I’m drawn to working with the coachee’s shadow side as I know that powerful learning and healing is to be found here so I welcome these emotions to my coaching sessions.  When it’s appropriate, I’ll recommend a relevant book for the coachee to read in their own time.  This is a good way for them to continue to explore and reflect on their emotions; I’ve since learned that this is sometimes called ...

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In early 2016, I was dissatisfied with my business.  I wanted to ‘make the boat go faster’, have more clients, grow my revenues and make progress towards my goals.  Business seemed to have flat-lined and I needed to do something to kick start growth. I’d done lots of business training previously so I was wary of signing up for another programme – I knew I was the problem so it was as much about my attitude and motivation as a lack of knowledge. After a conversation with Tom at Dent (a...

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CCC (Cancer Coaching Community) is a new community of UK based coaches who wish to work with those affected by cancer: patients, relatives and friends.  The majority of our coaches have direct personal experience of cancer.  It’s early days for CCC however the plan is to soft launch on World Cancer Day on 04 February 2017, followed by an in-person launch event in London on 04 April 2017.

CCC would like to send invitations to its launch events to anyone who may be interested in learning mor...

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Are you dissatisfied with your life, your career or your health?  Do you want more out of life or simply feel that something isn’t quite right?  If you answered ‘yes’, you could improve your wellbeing by taking part in this series of 3 workshops.

The World Health Organisation’s description of health is,

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease.”

 The integrated approach to wellness recognises 6 dimensions of wellnes...

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I recently completed a 6 month business accelerator programme in London - the photo shows those of us who attended the final session in October 2016.  I wanted to share my learning so here is my first post of 6 on my experience, which I'm calling, 'Diary of a Business Accelerator'.  I hope you find it useful. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/businessmentoringservices


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My first experience of an art coaching workshop resulted in this piece of abstract expression.  It's growing on me and is now on display in the kitchen of my house, rather like we used to display our childrens' art work.  I think I'll be doing more of this and I'm looking forward to experimenting with art in my coaching practice.
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This poem came to me via the 'Unconference' on Clean language, which is a growing approach used in coaching and the helping professions.  I Go to Meet the Day captures the essence of how I want to live my life with authenticity in the present moment.  I hope it inspires you as much as it does me.

I go to meet the day,
With love in my heart.
I go to meet the day,
With hope in my heart.
I go to meet the day,
And whatever it may hold,
And whomever I may meet.
I go to meet the day,
To show up as wh...
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I had the pleasure of being interviewed recently by Sarah Brandis of Animas Coaching Centre on the subject of 'beginner's mind', which is one of the 7 attitudes of Mindfulness.  The more I think about it, the more it seems to explain 'beginner's luck', at least in my experience as a coach and maybe in other areas of our lives and work when we try something for the first time.  You can read the full interview here: 
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I'd like to share this podcast from the CIPD in support of Mental Health Awareness Day on 10 October 2015.  The key message is: seek help early if you are struggling with stress, decision making or a gloomy outlook - symptoms to which high achievers are prone.  Contact me if you'd like to be coached on integrated wellness, mindfulness or emotional intelligence to improve your well-being and personal resilience.

CIPD PODCAST
CIPD research shows that over two-fifths of organisations have reported...

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If you are a leader, do you sometimes feel like an imposter?  If you are a business owner, do you sometimes feel incongruent, that you are not always fully aligned with your business?  If you answered ‘yes’ you are not alone - many leaders experience these doubts so how can we be more authentic as leaders?

There are hundreds of books on leadership but leadership is difficult to define and describe: it’s intangible yet we all know when we are being well led - and we also know when we are ...

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The Salisbury Coaching Circle and NLP Group meets on the last Thursday of each month (except July, August and December) in the Tesco Community Room, Tesco Supermarket, Southampton Rd, Salisbury, SP1 2NY.  All coaches, coach mentors/supervisors, NLP practitioners and anyone interested in finding out more about coaching and NLP are welcome.  The group is sponsored by the International Coach Federation (UK) however non members are welcome.  Register for the event by email: info@transitiontransfo...

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We are delighted to announce that our founder is now certified to administer the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 emotional intelligence tests and coach people through their test reports.  Contact us for further information on which test is most appropriate for you and your business: leader and group emotional intelligence tests are also available.

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Delighted to announce that our Founder Ross Nichols is featured in the prestigious IoD publication, 'The Growing Business Handbook' (16th Edition).  Ross said, "I was thrilled to be invited to contribute a chapter on coaching and mentoring to this IoD Handbook on business growth."  For further information, contact Ross Nichols by email: info@transitiontransformers.co.uk or call 020 8720 6762

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For the Associate Certified Coach (ACC)™ credential with the International Coach Federation (ICF), there are 3 options:
1.  Complete an accredited coach training programme (the ACTP path)
2.  Attend 60 + accredited coach specific training hours (the ACSTH Path)
3.  Attend 60+ non-accredited coach specific training hours (the Portfolio Path)

I took option 2, the ACSTH path.  For the ACSTH path, you require:

·         60 + accredited coach specific training hours (ACSTH).  I achieved this by c...

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It's said that there are only 2 certainties in life: death and taxes.  Most of us accept that we will eventually 'shuffle off this mortal coil' as Hamlet said, but probably prefer not to think about it too much.  But what if we suddenly found out we had only a short time left on this earth, would that change the way we live?  

This is the situation author and academic Oliver Sacks finds himself in: a month ago he was in rude good health at age 81 but found out he had a rare and incurable cance...
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A new coaching circle and NLP group is to start meeting in Salisbury.  All coaches, coach mentors/supervisors, NLP practitioners and anyone interested in finding out more about coaching and NLP are welcome.

Founder Ross Nichols explained that meetings will take place once a month in the evening for about 2 hours.  The first hour will be a discussion on a coaching, NLP or business topic, followed by coaching triads (coach, client, observer) rotating after 15 minutes, then reconvene and wash-u...

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Introduction
As part of a research project I started with Mentor-net and their partner, CASS business school, I was thinking about mentoring: what exactly is it? If we take the traditional '4 Ps marketing mix' approach of product, price, promotion and place, what exactly is the product that we call mentoring? Around the same time, I attended an excellent presentation by Dr Dave Richards (Inspire networking group, Bournemouth) on The Many Ps of Marketing. This led me to thinking about what P wo...
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Ever wondered why some people take a radically new direction in their careers?  Some people are just plain lucky – they get made redundant one day, and stumble into a new career the next finding complete fulfillment in it. 

But for most of us, it isn’t like that. 

We had a career, a way of life and an identity which was taken away either by circumstances beyond our control, or because we needed to change direction without necessarily knowing why, and without necessarily knowing what that ne...

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