What do you want out of life? Lee Siew Hua experiences a taste of executive life coaching from Foo See Luan.
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EXECUTIVE coach Foo See Luan, 72, casts an expert's eye on me as I sit in his comfortable sun-lit Queen Astrid Gardens luxury apartment-cum-office, jasmine tea at my side.
"What outcome do you want out of life?" he asks.
I reply and he asks more questions.
"What about work? What are you doing about reaching your work goals?"The questions do not sound particularly profound, but they are very direct and lead me to consider my answers and spell out my focus — first in life, then in my career.
After five minutes of dialogue, we stop the experiment, and dial back the intensity of our mini-coaching session.
With more time, he says, he would have lobbed questions that probe a little deeper: Soul-searching showstoppers such as,
"what's the worst thing you've gone through in your life?"The quick one-on-one session with Mr Foo — founder of FSL Coaching 12 years ago, with blue-chip clients that include Microsoft and Nike — gives me a flavour of what the process involves and what coaches do for their very lucrative living.
No black arts are involved, no faddish management speak. They simply ask searching questions that are intended to draw out from deep within us the solutions to issues, challenges or goals.
For this service,
experienced coaches charge between $500 and $1,000 an hour. At that stratospheric rate, my five minutes would have cost me up to $80 — the bill for a proper two-hour lunch with a confidante.
For that hypothetical fee, have I learned a little bit more about what makes me tick or how to improve my performance?
No, not in such a brief taster of a coaching relationship that typically
lasts 12 to 20 hours over four to six months.I will say, however, that it is quite enjoyable and beneficial to frame my thoughts in a structured style and articulate what is important to me.
And I'm a little surprised that it's fairly easy to share such things with a stranger, albeit a kindly one with a love of folksy metaphors.
Maybe it's because he's an active listener, professionally curious and non-judgemental. His more than 2000 hours of coaching experience must have helped.
But, maybe we all like to talk about ourselves?
Not that I can afford to sign up a professional coach, but if I ever feel the need to engage one I'd have to know exactly why. With such a princely sum of money exchanging hands, I'd need to commit to pretty significant change.
I look back on my five minutes as a sort of mind spa — but transient. A much longer and far more costly arrangement is far down my essential list.
WHAT IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD $20,000?
Here's how to self-coach ourselves out of a rut or to higher performance. Coaches ask their clients searching questions and so can we. Try these:
1. What are my true talents?
2. How do I define success?
3. What really matters to me?
4. What are three options I have and how do I rank them?
5. What’s stopping me from doing that?
6. What will I do if money isn’t a concern in my life or I know I will not fail?
7. Why not now?
8. What will I commit to doing?
Self-coaching may help us pinpoint problems or reveal beliefs that are subtly self-limiting. Then it's up to us to commit to change and open the door to possibilities.
http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2010/3/19 ... ut-of-life