One of the most unique learning opportunities I have encountered in my time at SOLES has been the Executive Coaching course series. The field of executive and leadership coaching is growing fast and it is something that up and rising as well as high performing leaders are seeking in order to continue to be successful in their fields. Something that has challenged me this semester in Foundations of Executive Coaching with Dr. Green has been the focus on the different voices we each hold within us as individuals, leaders, and aspiring executive coaches.
In developing my voice as a coach, I have found it in others.  As I have experienced the coaching processes on a deeper level in working with my two clients here in San Diego, my ability to assess when an intervention is appropriate and reflect without projecting my beliefs or thoughts onto each client has increased.  With that, my ability to hear coaching voices in my colleagues and peers has significantly improved. I have come to understand the coaching process to be one that is dependent on learning with one another rather than for others.  As each of my coaching voices expand and I shift from the guide to the partner within the learning with my clients, my capacity to operate from the place of the master that is aware and present, heightens.  My work with each of my clients has proved that a significant element of my voice is rooted in how I understand my identity to be emerging within the work.  Each client offers different challenges and context and as a result, requires different voices and different versions of my self.  As I become increasingly aware of how my voice exists within the moment, I am more aware of how my voice is reflected in others and how my identity as a coach becomes embedded in the process.
Executive coaching is a practice that is fluid in nature and calls for continuous reflection in action.  I understand in developing my capacity this semester that serving in the role of a coach involves taking culture, context, experience of others, and leadership orientation into account.  Much like observing a drop of water falling into a larger pool, it requires that we not only look at individuals and their performance as leaders, but also understand individuals and the different roles that they exist within that impact the larger organization. Coaching is one of many things that has expanded my personal and professional growth this year, and is a journey that involves life long learning and development. 
Our Executive Coaching series is new and still developing, but to sign up to receive more information about the program, follow the link>>