#035 - GCP Interview: The Coaching Show

This episode is a re-release of an interview from last summer, but as you’ll hear, it’s a conversation with a difference, because rather than me interviewing someone, it’s me *being* interviewed for The Coaching Show, by ICF Master Coach Christopher McAuliffe and his colleague Alex Terranova.    And this was an interesting one. As you’ll hear, it was pretty fast-paced, and I really enjoyed the challenge of making the value and approach involved in principles based coaching explicit to a couple of experienced coaches who were brand new to the subject. We talked about 3-day intensives, and what has to happen before a busy executive is willing to take 3 days out of a packed schedule to do an intensive with you. We also talked a lot about the whole domain of growing a coaching practice.    Speaking of which, back when we released the episode, I announced that I was running my last ever 90-day Coaching Immersion.   One of my business mentors had said that 90 days (12 weeks) was too much - that we should limit the programme to 60 days max, or even just do it as a digital course.   So I decided to do one last 90-day programme, and run all three tracks as a single group.   We had coaches who wanted to get clients, enroll them on coaching packages and make a difference doing the Thriving Coaches Blueprint track… www.JamieSmart.com/thriving   We had people who wanted to change careers to do something more fulfilling and on-purpose doing the Career Transition Blueprint track…  www.JamieSmart.com/escape   We had people who just wanted to see the principles behind clarity more deeply in the most important aspects of their lives doing the Clarity for Personal Transformation track…  www.ClarityAcademy.co/transform12   But they were all doing it in one group, meeting up with me each week for 1:1 coaching in a group context…   It was an experiment.   It was the first time I’d ever combined all three tracks.   I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen.   But you know that feeling, when you try something out and it turns out even *better* than you expected? Yeah, that feeling.   As we were going through the programme, one of the students asked me why this intake of the 12-week programme was the last one. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "It's a great format - why are you stopping it?"   I explained that we were planning to release these 3 tracks as digital programmes, and experiment with a shorter, 6-8 week format, but it suddenly occurred to me that I should check with the folks on the programme.   So I asked them, “How has 12 weeks been for you, in terms of your levels of engagement / amount of progress / amount of time you could devote to it / how much you've learned / how far you've come etc?”   Basically, for what we've been doing, was 12 weeks too long, too short, or just right?   The vast majority of the people on the programme replied, “Just right.”   And here's the thing. That's how I felt too. I enjoyed the hell out of it!   So I’ve decided to do a 180.   We’re doing the 12-week Coaching Immersion again. I’m going to be doing all 3 tracks, and we’ve got some great coaches and aspiring coaches already signed up and ready to start with the Thriving Coaches Blueprint track.   We’re starting soon - the doors close on 11th march. This is a chance to work closely with me in a small group setting, so if you’ve been thinking about making some changes, now’s a good time!   If you’re a coach and you want to get clients and grow your practice in a way that feels great and fits with who you really are you can find out more about the Thriving Coaches Blueprint at jamiesmart.com/thriving. And here’s today’s episode: