A while ago, I received an email from the mother of a 13-year-old girl. Here’s what it said:
“My daughter is due to choose her options at the end of February. I thought as part of this process she would receive careers advice but have found out that this is not the case. It’s a minefield for a girl of 13 to think about her future as an adult without professional guidance. Where do we turn as parents?”
I’m sure that this Mum speaks for a lot of parents, but I would like to draw your attention to two things that really impressed me about that Mum’s email to me.
- She wasn’t afraid to admit that she also needed professional guidance if she was going to help her daughter as much as she wanted to.
- She didn’t end her email by asking if I could help. She wasn’t ready to ask that yet, and quite rightly. Why? Because she didn’t know me from a bar of soap!
The time to ask a coach, “Can you help?” is when you’ve already convinced yourself that you trust him enough to ask that question.
There’s a process involved here isn’t there? Before you engage a coach you need to be satisfied that you can trust the person. And there are two elements to trust:
- You feel confident that he’s a person of integrity; a person who isn’t going to take advantage of you just so he can take money off you!
- You feel confident that you can trust his judgment: that he’s a person who knows what he’s talking about; a person with the experience and expertise to be able to help your daughter (or son)
Engaging a coach is not unlike choosing a pair of shoes. You’re not going to buy a pair without trying them on first. If they don’t fit, you’re not going to buy them just because they look good, are you?
That’s why I’m not the least bit offended when parents ask if it’s okay to just check me out. In fact, I won’t allow them to use my services until they have done so.
If you’re concerned about the career prospects of your daughter/ son, if it’s worth a conversation, here’s my contact number. 07795-288490. You won’t be put under any pressure when you ring me.
From “The Coach Who Rocks” (student testimonial)
Barry Jackson
Aspire Academy
https://www.aspire-academy.net
