Love is important to me, as you know by now if you’ve been following this blog series! And it appears that I am not the only one who is sharing their love of love out loud and into this coaching space. I want to build momentum through this beautifully loving community, so I have invited those I have connected with to write something of their own here. The remit was to articulate something that they hadn’t seen in my writing to date.
Look around us: Love is so needed in today’s world. We (coaches) are the vanguard of change in that respect.
This week, we warmly welcome Fran Fisher MCC as our guest blogger.
BEING the Space for My Client’s Greatness
Coaching is the sacred space of Unconditional Love, where Learning, Growth, and Transformation naturally occur. — Fran Fisher, MCC
There is science and deep spirituality at the core of my definition of coaching.
Here is my back story: It was the Saturday night banquet at the ICF Conference in Orlando, Florida, 1998. The keynote speaker was Julio Ollaya, founder of Newfield Network. He spoke eloquently of the Soul of Coaching and the spirit of those called to this profession. His words touched me so deeply that I left the festivities in an altered state. I went straight to my hotel room, then to bed, and slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, I was one of twelve coaches on a panel chosen to be interviewed because we were founding coaching schools. I was excited and well-prepared to respond to a series of questions that had been provided to us. Launching the recorded interview, I was the first to be presented with this question: “What is your definition of coaching?” When I stood up to answer that question, I did not share the words I had prepared. Instead, my heart spoke: “Coaching is the sacred space of Unconditional Love, where Learning, Growth, and Transformation naturally occur.”
That was in 1996, and I have lived those words in both my private and professional life ever since. This statement is my heartfelt definition for coaching, my personal guiding principle, my business coaching brand, and my message to those I train and mentor. I have shared it with hundreds of coaches over the years, and it seems to resonate deeply for most.
Over the last 30 years, “researchers found that the heart had nerve cells or neurons that were akin to the ones that made up the brain. In other words, the heart had its very own nervous system that could function independently of the brain!”
(https://research.jefferson.edu/2022-magazine/the-hearts-little-brain.html).
These two organs work in harmony as a potent system for awakening our human capacities for sympathy, empathy, compassion, and love – and strengthen our learning, intuition, resilience, and increased perception. That sounds like essential capacities of a masterful coach, doesn’t it?
So this begs a question: If we have this innately potent thinking/feeling system within us, how do we consciously and intentionally learn to access these capacities?
As an MCC mentor, I help my mentees learn to be a sacred space of unconditional love so they can provide a benevolent frequency of empowerment, i.e. love, when working with their clients.
I believe there are many paths to this level of mastery — as many as there are individuals on earth. Here is one I learned recently from David Christopher Lewis, a spiritual teacher, author, composer, and talk-radio contributor. He is the founder of The Hearts Centre, a spiritual movement and community dedicated to helping people realise their highest potential. Inspired by Buddhist principles, he designed A New Eight-Fold Path, which he calls Virtues of Love:
- Loving Kindness
- Understanding
- Charity
- Empathy
- Gratitide
- Forgiveness
- Mercy
- Compassion
I would add an additional virtue as number 9: Loving Service.
When I consider Loving Service as foundational to coaching, these questions arise: WHO do we choose to be, and HOW can we apply these virtues to coaching? People (coaches) whose hearts are open wide, and who draw on these transformational resources, provide a sacred space of trust and safety for learning, growth, and transformation to naturally occur.
What do I mean by “transformation?” Transformation is simply a shift in perception, and it occurs naturally when someone shifts their perspective to an empowering perspective, i.e. as in a shift from victim mentality to one of self-empowerment.
I believe it is the human heart’s consciousness that will power and guide our personal and collective growth for what’s to come in the future.
Fran Fisher, MCC
Email: fran@franfishercoach.com
Website: franfishercoach.com
Tel: 1+425-753-6074
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franfisher/
