Susan Britton explains how coaches must develop themselves as their main tool. Your internal state shapes how clients respond to you, so ongoing personal growth directly improves your coaching. She suggests concrete ways to upskill: find inspiring peers, take challenging classes, or join structured programs.
We talk a lot about self as instrument as an important concept in coaching, and it really has to do with ICF #4, Cultivates Trust and Safety, ICF #2, Embodies the Coaching Mindset. So what does self as instrument really mean? It means that we need to be continually upskilling ourselves, continually growing ourselves, continually kind of delving into how we think and how we show up and how the way that we think impacts the people that we work with. So if you have not had a chance to really deeply upskill yourself recently, I invite you to think about how do I do that? Is it with amazing people that I love to connect with and work with? Is it taking a class that's going to stretch the way that you think? Is it enrolling in some sort of a coaching program? We have those, obviously. But really thinking about how do you upskill yourself?
Susan’s ICF Educator Award | The Heart Behind the Impact Katy Montgomery, PCC
