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Asking ChatGPT About Coaching

Laura Pasquini

Based on the chatter and traffic on the OpenAI ChatGPT, I have no doubt folks are sourcing more than college essays or exam answers from this platform. There are probably professionals asking (or should be asking) questions to our robot friends. As a coach, I became curious to learn what information and advice was being offered about the field of coaching. So, I decided plug in the frequently asked questions (FAQs) I get from friends, family, colleagues, and potential coaching clients. Coaching FAQs: ChatGPT answers + my edits/adds to these responses.

Q: How can I find a career coach?

A: You can find a career coach by: (or any type of certified coach)

  1. Searching online for professional coaching organizations or individual coaches, (The Top 6 Coaching Organizations from Paperbell — there might be others, but those are the ones I know of)
  2. Asking for referrals from friends, colleagues or HR departments, (ASK YOUR NETWORK! Only some HR departments offer these resources — I wish there was more career development & growth support!)
  3. Checking with local universities or career centers, (especially if you are an alumni)
  4. Consulting directories such as the International Coach Federation, => ICF’s Find a Coach
  5. Checking professional networks such as LinkedIn for coaches. (Suggestion for LinkedIn to design a new feature — why not identify Certified Coaches in this professional network with a URL like: https://www.linkedin.com/coaching)

Q: What questions should I ask a coach?

A: When interviewing a potential career [OR any type of] coach, you can ask:

  1. Can you tell me about your coaching philosophy and approach?
  2. How do you measure success with clients?
  3. Can you give me examples of career transitions you have helped clients with?
  4. Can you provide references or testimonials from past clients?
  5. How do you communicate and work with clients, such as frequency and methods?
  6. What is your availability and scheduling process?
  7. What is your rate and packages offered?
  8. What is your cancellation and refund policy?
  9. How do you handle confidentiality and privacy in coaching?

This quick list of coaching questions aren’t bad. They seem really transactional in nature — so I might go a bit deeper to figure out what you want to get out of a coach. What do you want to know about someone you are going to work with? How can you be certain this coach can support your needs? To offer a counter perspective, here are the typical questions I ask potential coaching clients to see if they are prepared to enter into a coaching relationship with me:

  • What led you to coaching?
  • What experience do you have with coaching? What do you know/want to know about coaching?
  • What are your goals for coaching?
  • What would you like to achieve by the end of our time together?
  • What can I do to help you achieve your goals you have set?
  • What would a successful coaching relationship look like to you?
  • What questions do you have for me?

Most coaches offer a free exploration session where you can meet, ask questions, build rapport, and learn more about them and their coaching practice. One of my potential clients used this coaching questions guide, and I shared ICF’s Hiring Tips & Questions which include taking action BEFORE you meet a coach (I hope this is helpful if you’re search for a coach):

  • Set your own goals/objectives for coaching
  • Search the ICF directory for a certified coach — filter by topic, experience, domain, expertise, etc.
  • Identify at least 3 coaches to meet
  • Outline questions to ask a prospective coach
  • Follow-up if you think of questions you thought of after the initial call/meeting

Q: How do I become a coach?

A: To become a career coach, you can follow these steps:

  1. Gain experience and knowledge in the field you want to coach in, such as HR, recruiting, management, or a specific industry. (AND gain knowledge about what it means to BE a coach.)
  2. Obtain coach training and certification from a reputable coaching school or organization, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF) or the Career Coach Institute. (YES!)
  3. Build a network of professional contacts and resources. (Sound advice for anyone who works today.)
  4. Develop a coaching niche or specialty. (Maybe? But explore and try out a few along the way — good coaching IS good coaching in ANY domain/field/specialty area)
  5. Establish a coaching practice by setting up a website, creating a marketing strategy, and building a client base. (I’d probably start with your WHY, at least — this will help you figure out your mission or north star to guide your coaching practice.)
  6. Continuously develop your skills and stay current with industry trends and best practices. (solid advice for any professional or practitioner — but what skills?)
  7. Consider getting liability insurance. (definitely part of setting up your own LLC and business plan)
  8. Consider pursuing advanced coaching certifications and accreditation to further demonstrate your expertise and credibility. (I’m a big fan of the ICF-accredited programs — you can search the directory to find a coach education program that works for you!)

Although the list is accurate, there is so much is missing. Ask any coach and they’ll let you know their coaching development and growth goes beyond these 8 steps. Becoming a coach is not a checklist, and it doesn’t necessarily occur in the above order.

Potential clients & the coach curious often asked: “Why did you start coaching?” and “How did you get into coaching?” I wish my response was a numbered list, but, like most, discovery of what you enjoy takes a much longer, windy path. I’ve responded to this question, “What is your past experience with coaching?” to share my origin coaching story (shout out to the Higher Ed Coaches training program & Katie Linder!). And, you can listen to me in conversation with Julie Larsen and other coaches to de-mystify coaching practice on the Coaching Through It podcast. If you’re interested in becoming a coach, I’d highly recommend using this ICF resource: https://becomea.coach/ I wish this was available when I was thinking about starting my own coach journey!

What drew me into coaching is helping others reach their potential and find their own way in their life/career. I’ve been career curious for a long time. I can track my exploration about the world of work by the career books I’ve read over the years (these are just a select few):

As I grow and develop professionally, I definitely coach myself at all stages of my career (Re: Career Check-ins). This has offered me new challenges and afforded me to work outside my comfort zone as I work my way through career transitions. For the opportunity curious and possibility minded like me, this quest is just how I’m oriented to the world. For my coaching clients and colleagues, it helps us to take a new perspective, question the status quo, and think about “what ifs…” for where we go next.

What questions do you have about coaching? How can I share more about the life of a coach?

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Finding Purpose as Praxis

Laura Pasquini

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Sorry blog. It’s me, not you. I have been regularly blogging on here since 2008 (according to my #tbt Blog Survey). I’m not sure why I dropped off from posting last year, but know you’re not the only digital practice (e.g. launching podcast episodes, posting photos, or even tweeting much — if that’s even a thing anymore) that was ignored in 2022. You are not alone.

I miss the art of noticing, documenting, and writing on this blog. This is what brought me to my blog space in the first place. I often blogged to share what I was learning. I blogged to ask questions and get other perspectives. I blogged to share my research findings. I blogged to document milestones and events. I blogged to respond to ideas and to other bloggers. I blogged to bring community & professionals together. I blogged to share my reflections and perspective. All this to say… I’M BACK!

Over the winter holidays I spent some down time on the coast in Mexico. This much needed RnR was paired with reading, writing, and of course, listening to podcasts. One Hello Monday episode caught ear where Jessi Hempl was talking about PURPOSE with the Mighty Networks founder Gina Bianchini. Maybe it was the crashing waves on the beach or the turbulent ride of the previous year, but I was feeling a bit rudderless towards the end of 2022.

Find something more important than you are.”

Dan Dennet

Now, I am not on a quest for purpose + passion at work — as doing what you love is NOT always sound advice. But I’ve noticed lately, I’ve been lacking some sort of north star in my life, i.e. purpose. The act of meaning-making, specifically with a community is missing. In the past, I’ve been part of communities, teams, and groups who have formed with a clear purpose, specific goals, and designed to impact/influence/help others. I miss being rooted by something more than just my own plans, goals, and ideas. So, I’ve decided to make my word of the year (or at least Q1): PURPOSE.

After learning about the “Purpose 30” (30 days ~ 30 minutes/day ~ 6 questions + journal + favorite beverage) I picked up a copy of Gina’s book: PURPOSE: Design a community and change your life to draft my own “future story” with these questions in mind:

  1. What are 3 things that you are able to do in the future that you are not able to do today?
  2. What are 3 things you’ve accomplished?
  3. What are 3 things you have taken a stand for?
  4. What has changed in your world for the better in the most unexpected or surprising way?
  5. Who are the people you have brought together?
  6. What are 3 things they are able to do in the future that they aren’t able to do today?

Finding purpose is my new praxis. I’m going to take it day-by-day to see how it goes. Maybe it will lead to my future story, or even writing my ten-year plan (thanks for the exercise Debbie Millman + The Remarkable Life Deck) — who knows? For now, it’s being present with my thoughts and being honest with my reflections to see where it will take me. Into this PURPOSE journey I go!

What ways are you reflecting on your future?

How are you exploring your purpose?

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What’s Your “Ideal” Job?

Laura Pasquini

What career conversations have you had lately? This week I’m grateful for a conversation I had with my boss who asked: What I might be interested in working towards? How do I want to build my professional path? And what areas am I interested in as I develop my own career growth plan?

I decided to go back to the digital logs to see if and how I might have answered these questions in the past.This post from circa 2016, seems to resonate with my own work interests and what I love to work on (sans the higher education domain).

Here are the things I love and what sparks joy in my daily work life:

  • The opportunity to research the challenges/barriers facing our learning landscapes…i.e. new ideas of learning, learning delivery, and approaches to educational models impacting us now and in the future…
  • The ability to apply research into practice...emerging ideas for learning and research is exciting to me.
  • The opportunity for community building and network development to enhance the work... a broader vision that can offer an avenue for social sharing/learning; considering these contributions beyond a space or place (i.e. conference, event, etc.) to allow for on-going dialogues; being a central hub to cross-pollinate ideas…
  • Being encouraged to collaborate and support design thinking as a process for innovation within a team…

What brings you joy at work? What actions and verbs do you want to lead with in your job?

techKNOWtools

Have you ever been asked to describe your “ideal” job? Sometimes this comes up in a traditional job interview. Or perhaps you had someone (a teacher, family member, or friend) just ask you about your career goals. Have you thought about what sort of work drives you? Do you know what sort of “job” you are looking for in your field that best fits you? How does work design impact what you do daily? What inspires you in your day-to-day work? How do you prefer to function and perform?
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These are questions I have asked for years. We spend a lot of time in the world of work. So, it’s a natural to want to know about goals and purpose as a student discusses courses in an academic advising appointment. And it is even more intentional as I have worked with undecided majors and first-year students (undergraduate and graduate)…

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20-Twenty-Won: Reflections & Reset

Laura Pasquini

The start of the winter solstice flags a time to rest, renew, and reflect. I don’t know about y’all but 2021 has been quite a year. I’m going to spend some time quiet time at home (thanks, Omicron) to chill out of and recharge before the new year.

“Let’s Stay Home” Candle

Here are a few coaching questions I’ll be reflecting on by the fire with care:

  • What are you grateful for?
  • What did you learn? How have you grown?
  • What did you fail at?
  • What challenges did you overcome?
  • What were your small & big wins?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What do you need to let go of?
  • What do you need to table for next year?
  • What opportunities lie ahead for 2022?
  • What are you leaving behind in 2021?
  • How will you reset/recharge before the new year?
  • What ways will you #treatyoself?
  • How will you give yourself grace?
  • What would you like to make space for?
  • How can you nurture new connections?
  • What ways will you build & create ideas marinating in your head?

What questions help you take a beat to think on? Let me know.

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Thank YOU for the #OEAward2021, @YearsEd Community!

Laura Pasquini

Last week, I learned that a podcast project I helped to produce won an award from the Open Education (OE) Global community. Clint and I shared a thank you message (in audio format, of course) for awarding the 25 Years of EdTech: The Serialized Audio Version project a 2021 Open Education Award of Excellence for Reuse/ Remix/ Adaptation.

2021 OE Global Award of Excellence for Reuse/ Remix/ Adaptation

Here’s a bit about the award from the OE Global Awards site:

The Open Education Awards for Excellence provide annual recognition of outstanding contributions in the Open Education community, recognizing exemplary leaders, distinctive Open Educational Resources, and Open Practices from around the world.

OE Global Awards

The award was given to the project in the “Open Reuse/Remix/Adaptation” category and, according to the adjudicators, the project is an outstanding example of the power of OER reuse for the following reasons;

  • Remixing the physical book into an audiobook has increased accessibility by providing the text in an alternate format.
  • Drawing together the open education community around the reading of the text sparked the companion “Between the Chapters” podcast, providing a deeper dive and critical analysis by experts into the topic of each chapter. This has added an additional layer of richness to the original book. 
  • The weekly podcast release schedule, and accompanying critical analysis created a fundamentally new way to experience the book – slower and in bitesize chunks. 
  • Each episode of the main recording or the companion podcast also now exists as an OER available for future use / reuse.

Although I am honored and delighted to receive this award, I share similar sentiments with my audio project partner-in-crime, Clint Lalonde. We are grateful for the nomination and award; however, the real motivation and “win” was getting to be in community and conversation with all of you. From chats with guests on the “Between the Chapters” episodes, Twitter threads/banter, and reading/hearing your reflections on the topics for each chapter — I was overwhelmed by the interaction, engagement, and offering a space for others to give voice to these issues and ideas. I hope this remixed project inspires others to continue the conversation, as we have learned that ed tech history often repeats itself.

As Clint shared, we could not create an audiobook without the generous contributions from the ed tech and open ed community. I’m so grateful for those of you who were willing to participate in this pandemic podcast project, as your stories and thoughts about this book helped bring new ideas and perspectives for the podcast episodes. It was such a lovely time talking, editing, and producing the “book club chat” aspect of the project. Many thanks to my the “Between the Chapters” guests for your candid conversation and willingness to share:

Lorna M. Campbell, Phil Barker, Lee Skallerup Bessette, Catherine Cronin, Sukaina Walji, Grant Potter, Brenna Clarke Gray, Maha Bali , Caroline Kuhn, Anne-Marie Scott, Alan Levine, Jim Groom, Mark Brown, Clare Thompson, Jessie Stommel Mark Guzdial, Kelvin Bentley, John Robertson, D’Arcy Norman, Laura Gibbs, Bonnie Stewart, Maren Deepwell, Judith Pete, Virginia Rodés, Bryan Alexander, Alexandra Pickett, Sarah Frick, Orna Farrell, David Wicks, Sue Beckingham, Chrissi Nerantzi, Tanis Morgan Autumm Caines, Rebecca Hogue, Christian Frierich, Helen DeWaard, Dave Cormier, Rolin Moe, Amanda Coolidge, Dragan Gasevic, Joyce Seitzinger, Chris Gilliard, David Kernohan, Audrey Watters, sava sahali singh, Clint Lalonde, & (of course) Martin Weller.

If you’re just learning about this audio project, know that you can still find the 25 Years of Ed Tech: The Serialized Audio Version wherever you catch your podcasts [p.s. thanks Athabasca University Press for your support & sharing too!]. All episodes are archived and available on a number of podcast platforms. You can subscribe to listen to both the book chapters and the “Between the Chapters” conversation episodes now have detailed show notes and transcripts (new!) now available from our discussions.

Follow @YearsEd & Subscribe/Listen: https://25years.opened.ca/

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