Dear beautiful seeking soul,
In almost every conversation with potential new students for The Coaching Guild, I am asked, "What makes The Coaching Guild different from other training programs?". I do not have any difficulty answering that question - a lot of things are different.
We are very different from other training programs; sometimes, I struggle to identify where we sit in a sea of coach training options. In the last three weeks, I have seen drama play out in our industry on more than one occasion in more than one training arena. Every time I watch a blowout in a coach training program, I feel a twinge in my stomach. It makes me nervous for everyone involved. It makes me anxious for all of us. Then I take a deep breath, get myself back in my lane, and refer myself back to a list of active values I created for myself and The Coaching Guild almost three years before our program started.
Diversity nurtures different perspectives - which can be messy
At The Coaching Guild, we do not start cohorts on a schedule. We shoot for a start date and often do not meet it. A new student group starts when and only when it is sufficiently diverse. It is like a perfectly curated dinner party guest list. Let me tell you; it can be spicy. Cohorts at The Coaching Guild are designed around groups of people who have very little in common and may never understand each other. These groups go through cycles of breakdown and reconciliation - it happens over and over again for a full year. Every time they work their way back towards each other, they are stronger as a group and stronger individually. They become better coaches because of what they learn from each other.
Discourse is a learning tool
To be clear, at The Coaching Guild, we don't tolerate discourse; we encourage it. We take a thing, look at it from all angles, examine our personal bias, and expand through discourse. Recently, two students passionately disagreed about the value of exploring limiting beliefs. The discussion was intense. Both perspectives were valuable—the conversation did get heated. By the end of that class, I had learned things from both students that changed the way I would work with clients. Neither was specifically "right" or "wrong". No one was looking to win. But the exploration shifted how everyone on that call will work with people. Respectful discourse is essential to deep understanding.
The community cannot be centered around Lisa Hayes
The Coaching Guild is not an echo chamber of any one person's perspective. Students will spend more time in a learning setting with me than with the other instructors. However, we have a team of instructors who are the best of the best in their areas of expertise. Any one of those instructors could profoundly impact our students more than I will. Humans are complex. Coaching is complex. There is no one person who knows everything about how to be a coach. Guru coach cults damage both students and our profession.
Accountability is a partnership
Yes, students, clients, and people have to do their work. However, we have to do ours also. That means we have to do our best to accommodate the learning needs of our students, provide mentorship and support if they are struggling, and meet students where they are, no matter where that is. At The Coaching Guild, we recognize not any one thing works for all students. We also recognize that at times, figure out why someone isn't showing up for themselves IS THE coaching.
Every student at The Coaching Guild has a voice and is free to tell me I am wrong
- and they do. I used to tell a story in our recorded materials and anecdotally on calls. I acknowledged I wasn't sure it was true but told it anyway because the illustrative value made making a point easier. One day, after class, I got an email from a student who'd heard that story before. She had previously done some research, and not only was the story factually not true, but its roots were low-key racist. I stopped using the story. I was wrong for using that illustration in the first place. I have never used it since. I was grateful for the input. I am grateful when students set me straight. All of our instructors feel the same way.
Respect above all else
We make every single effort to create a vulnerable but deeply safe space. We do not trigger on purpose. We do not do public callouts for the sake of making a point. We do not make examples of student struggles. We do not allow disrespect on any level - and that isn't hard because it just doesn't happen. Ask anyone who trained with The Coaching Guild, and I can assure you they will tell you they never felt emotionally exploited. No one can learn in an environment that does not feel emotionally safe.
Apologizing is standard practice at The Coaching Guild
Recently, I have personally apologized to three people who trained or are training in our program. Recently, I have been coming in a little hot and shorter than I want to be - this is not unusual. Sometimes I can be rude. Sometimes I make mistakes. I do my damn best to be accountable, and if I fuck something up, I apologize. Without accountability, there can be no safety. There are no guarantees I won't make mistakes - but when I do, I am happy to own it. Every instructor at The Coaching Guild works the same way.
The expertise and experience of EVERYONE, fellow instructors, and students are valued equally
Recently I decided on the structure of a call and made a public announcement to that effect. The next day one of our students questioned that decision publicly - the only thing I was upset about was she waited twenty-four hours to voice her concern. This student's personal and professional expertise made her observations highly valuable. People pay her for her expertise. We get it for free in our community, and I am so grateful. I have another student who is leading a class this week. Her expertise will benefit me and, more importantly, the whole group. This kind of thing happens all the time at The Coaching Guild because we have a collection of some brilliant humans in the community.
People over profit every single day
Money matters. People matter more. We can be profitable and human. We can be successful and compassionate. Obviously, we have to make money. If we didn't make money, we wouldn't be here. However, believe it or not, I have turned away more students who can pay than I have accepted. Creating groups with the right students is more important than packing the classes for cash.
Indoctrination is not education
I have some very strong opinions personally and about coaching that many people disagree with. I cannot think of a single client, or student over decades of both working with clients and training coaches who agree with me on everything. My politics, beliefs, theories, and methods are uniquely mine, and 100% buy-in on anything I teach or believe is not required BECAUSE what we do is not about me. Uniqueness and unique convictions are the most valuable thing we can bring to our training and to our clients. Individuality is precious. Coach training cannot be a loyalty club.
