By Elisabeth Goodman, 26th June 2023
A transition and a bridge
I’ve been thinking about how my focus at RiverRhee has been shifting to a greater focus on one-to-one coaching and my advocacy for Neurodiversity and for the Environment. My new strap-line for that is: connecting people to what is possible and sustainable, in what we care about.
I have been on what has felt like a journey of exponential change since completing the Barefoot course in Business and Personal Coaching in 2020.
I published my new book “Coaching in the Helix” at the start of this month, and also completed the Climate Change Coaches course just two weeks ago .
Completing the Barefoot course and all the self-development arising from it, writing the book, and completing the climate coaching course all feel like a bridge between the previous part of my life, and who and where I am now.
And I have made the transition from working with managers and teams on generic skills in corporate settings, to working with individuals and groups of people both in and outside work on Neurodiversity and Climate Change.
I’ve been revising my web site to reflect all of these changes, and my new focus.
Coaching in the Helix
I feel more whole somehow now, and my book “Coaching in the Helix” that I released in June 2023, is a celebration and a marker of that.
My self-development included some transformational moments: such as my self-diagnosis of being autistic in 2021; finding a concept of spiritualism that resonates for me, also in 2021; losing my mother at the very end of 2022.
My book reflects all of this journey, built around the themes of emotional capability, spirituality, neurodiversity, creativity, mindfulness in nature, what happens with family and friends. I explore these themes in the context of my self-development, what we can learn from the literature, and how this relates to our work as coaches. It also has a chapter devoted to the stories of 14 other coaches who generously shared their experiences and reflections with me. So, it is a book for new coaches, and also has much to offer more experienced coaches.
I participate in various peer coaching groups and hope that I can continue to share my insights, and gain from those of other coaches in this way. All of this will continue to inform my work in one-to-one coaching and group coaching.
Neurodiversity
I have been working individuals who are neurodivergent since 2021, both independently, and as an Associate Coach with Genius Within. I am beginning to raise wider awareness of Neurodiversity amongst their neurotypical colleagues too, through workplace seminars.
My new strap-line of “Connecting people to what is possible and sustainable” relates to creating a shift in mindset, resourcefulness and resolve for everyone that I coach. People who are neurodivergent are often more resourceful as a result of all the hurdles they have had to overcome in their lives. Helping them with some final hurdles, in a way that also supports their wellbeing, feels like a worthwhile focus for my ongoing with through RiverRhee and Genius Within.
Our Environment
I had an epiphany, whilst walking my village footpaths in the summer of 2022: I wanted to give back to our beautiful and struggling planet; in return for all that it brings me. And so, I became active in creating positive change in support of our planet, the climate and of biodiversity. I also embarked on and completed the Climate Change Coaches course.
On the Climate Change Coaching course we explored how we can:
- help people to connect with their purpose and their goals
- continuously work in partnership with our clients
- help them deal with a sense of overwhelm and scarcity, with anger and grief
- nurture and maintain our own self-care, and help our clients with theirs
We explored associated skills such as:
- using the support of nature and metaphors
- embodiment: connection with our bodies and our feelings
- How all that we had learnt reflected the ICF competencies.
I have started an eco group in my village, and am loving the outlet this is giving me for my creativity, my energy, and opportunities to provide that for others too – to bring some hope and resolve associated with positive action in relation to our environment.
I am hooked into other networks in and around Cambridge of people who are also acting for positive change.
I look for ways to support our environment in the way I interact with people in my community, through one-to-one coaching, and through workshop-style activities.
Conclusion
The bridge in my life that includes my original coaching qualification, my self-development, my book, and becoming one of the elders in my family, has led to the current focus of my work. I feel I am here to connect people with what is possible and sustainable, in their working lives, and in their lives as a whole. That means coaching for Neurodiversity, and for climate action, and being an advocate for both.
Connecting people to what is possible and sustainable, in what we care about.
My new focus through RiverRhee
Purpose, connection, resonant action – I feel grateful to have all of these sources of meaning in what I am now offering, as an individual, and in my work through RiverRhee.