Q: Tell us briefly about yourself, your professional background, and what drew you to the IPPC’s applied positive psychology coaching program?

I’m a passionate people leader and positive psychology coach on a mission to help others with their well-being, and make a positive impact in the world.

I have worked in IT for many years and across large corporate organizations in a senior leadership position.

What attracted me to follow the IPPC program was the opportunity to learn more about Positive Psychology Coaching techniques and how to apply them in a fast-paced, ever-changing, and challenging corporate world. I longed for skills that supported my leadership style, and in the process, I discovered a new career path that I would like to pursue further.

Q: What insights, change or transformation did you experience during the program, and how has it impacted you, your wellbeing, and coaching practice?

My goal in enrolling in the program was to learn how to help others, but in the process, I also learned how to apply the learnings to my own challenges to grow as a person, leader and coach.

What is so great about Positive Psychology Coaching is that a coach can rely upon all techniques, frameworks, and evidence-based approaches from multiple studies and research.

This helped me build my coaching skills further, and I gained the confidence to apply the acquired skills successfully in my coaching conversations and practice.

Furthermore, in the second year, I learned more about setting up my practice and the niche I want to work on. The supervision sessions were rich in sharing experiences, receiving new perspectives, and gaining new insights that enhanced my coaching practices.

Having immersed myself in the program during the pandemic, I coached many clients and team members to develop new skills around resilience on a daily basis, and also to apply and harness their character strengths in challenging times.

In my current coaching engagements, I leverage many of the tools and techniques I learned in the program to help my clients achieve their goals. I’m pleased to say that the results have been very gratifying.

Q: Describe your coaching practice today as a result of completing the IPPC’s applied positive psychology coaching program.

I wear many hats. As a Global IT Director, I manage and coach teams in different locations and countries.

As a result of completing the program, I now also coach individuals outside the organization, and have launched small group one-day programs for people to focus on their self-care through mindfulness, meditation, QiGong, and coaching sessions.

The majority of my clients are women, ranging from those at the start of their careers and are considering their future path, to senior leaders facing different challenges while working in a highly demanding senior leadership role. These challenges can include juggling family life and caring for elderly parents, ending a relationship in the best way possible way, or changing a specific behavior that is holding them back in their lives.

In coaching situations related to career and talent development, I like to apply the Strengths-Based approach, where the clients raise their awareness about their strengths and start to look for opportunities where they can truly achieve their potential and experience joy and fulfillment in their work. I also use Cognitive Behavior Coaching (CBC) techniques for behavioral changes to achieve a breakthrough in shifting behavioural patterns. I also leverage Solution Focused Coaching or Resilience Coaching, where applicable to help clients achieve their goals when facing challenges and setbacks.

The IPPC’s diploma program not only helped me to become a more self-aware and confident leader, but also prepared me to start my own coaching practice.

Q: Please provide an example or case study of how you are uniquely expressing applied positive psychology coaching in your own practice?

A client’s role was impacted during a company reorganization. As a result, she was struggling to deal with the reality of losing her job and figuring out the next step in her career.

It became apparent that she was not aware of her strengths and was lacking self-confidence. Taking a holistic approach, I noticed that she could benefit from developing her resilience skills as well as gaining awareness of her behaviors as well as identifying her strengths and how to apply them especially when facing adversities.

Therefore, it was essential to work with her in these areas before she looked for another job. I leveraged the tools available for the Strengths-Based approach and also used evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Coaching and Solution-Focused coaching to shift her beliefs and perspective.

After a few sessions, as she became more positive about herself and enthusiastic about a new future. In fact, she started to see new opportunities and which jobs to apply for.

It was a pleasure to learn that she had not only found a new position, but she also received a promotion!

Q: What advice do you have for other coaches interested in positive psychology coaching and the IPPC’s program?

I would recommend this program to coaches that are seeking their next level of knowledge and experience and eager to learn how to apply positive psychology in their coaching practice.

The resources offered by the program are very helpful and the faculty leaders are very experienced experts, coaches, researchers and academics in the fields of Positive Psychology, Coaching Psychology and Positive Psychology Coaching.

This program helped me grow immensely as a people leader and a certified professional coach. I am convinced others would share this experience once they decide to join the program!