Already doing the work

I've been going back and forth on something small and not small at all. Whether to put the word "coach" on my LinkedIn profile.

I've put it in there, taken it out, put it back. I've even done the hokey cokey and I've turned around. This week, in a conversation with a colleague from my Henley Business School programme, she said something that got straight to the point. Yes, she said. Of course you should. You're already doing it.

She's right. I first encountered coaching over 20 years ago when I took a "manager as coach" training when I worked at VSO so many of the core techniques are very familiar. I've been coaching people formally as part of my Henley Business School course since November. I'm more than twenty hours in since the start of this year alone. I've completed all the taught workshops that make up the professional certificate and now working towards the assessment in July. The work is happening. The only thing that isn't there yet is the piece of paper.

When I thought about it, I realised the hesitation wasn't really about truthfulness. I was telling myself it was about honesty, but underneath there was something else. What if I put the word out there and then don't get the certificate? What if I claim the identity and then something goes wrong?

That's not a desire to be truthful. That's fear.

In the UK, "coach" is not a protected title. There's no legislation that says you must have a certificate before you can use the word. I'm not misrepresenting a regulated professional status by calling myself a coach. What I'm doing at Henley and working towards with the International Coaching Federation isn't fulfilling a legal requirement. It's a commitment to my own standards, to doing this work properly, to being the kind of coach I'd want to work with myself. That's a different thing entirely. And once I saw it that way, the anxiety started to loosen its grip a little.

I think a lot of us do this. We wait for external permission to call ourselves what we already are. We perform a kind of self-effacement as a way of staying small and safe.

I've spent thirty years in and around organisations. I've been in the CEO chair. I've sat with leaders at some of the most difficult moments in their working lives and helped them find a way through. That doesn't only start counting when Henley posts me a certificate. It already counts.

Another thing I've been thinking about this week connects to the same idea. I saw a LinkedIn post about companies handing over the social media reins to their staff, trusting them to be the authentic voice of the organisation. My first thought was that that only works if people are happy to be there. You can't perform joy you don't feel or ask people to be authentic ambassadors for a culture that is making them miserable. The fun in those Screwfix Tiktoks would be hard to fake.

Those two things feel related to me. Whether it's an individual claiming a professional identity they've genuinely earned, or an organisation hoping its people will speak well of it to the world, the reality can't be faked. Because if it is, no amount of rebranding, posting, or careful positioning will cover the gap for long.

One more thing. I'm opening up a waitlist for 1:1 coaching. If you're at one of those moments where something needs to shift, I'd love to hear from you. Just hit reply and tell me you're interested.

Useful links 🔗

A newsletter reader sent me the Principles of Boogie Management by Brian Bilston. She thought I'd like it. You might like it too.

What am I reading? 📚

A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon is about her chronic burnout after years of doing too much.

What am I watching? 👀

We watched Small Prophets and now I want to grow some homunculi in my shed.

What am I listening to?👂

How to spot psychopaths and narcissists. Find out if they yawn!

Joy-giving things 😍

I spotted the first ladybird of the year this week when the sun was out. I had to stop and take a picture.

Happy days indeed. Have a good weekend, friends.

Lucy

ChangeOut is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at ChangeOut.org.

If you’re looking to have a 1:1 chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things, get in touch. You can also find me on Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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If you like what you read and you'd like to support my work with a donation, you can do that here. I'd be very grateful!