Coach Spotlight - Coach Celine

Coach Celine, thank you for joining us for our Coach Spotlight Series! We look forward to learning more about you and your Career Coaching style, let’s begin:

1) Where are you based and what's your favourite thing about that city? (Feel free to mention where you were born and the different countries you have lived in).

I relocated 18 months ago, from Singapore, with my husband and two sons to the beautiful island of Phuket in Thailand. I absolutely love our lifestyle here. Life here feels spacious, comes with little to no stress, lots of outdoor time and every weekend feels like a little holiday. When life gets a little too much for me (which it still does at times) I just need to take myself down to the beach at sunset and look out at the ocean to ground myself and connect to a deep appreciation for the life I have. I no longer feel the need to go on holiday to escape my routine and that’s been a game changer.

Whilst I was born in Paisley, Scotland, my mother's hometown, my father being French I was raised in the quiet suburbs of Paris. I've always pictured my life living in different parts of the world and have been curious to learn about different cultures and different ways of thinking. One of my proudest achievements is to have lived up to my dream and to have lived in Paris, New York City, Manila, Singapore, London, and Phuket. 

2) Do you have a quote that you try to live by?

“Expanding our awareness and understanding of life comes when we are willing to risk the known and step outside our comfort zone” Manoj Dias.

This quote summarises how I live my life; always looking for ways to grow and step into unchartered territories. It makes me feel so alive inside.

3) What do you value most in life?

My family (which includes a beautiful young cat known as "Peach") is what I am most proud of. Being a coach, mother and wife, comes with many challenges but it also teaches me so much about myself. I love seeing my children blossom, day after day, into their individual selves. 

My latest passion is something I've discovered more recently: breathwork or the art of conscious breathing. Breathwork, with its vast range of techniques, is a discipline that I have integrated into all aspects of my life and my breath has become my anchor. It has changed the way I see and relate to myself and how I work through all my emotional states. I will soon be certified as an Advanced Practitioner and I'm on a quest to share this practice with as many people as possible, including clients, children, parents, professionals, patients… I think everyone should know the power of what's right under their nose.

4) How would you describe your coaching style?

My coaching style comes across as warm, secure, accepting and yet direct (must be my French side ;-)). It's also inspiring and insightful. My clients are frequently taken aback by how quickly and clearly I can see through them and get straight to the heart of the issue at play, without getting caught up in their stories and excuses. That is often what allows them to drop the armor, engage fully in the coaching process and connect to what is truly going on for them, beneath the surface, and what they need to work on to bring the desired change into their life and work.

5) New manager coaching is becoming more and more popular, what do you think is the biggest challenge for new managers and how can coaching help?

New managers are more often than not poorly prepared for their new responsibilities and roles. Many are excellent sole contributors or technical experts in their field, which means that they have the skills to get a specific job done (DOING) but that comes at the expense of developing specific character traits or human qualities (BEING), such as courage, compassion, curiosity. audacity, resilience... which are very much needed in management roles. 

Some of the biggest challenges I see for new managers are a lack of self-awareness (understanding who they are and how their behaviours and mindset affect others), a lack of a vision of who they want to be as a leader, and poor relationship skills required to connect with each team member and bring out the best in them.

Career Coaching is a game changer when it comes to developing self-awareness and the necessary mindset, skills and qualities to lead and inspire others because it provides a safe space to reflect, explore and experiment. Knowing that someone (ie. your coach!) will always show up, has your back and will help you navigate through the tougher times makes even the biggest challenges and the most ambitious and daring goals seem far more attainable. Once people start seeing the results they get through coaching, they are unstoppable. 

6) What has been the most rewarding moment of your professional coaching career?

Every single coaching conversation is rewarding, even when I am not sure if the client took away anything from a session, because, beyond the discomfort, it offers an opportunity to learn something about myself. 

In this past year, I have increased significantly the time I spend coaching and I have discovered that the more I coach my clients, and listen deeply to them, the more I get to learn about myself and grow. Many people are surprised to see so many coaches thriving in life and yet there is no mystery. They are constantly developing themselves, receiving new insights, confronting their own roadblocks and deepening their understanding of life as they coach others. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs I know of.

Another of coaching's most rewarding experiences is when a client realises their full potential and accepts responsibility for shaping their own life and the outcomes they encounter. It's incredible to see someone realise that their dreams are within reach if they commit to living their lives to their fullest potential.

7) Do you find there is more of a preference for executive coaching services to be delivered online or in person? Which do you prefer?

I believe that the world, since Covid, is open to both. Online coaching makes it much more accessible to everyone (in terms of space, time, and cost), and in my experience, the quality of the relationship between the coach and client is just as strong and the results are phenomenal despite the physical distance. Now that clients have the flexibility to work from home, and therefore be coached from their own safe space, we no longer have to struggle to find a quiet meeting room or do our sessions sitting in a hotel lobby. However, in my opinion, nothing beats meeting in person and sitting in the same physical space where we are both breathing the same air, seeing our full physical selves, hearing the same sounds, sensing the same space, aware of the same distractions.... So much happens in the space in between the client and the coach that is rarely addressed when we introduce people to coaching because it is intangible and something difficult to define. As we become more skilled coaches, we become more aware of it and can incorporate it in our coaching. 

8) What drew you to become a professional coach?

After 15 years in training and development, I was frustrated to see so many people attending trainings they were required to attend and then leaving with little desire to effect change. 

When I came across coaching, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. Working with clients one-on-one meant that change was possible. I realised that through coaching, I could focus on discovering what was truly important to my clients, I could help them see what they couldn’t see in themselves, and I could help them break free from whatever was holding them back (mindset, patterns of thinking and behaviours).

As soon as I started my coach training, I knew I was going to be a professional coach.

9) Throughout your entire career, both as a professional coach and before-hand, how have you seen coaching culture evolve?

Coaching is evolving as we speak, and it may be undergoing its most significant changes right now. Let us not forget that coaching is a relatively new profession, having only been around for about 25 years. For the most part, it was only seen in sports and the performing arts or was reserved for the elite. 

The most significant change I'm seeing is the increased accessibility and democratisation of coaching due to the rise of coaching platforms. More and more professionals are becoming aware of what coaching is and what it can do for them. Coaching, I believe, will become more popular in our societies as it meets a need for guidance, support, and meaningful connection. 

The coaching field is actively working to determine what approach works best in coaching and has the greatest impact. The way things are going, I believe we'll have significant breakthroughs in the next decade that will allow us to be even more effective and efficient in our coaching approaches. It's an exciting time to be in the profession.

10) Finally, what would you say to someone who may be hesitant about engaging a career coach?

You do not need a coach, but you may want one. Truth be told, if you stay committed and focused on your goals, you will eventually achieve them. 

However, you may take much longer and miss out on many learning opportunities and insights that will benefit you now and in the future. Coaching promotes rapid growth in all aspects of your life, not just your career. We can only learn so much on our own, and if you understand and live by the quote "It's not the destination, but the journey that counts," you'll understand why coaching will improve your journey while getting you to your destination. When it comes to envisioning a desired future, I see so many clients who are holding themselves back. Coaching can help them break free from that and flourish in all aspects of life.  

I wish I had known about coaching as a teenager... I would have without a doubt hired a coach to guide and support me through my life and career choices.

To book a complimentary 30-minute Chemistry Session with Coach Celine or to find out more about the Career Coaching services BOLDLY has to offer, reach out- connect@boldly.app

About the Author:

Lisa Singh is an Australian, living with her family in the beautiful South Pacific. As Coach Business Partner Lead for BOLDLY, Lisa's team screen and onboard coaches onto our global marketplace, then enable the matching and engagement process so that coaches can do what they do best: deliver exceptional coaching journeys to our coachees. Lisa is a trained nurse, and her role with BOLDLY she loves meeting top coaches and promoting their work for a win:win. Connect with Lisa .