Coach Spotlight: Coach Satyam

In the first BOLDLY Coach Spotlight of 2024, we welcome ICF ACC Coach Satyam! It's great to have you with us as we start the New Year - thank you for joining us!

1. To begin with, can you please tell us where are you located and your favourite thing about that place?

I have spent my childhood and growing up years in several parts of India. Currently I live in Mumbai. What I love about Mumbai is its energy, and that it has something to offer to everyone, is highly professional, and fun place to be in!

2. What was the last great book you read?

I am a huge fan of Herminia Ibarra, who I find to be a prolific author. I recently read her book 'Act Like a Leader, Think Like A Leader'. It is a very counter-intuitive book that defies the standard leadership development guidance, which always encourages deep self-reflection into one’s strengths and weaknesses, and instead shows that the most effective way to change is through action, not analysis. In other words, in the agile and fast changing world we live in, it is about thinking, but it is more about acting....being able to take first action steps (howsoever tiny) and then continuously reflecting on the learnings.

I have recently attempted to capture and post on Linkedin nine of my favorite learning nuggets from this book. However, the real treasure is in reading the full book!

3. What first sparked your interest in coaching? 

Being a Human Resources professional, I had always been exposed to training and mentoring initiatives across all global organizations that I have been a part of. Coaching as a subject was an accidental discovery when I read the book “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” by Marshal Goldsmith. Through this book I understood the forces of mental patterns that hold us back, and how it is all about changing the way we think. I explored more about Marshal Goldsmith as a coach, and got intrigued about coaching as a learning technique and framework.

Thereafter I completed by coach training under Peter Reding (Coach For Life), and then there was no looking back.

4. How do you feel your extensive background in Human Resources expands the coaching services you can provide? 

Having been in Human Resources across large and small organizations, I have come to understand how career journeys move and don’t move forward- the accelerators, road bumps and pit falls one potentially encounters.

Putting all my experiences together, I am able to offer coaching in three strategic areas, namely career transition management, stakeholder management, and self-management. I believe that if a person can invest in these three areas of one’s work and life, the probability of sustaining success is higher.

5. If you had to describe your coaching style in 3 words, what would they be?

Emphatic, partnering and strategic

6. How have you seen the Coaching Culture in India grow post-Covid?  

There has clearly been an upsurge of coaching culture in India post-covid. Both , at an organizational level as well at an individual level, coaching is now a preferred intervention. Organizations (large as well as small) are bringing in coaches for not just senior levels, but at mid and junior leadership levels as well.

One interesting phenomenon I observe is that individuals are no longer waiting for an organization to invest in them, and are now more keen to invest themselves in hiring a coach. I feel this is triggered from the need to be more prepared for uncertainties, and the need to take more responsibility for one’s self-development as well as success.

7. How do you define a successful coaching engagement?

A successful coaching engagement is truly about equal partnership between all the parties. Where there is an organization ( sponsor) involved, success is determined by the level of empowerment that the sponsor places on the client (coachee), and not micro-managing the process. The success finally is determined by how clearly a coach can support the coachee in defining the outcomes she desires, and thereafter being supported by the coach in measuring progress.

8. What are some of the challenges you see coachees regularly needing to overcome on their coaching journeys?

I see every coaching challenge as an insight about the coachee, and that insight offers an opportunity to provide better coaching.

Some coaching challenges/opportunities that I regularly see are the coachee frequently seeking advice from the coach, not adhering to commitments, or frequently changing their goals.

I always see these as great opportunities because they provide insights to me, and helps me adjust my partnership style as a coach.

9. What Professional Development do you complete each year to refresh your skills and ensure you stay on top of the latest industry insight?

Professional development is key to remaining updated. I rely heavily on peer to peer learning, watching you tube videos from master coaches, and frequently completing courses/ learning modules on the ICF Global website. The local ICF Mumbai Charter Chapter is also a great source of learning through frequent webinars being conducted by them.

10. We have seen an upwards trend in coaching requests for First-Time Managers, what advice would you offer to a company considering investing in this area?

First time manager positions are always the most defining leadership move for an individual. In the past, organizations would look mostly at traditional classroom training capsules to create awareness about basic managerial skills.

Through my experience of having dealt with hundreds of first-time managers, I feel that the development focus has to be clearly segmented into three buckets-

Managing Self, Managing Teams, and Managing Business.

Success in each of these buckets is instrumental in making a first-time manager succeed or fail. Coaching specifically across each of these segments, and firmly integrating the line manager within the coaching program is key to a first-time managers' success.

Thank you Coach Satyam for joining us in this week's BOLDLY Coach Spotlight! To book a complimentary 30-minute chemistry session with Coach Satyam, or to learn more about the services we offer at BOLDLY, visit www.boldly.app or email 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 .