Expat Support and Co-Active Coaching

Sarah grew up in Minnesota and will forever love all things Minnesota - including the State Fair and casseroles! Sarah began her career in the corporate world working as a Buyer for Target Stores. From there, her career evolved to include opportunities in Higher Education and the non-profit world.

Sarah's leap into coaching can simply be described as a calling that she fought off for the better part of a year. In fall of 2007 Sarah finally gave in to her intuition and enrolled in a year-long coach certification program through the Coaches Training Institute. Envision Life Coaching was created later that year. Sarah's practice is focused on making sure that expats and trailing spouses THRIVE in their life overseas, a topic that is very near and dear to her heart!

Sarah's life was turned upside-down when her boyfriend at the time received an offer in October 2008 to work for the Foreign Service. He asked her to marry him and accepted the offer to move overseas. They were married in January, relocated to Washington, D.C. for training and arrived in Manila on July 1st for their first tour. They will be posted there until July of 2011.

Expats Guide:What exactly is life coaching?

Sarah: Life coaching is most often compared to therapy but in actuality they are quite different. While therapy focuses on the past, coaching is forward-looking. As a coach, I don't care if you've responded to a certain situation the same way your whole life. That's just the story you've created. The question is: How do you want to respond this time?

Coaches believe that all clients are naturally creative, resourceful and whole - meaning that nothing about you is broken or in need of fixing. In fact, coaches never give advice because we believe that YOU are the expert on yourself and ultimately are the only one that has the answers. Most of my clients typically can't articulate where they want to go next - all they can tell me is that what they have right now isn't working. And THAT is exactly where a coach comes in - to help you determine what those answers are and identify your next steps!

Expats Guide: Please describe the coaching process?

Sarah: When a client hires a coach, the working relationship is co-designed up front by coach and client, ensuring that everything is centered around the client's needs and desires. There is no set "program" - the client brings their desired agenda each week and the coaching takes off organically from there.

Goals are set during the Kick-Off Session and measured and adapted throughout the coaching relationship. Each week a homework assignment is given to forward the learning from the call. The client is held accountable for completing the tasks to which he/she committed. At the close of the relationship, a review is done to look back and celebrate all of the progress the client made.

Coaching relationships usually last between 3 months to 1 year, although that can vary greatly. I require a 6 month minimum for my clients, as I've seen that it's too easy to quit when the going gets tough (usually around month 4 or 5). By signing up for 6 months up front, I have found that clients commit to going the distance. Coaching is not easy work - clients are required to stand up to many of their greatest fears and break old habits that don't serve them anymore. No matter how much the coach wants success for the client, significant change only happens if the client is committed to doing the hard work for themselves

Expats Guide: I understand that the main part of the coaching is done via phone calls. What are the advantages of phone calls over in-person meeting?

Sarah: Yes, a majority of coaches work exclusively over the phone. I do three - 40 minute calls a month with each of my clients. Having done both in-person and phone-based coaching, I've found that the largest advantage of phone-based coaching is that the client is able to go deeper more quickly.

The use of the phone creates a comfort barrier, allowing the client to be more candid on topics that are difficult to talk about. It-s a win/win situation. Not only does the client feel safer but a real sense of intimacy is able to be fostered as well. In addition, by removing the use of sight my hearing and intuition ramp up to compensate, allowing for me to stay connected to the client despite physical distance.

Expats Guide: How does working with expats and "trailing spouses" differ from working with non-expats? Do you focus on special issues?

Sarah: In co-active coaching, we coach the whole person, believing that when one area is out of balance, it's going to affect every aspect of your life. Therefore, the core areas are the same no matter what population I'm coaching (core areas include: health, money, career, relationships, etc).

When coaching a specific population such as expats or trailing spouses, I see the recurrence of common issues in many clients, many of which may not be relevant in a different population. Common issues for expats and trailing spouses frequently include: changing identity, relocation challenges, finding meaningful work, maintaining relationships back home, connecting with your partner/spouse, exploring your passions overseas and repatriation.

Expats Guide: This is a curiosity question - Who are your clients - Mostly men or women?

Sarah: About 90% of my clients are women. I worked in the US previously and statistics show that US women are more likely to try coaching out. That is not the case in other countries though, so I question whether my statistics will begin to change now that I'm working with a more global population.

Expats Guide: How does your own "accompanying spouse" experience help you with your coaching?

Sarah: I believe that it's best to coach whatever I'm experiencing myself because my interest is already centered there. I don't have to be an expert expat because I'm never going to give out any advice. I just need to be passionate about what the person is trying to create in their life, ask powerful questions that help them discover their answers and hold them accountable to making change.

Expats Guide: What is important for people to look for when selecting a coach?

Sarah: Picking a coach can be an overwhelming task for clients. Here are my top three suggestions to guarantee that you find the right coach:

• Hire a certified coach. The industry is largely unregulated, with only about 10-15% of practicing coaches carrying a certification. If you really like a coach and they aren't certified, do some research into their coach training program and make sure it's of a high caliber.
• Ask for a sample of their coaching. Most coaches will provide this for free. It is the best way of determining if there's a "click" between coach and client. There many different styles of coaching out there and it's critical that you're comfortable with the style they use.
• Choose based on intuition instead of your head. Reason and logic may tell you to hire one coach based on their credentials or some other impressive factor. While reason works in many situations, it isn't ideal for selecting a coach. Tap into your intuition and select the one that "feels right" even if you can't explain why that is. Your intuition will guide you if you take the time to listen to it!

More about Sarah Novak and Envision Life Coaching can be foud on:

Sarah's blog: www.inspiredoverseasliving.com

Sarah's website: www.envisionlifecoaching.net