Background

An 18 yo old teenager domiciled in Suzhou China was seeking guidance and support to better prepare herself for her forthcoming college years. Seeking to study in the US she was undecided which course and subjects to take, the college best suited to her academic interests, and how this could translate into an optimum career pathway. Her parents were highly supportive.

As depicted in the coaching process roadmap our coaching journey is a highly structured yet informal process with the following milestones achieved.

Purpose:

Discovering one's purpose is such a challenging task for all teenagers. Without the benefit of life experiences we need to carefully structure a unique program that suits and benefits each teenager that we support.

In the words of Seth Godin, a noted American author and entrepreneur "do work that matters, and make a difference that you care about."

Throughout our sessions it became abundantly clear that our coachee holds authenticity as a key purpose, with this quality being her driving force.

Getting to Know You:

Our initial sessions revealed this teen to be highly mature and seeking much knowledge and inspiration. Possessing self confidence and highly active in a social sense she was open to constructive and at times challenging dialogue. Our unique mirror test proved significant and it was confirmed later in our coaching to have been a moment of personal inspiration.   

Self Discovery:

Prior to the commencement of our coaching I was presented with an activity portfolio that this teen was responsible for over the preceding 2 years. I suggest portfolio for it comprised three pages of activities that are largely based on her humanitarian interests. We spent some time reflecting on this impressive portfolio with the conversation led by our coachee. To my surprise one of the more significant activities barely raised a mention.

A couple of years earlier and by her own volition she travelled to Belgium and spent a couple of weeks living with some refugees, assisting their children with education needs, play therapy and generally supporting each family unit. What an amazing undertaking and how inspirational, and for someone so young. Highly modest she suddenly displayed a look of pride which translated to yet another powerful moment in our coaching partnership.   

MBTI and Strong Assessment:

Our coachee completed the MBTI assessment and Strong interest inventory  with the view to better understand her personality, possible career preferences and a likely career pathway that would energize and provide her with added purpose.  

Career and Academic Options:

Taking into consideration all the facts learned in conjunction with the learnings from the assessments completed, we took time to carefully assess the best possible options for this teenager. We shared much content relating to the upside and possible challenges associated with these careers, and over time our coachee following some considered thinking has settled on a legal career with an humanitarian interest.    

Case Study: 

Recognizing the logic with her decision we provided the coachee with a unique case study to further validate her position, whilst testing for creative and critical thinking skills. Her response proved admirable and commercially smart and will be used as a test sample from which to evaluate other teenagers that partner with us.

Discussion With a Career Executive:

This is where we capitalize on our 25 years of experience in executive search and call upon an expert to discuss the merits of a career in law. To this end we secured the interest of a senior partner of a HK law firm to engage with our coachee. Their 60 minute conversation (videoed) proved to be yet another powerful moment in our coaching pathway.

This mature teenager came armed with some insightful questions which led to a thoroughly energized, highly valuable discussion. In the words of this legal partner "this teenager is certainly a highly intelligent young lady and asked some very interesting questions about pursuing a legal career. She obviously thinks deeply about her direction and career development. She is an impressive young adult and I think she's going to have lots of opportunities come her way over the coming years."  

Internship:

With an internship being such an important activity throughout the life of one's academic journey we offer guidance and support in placing our coachees into an organization that aligns itself with the chosen course of study. In this instance we have been in touch with a key organization in Atlanta as this teenager has successfully enrolled at Emory University. 

The knowledge gained and network established whilst participating in an internship is so pivotal for one's future career development.

Added Activities:

We played an active role in assisting this teenager with her application for entry to the US University in addition with her application for a scholarship. 

In Her Words:  

"I was troubled with my prospective career choices and was introduced to Ron. We have had an amazing journey together. Through an exercise with a mirror Ron enabled me to think more deeply about myself, my goals and ambitions. I was able to discover something I had never thought about previously."

"Ron brought to my mind an experience gained in Belgium, something I had not considered to be overly significant. He showed me how important this was and the role it could play in my future career. Ron enabled me to view myself from the perspective of this trip and its impact on my thought process and inner drivers."

"Ron introduced me to humanitarian law, a career I never contemplated previously, and introduced me to a legal professional. The introductory conversation has further reinforced the merits in this career. The whole coaching process has been so helpful and delightful."   

"Ron is highly passionate and a trusted friend; I can now see a pathway that leads to a bright future."

Background:

An 18 yo teenager domiciled in Nanjing China with a supportive family was encouraged to follow in her parents footsteps and undertake studies in the US with chemistry as her major. In the background it was noted that her entrepreneurial father had established his own business and was willing his daughter to ultimately lead this enterprise.

She resisted both overtures therefore our services were sought to guide this teenager towards an optimal academic and career pathway.    

Getting to Know You:

Our initial sessions revealed this teenager to be a highly accomplished artist and whilst passionate she was wary that pursuing a possible career might dampen her love for the arts.   

Questions relating to the creation of a life planning roadmap revealed that identifying her interests and passions whilst seeking those career options that align with these, to be fundamental. 

Our unique mirror test revealed our coachee to be holding some past troubling experiences. These were in part restricting her personal growth so we set about creating an action plan to remedy this situation. An excellent outcome was achieved.    

Self Discovery:

Sessions 2/3 were devoted to a process of self discovery with our teenager really opening up on her interests, passions and extra activities that were being undertaken outside of school. 

These sessions were highly revealing and provided us with a genuine base from which to examine her ideal career options. When we turned our attention to some of her voluntary activities it was revealed that our coachee commenced volunteering as an art teacher assisting young children at a local autism recovery center. In her words "I was continuously touched by their inability to express themselves and witnessing their development, even though slight gave me much satisfaction." 

What have you learned about yourself through this experience? "I have discovered a spiritual side to my personality and have learned that I am good with children. I am more grateful for who I am and what I have in life, and have discovered that I am quite patient. Witnessing the bravery and courage demonstrated by many children has truly inspired me, and I have discovered that I am happy when helping others less fortunate.

This splendid teenager has discovered her purpose.

MBTI and Strong Assessment: 

The timing of these assessments was perfect for our coachee has been reflecting on her life experiences and the development of her self awareness gained though our coaching. 

Career and Academic Options:

Taking into account the assessments undertaken and the direction that our coaching pathway has led us, this teenager has discovered several noteworthy possible career options before her. In her words "I have a leaning towards psychology, sociology or anthropology. Each provides an emphasis on human interaction incorporating people, culture and society, with much variety on offer."  

Drilling down, vocationally speaking this teenager conveyed that she would find counselling and therapy as a practicing psychologist of considerable interest.  

Case Study:

By incorporating our coachees motivations we constructed a case study to evaluate her critical thinking and creative skills and to enable her to possibly validate the legitimacy of her present thoughts. We are cognizant that these motivations could be fleeting in nature and sought to further examine them for their validity.

Once again we were presented with a well constructed business plan that encapsulated her purpose and the emergence of key drivers that should lead to an astute selection of subjects to study at Washington University. 

Discussion With a Career Executive:

I am often asked what are the powerful moments and thoughts that emerge during these coaching sessions. One of these pertains to my motivation. With my coachees firmly in mind I am constantly seeking of ways to deliver such outstanding results that lead to real lasting value. I am consumed by these thoughts.

With this in mind and taking into consideration that our coachee was now considering three possible career pathways; psychology, sociology and anthropology I undertook considerable research into these career pathways. The content was highly useful and was offered to stimulate.

Our coachee was drawn to an article authored by a US based clinical psychologist and when discussing her thoughts she reflected and conveyed the following. "I found the article resonated because it gave further meaning to my purpose and the volunteering activities. I found this to be inspiring."

Reflecting on her commentary I took the initiative to seek out the author and discovered she to be based in Texas. I made contact with this professional and conveyed that our teenager and I enjoy a coaching partnership and described her admiration for the article authored. Would she be willing to invest some time discussing the merits of a career in psychology with our coachee. 

Following her positive response I made contact with our coachee to share this news. She was overjoyed with emotion. 

We communicated following her discussion with our coachee sharing this feedback. "I was provided greater insight into this career pathway and the many possibilities that exist. We discussed current and future trends which I found so important and interesting."

We received the following feedback from the clinical psychologist. "I enjoyed speaking with your teenager and found her to be very mature and thoughtful. I hope we might remain in contact. Of interest I have a colleague who is a psychologist that used to work at Washington University; I shall introduce them as I see value for your coachee."    

Internship and Added Activities:

We offered to assist with a possible internship in St Louis with our coachee preferring to discover the possibilities on offer through Washington University. As there is an autism center on campus this seems like a smart move. We aim to keep in touch with developments.

In Her Words:

"My parents were encouraging me to undertake a similar course of study to them and noted my resistance, as a result we were introduced to Ron. Following an initial discussion my parents encouraged me to work with Ron in order to determine a preferred course of study and potential careers on offer."

"I found Ron easy to relate to and we quickly found an informal setting for us to communicate. Over the course of our time together there were many highlights that have enabled me to make some smart decisions. Notably a high impact moment arrived when I was able to communicate with the clinical psychologist. She was truly inspiring and has given me much to think about."

"I found the use of personality assessments as recommended by Ron to be valuable for in addition to our sessions they have given me the focus that I lacked before. The sessions were highly informative and I thank Ron for the experience gained. I am much wiser and more confident in my future."