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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, The Power of Coaching – Nurturing Leadership And Personal Development by Ruth Kudzi brings experts together to help people change the way the think, feel and act.
The billion pound coaching industry continues to boom, and the concept of coaching is becoming ever more mainstream. Now, well-known coaching powerhouse Ruth Kudzi, from London, has launched a new collaboration book, The Power of Coaching – Nurturing Leadership And Personal Development, bringing together ten experts from around the globe to help readers understand the power of coaching and how it can change the way people think, feel and act.
Launched during National Reading Month (March), which is designated to motivate people of all ages to read every day, it flew to the top of the Amazon book charts just hours after release, with six number one spots across many different categories including; Coaching and Mentoring.
Psychologist, Neuroscience Expert, Master Coach, multiple best-selling author, 7 figure entrepreneur and the Founder of Optimus Coach Academy, Ruth Kudzi released this collaborative book with Optimus alumni authors. Drawing upon experiences from those she has trained, celebrating their transformations, knowledge and expertise too, she continues to create a ripple effect through the power of coaching, for individuals as well as within organisations, as well as showcasing each individual author.
Representing both male and female coaches and coaches from minority groups, from diverse backgrounds including; GPs, career coaches and wellbeing coaches, and with many of the co-authors being neurodivergent, Ruth is proud to celebrate sharing the voices of many who often feel unrepresented. The Power Of Coaching explores authenticity, how to overcome challenges of working with ADHD, and how to get out of our own way to achieve our dreams. Each author shares their own case studies demonstrating the impact of coaching personally and professionally.
Simply put you’ll recognise how impactful coaching can be as an intervention.
One of the themes of this book is that coaching works across contexts and is useful for marginalised groups. Whether we look through a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens or focus on neurodivergent people, coaching helps people to be more authentically them. If coaching was integrated into school curriculums, many people could feel more confident and resilient, which would have a positive impact on outcomes and the community.
Coaching is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. As of 2022, the coaching industry’s market size reached an estimated $20 billion, securing its position as the second-fastest-growing global sector, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – revenue witnessed an impressive 62% increase from 2019, totaling $4.564 billion in 2023. The increase in demand for coaching is fabulous as more and more people become more connected to the personal development world, which for years has peaked in entrepreneurial space – it’s fabulous to see it become more mainstream – and to see it being embraced more in the UK.
-Ruth Kudzi
Exploring questions like What is coaching? and how does it help people?’ Ruth explained that coaching can help change the way people think, feel and act. It supports people to make new connections in their brains so they re-wire them from the inside out. She has worked with thousands of clients and seen huge transformations, so with this book, she wanted to bring to life the impact coaching can have from a range of perspectives.
Ruth is passionate about the industry, given her own personal experience alongside decades of training, so with the book, she wanted to recognise and explore preconceived notions around what coaching is and the image that the term ‘life coaching’ can bring up.
As the coaching boom from the US spread to the UK there was lots of unease and mistrust of it as a practice, with many preconceived ideas and misconceptions taking place about what’s involved. With this book, as with everything I do I wanted to present evidence-based examples of its power, to help lift the lid on what coaching really looks like, and the impact it can have.
I grew up thinking I was different which made me choose to study Psychology from the age of sixteen. Looking back, I realise I didn’t fit in because there were a lot of things going on in my life, alongside neurodivergence. I struggled with my mental health from a young age: I had anxiety and spells of depression. After a tragic accident when I was eighteen I suffered from complex PTSD and often drank, partied or shopped in my attempt to feel better, which didn’t really work. I was curious about personal development and understanding people as I wanted to understand myself and feel less like a misfit.
I first heard about coaching back in the 1990s while studying Psychology and Management. Our lecturer described the most effective leadership styles and talked about a coaching approach which differed from the more traditional directive models. I already had experience of working with a directive boss (and rebelling against it) so my ears pricked up: to me this made so much sense.
Over the years I imagined becoming a life coach and immersed myself in reading about personal development, studying more Psychology and doing mindfulness training. It was at a festival a few years after finishing my degree that I met two people who were coaches and it started to seem like a career in coaching was possible. Back then, I felt I needed to get my life more in order before I was able to help others, despite the fact I was a teacher!
Our personal experiences can be important in helping us connect and have empathy with others, yet we don’t need to be the finished article – if that even exists. It is all about being a work in progress.
As an educator I’d always loved seeing people get their own results and learn new things, and coaching seemed like a natural progression.
-Ruth Kudzi
Nearly a decade later, Ruth’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and commitment to excellence have earned her recognition as one of the UK’s top Master Certified Coaches, independently verified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Chartered Psychology and Psychology Coach status.
She’s become the Founder one of the world’s leading coach training providers and has spoken across the world, as a guest speaker for the likes of; UCL, Birkbeck, Goldsmiths and Natwest as well as being a regular speaker for the ICF in India, Israel, Iran, SE Asia and Bulgaria. She also regularly contributes to charities such as; Young Minds, Shelter, Crisis, Oxfam, Mind, The Stroke Association and Unicef.
Coaching skills are essential for our own personal and professional success. If you’ve been considering using a coaching approach in your professional life, getting a coach or training as a coach (or you’re already in the field)… you’ll find inspiration and real world examples. The chapters traverse coaching in a range of environments with both individuals and teams, different approaches and the huge impact that coaching can have on underrepresented groups supporting the creation of a more equitable society.
-Ruth Kudzi
Ruth is a well respected and successful coach who has worked across sectors including leadership, career and more recently business and mindset. She has over 10,000 coaching hours and has completed hundreds of hours of training and coaching supervision. Ruth is a MCC level coach with the ICF and is our course director and CEO. Prior to becoming a coach Ruth was a senior leader in education.
● James Eder
● Metra Rowe
● Tamzin Hall
● Anna Badcock
● Helen Schoeb
● Adam Ceney
● Dr Adnan Ali
● Kasey L. Petrowski
● Dr Mary Phillips (DC)
● Dr Morten Isnes (DC)
Coaching is a two-way street. Ask yourself if you’re committed and try to identify a clear goal or destination or outcome of where you’d like to be following coaching – what would you like to be different? When discussing this with your potential life coach ask them to be clear on what the intervention is and what it’s going to be about and how it’s going to help you.
Ask to see their certification of accreditations or qualifications – potential clients are more than entitled to ask to see industry specific qualification – such as; our Professional Coaching Diploma which is accredited by the ICF, or a Life Coaching Diploma or Level 3 with Official Certification. Look out for the ICF, AC and EMCC as well as the ILM (note that the ILM aren’t a coaching specific organisation and they don’t commit to the same level of research as the main coaching accreditation bodies)
Ask to read testimonials or ask for more information about their coaching experience. Ask what their specialisms are or subject matters; it could be imposter syndrome, limiting beliefs… Also, ask them if they’re happy to share their own story of how they became a coach. Maybe they had a similar role to you or have a real understanding of your sector.
What time are you committed to put in in order to take action? How regularly would you like sessions? How many sessions would you like? What are you willing to invest? What money are you willing to spend? If money is an issue, maybe seek support via your employer, ask your HR department in confidence about support and coaching they may offer, you can still ask all of these other questions and decide if the coach is the right fit for you.
Ask if they have a code of ethics and ask for a contract so you both are clear and know exactly what you’re going to get.
Coaching can be an empowering experience – if both parties are working in partnership to create the desired outcome.
Kindle: https://amzn.to/49PuXyK
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3TvRwTc
Website: https://www.optimuscoachacademy.com
https://www.instagram.com/ruthkudzi
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthkudzi
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