Tag Archives: Young People

Just add Youth Coaching

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images-9It’s the beginning of the year, and as we get back into the swing of things a few thoughts might come to mind about how you and your students can get the best out of the year.
It’s known that everyone is doing the best they can, both teacher, students and pupils, working hard to make learning a positive experience, although sometimes this becomes challenging and support is needed. Often we are aware of the challenges, however time can often be a factor.
Sometimes the challenges that are faced by the students and pupils can be over come with their own ideas, and it is those ideas, the ones generated by the students, that have the most passion and determination behind them. When young people are facilitated in the creation of their own solutions, they are more motivated and committed, working harder to achieve their solution.
Even the most challenging of students wants to improve their lives, not always knowing the best way forward, confused with the pressure of the media, peers and even parent’s. This can lead to students finding themselves on the edges of the classroom, outside of the groups with a desire to be involved, but without the skills to interact successfully.
And often, once we find the key for these students, the person they admire as role model, a loved one they want to show how great they can be, or a skill they already have and shine at.  Once we find a way of working with what they are already doing well and facilitate the expansion of this into the rest of their world and thinking, we become the inspiration for positive change. And in that change we support the creation of positive, respectful, motivated young people, with the desire to do their best, leaving behind a positive legacy and role model for others to follow.
So how do we go about creating these changes?
One of the first steps is to ask question and listen deeply to the answers. Young people want their voices to be heard and it is providing that space that can make all the difference. Teachers are often in the best place to take that first step, but time can be the challenge. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, short focused conversations with an individual can make a big difference. Also a whole class can explore the challenges faced by a few with disassociated role play and creative approaches.
You can hire a professional youth coach to work with your young people or train your teachers in the skills of youth coaching, both on short and long courses designed to fit your needs.
If you have any questions about how youth coaching can help you create positive, motivated, inspired young people, then please get in contact.

“What would you choose to do if you had u...

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“What would you choose to do if you had unlimited resources?” was the question asked in the book I’m currently reading; Change your life in 7 days by Paul Mckenna. He says, just before asking the question, to open your thinking, to allow your mind to dream and dream big…well maybe some of those are my words too, but that’s the idea, to dream big.

So dream big I did, in fact it’s a dream that I’ve had before, it’s the one where I open a coaching centre for young people. It’s more than a coaching centre, it’s a place where young people receive coaching, creative, confidence, self esteem, career, communication training. All underpinned with the coaching ethos, to enable them to be the best they can be, doing what they love.

Working in groups and individually with coaches, NLPers, and creative practitioners. The work would explore all the senses, almost like a school…perhaps it is a school, an alternative school where the aim is to learn about self through the arts, creativity, coaching and NLP.

It would be like all the best projects I’ve ever done rolled into one. Visits to the theatre, where we explore the characters and their relationships to each other, seeing how we would play out their roles differently, returning back to the centre where we role play the events. Using a mixture of Forum Theatre, NLP, coaching and artwork.

We would also have creative development days, spending time exploring the minds of great creative thinkers from history, from present and of course the future. Young people have wonderfully creative minds, however tif hat creativity is not put to productive use it can create all sorts of problems. So we would look at how they can use their creativity in positive ways.

There are lots of young entrepreneurs projects, and I’m sure they do wonderful work. We would not only work with the young people and their ideas, we would also enable their ideas to take shape, creating role models for the future. And jobs right now, jobs doing what the young people love.

We would have healthy foods and exercise, team sports and meditation. A space where young people can discover what they are good at, where there skills lay, and a safe supportive place where they can explore their futures.

Of course this would be expensive, but it’s a dream, and while I’m dreaming lets have the very best in technology available, lets have a design space where the young people create the technologies of the future. With music and fashion studios. And at the front a shop where we sell what we create.

This is a wonderful dream, I wonder what your dreams might be? And who is there to help and support making our dreams come true?

“What are you good at?”

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Yesterday I spoke about the 5 steps you can take to enable a smooth, engaging and creative session when working with young people. You can use these steps if you are a teacher, youth coach or mentor.

This morning as I was thinking about these steps and how you might employ them, a thought came to mind. Often we spend a lot of time and energy working on new skills that we haven’t done learnt before, as opposed to doing what we know, young people love to do the things that were already good at.

I think it’s important to remember that and give them to space to enjoy the confidence that comes from doing something they are already skilled at.

Now I’m not saying only do what they know, of course not. We need to enable young people to extend and develop their skill set, to push the boundaries of their comfort zone, as well as learning how they learn new skills

But I’m sure you remember how it feels when you have a skills or ability that you’ve honed over time, and are given the chance to share your ability.

When you are working with young people, remember to give them the chance to shine, to feel good about themselves. To recognise that they have skills and abilities. In Dream Tree Coaching, this is represented by the star, their star quality.

So my suggestion is, that when working with a group, especially for the first time, to explore what they are already good at. And over time, as the rapport and trust builds, to re-ask the question; “What are you good at?” 

Give yourself and the young people the safe space and time to explore their own skills as well as developing new ones. Take the time to explore how the things they are already good at link onto the new learning you are exploring. And by making those links, the steps to the new learning become smaller, easier, less daunting. Thus removing resistance and creating flow.

Take a few moments to ask yourself the question “What are you good at?” and post your responses below.

5 steps to working with young people.

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Recently I’ve been working on developing training for mentors. It’s part of the Mosaic mentoring in schools programe. The mentors are from local businesses, a lot of whom have not worked with or mentored young people. So part of the training is to get them to recognise their skills that can be shared with the young people, to be open to understanding young people and their world, as well as developing their confidence to work with the young people.

Now when I talk about confidence to work with the young people, it’s more about developing the confidence to work with young people when things are going…not as planned.

As a Youth Coach, I know that there are days when the plan just doesn’t seem to be working. This can be because one of the young people are in a particularly bad mood, upset, challenged by the work, or just having an off day. It can also be because I haven’t understood the young people and their needs.

So if you are going to work with young people, as a coach, mentor or teacher, there are a few things you can do to enable your sessions to go as close to plan as possible. Although I have to say, that sometimes throwing the plan out is just what’s needed.

  • Check in with the group or individual. Get a sense of how they are currently feeling, understand what is going on for them, right now and recently. Also check in with what is coming next in their worlds.
  • Listen to what is said and unsaid. Really hear the words that are being used, and check their meaning. Coaching and NLP enable you to develop your sensory skills. There is so much to be learnt form body language, watch it, read it, check it.
  • Share your plan. A lot of young people are not given the bigger picture, or the opportunity to discus, develop or change it. Which leads to flexibility.
  • Flexibility is a strength, the strength to let go of your plans, and your ego. Often we hold onto our plans because we feel that, that is part of our control, or part of our identity, and if we let go of it then we are giving something up.
  • Creativity to develop interesting and engaging sessions/lessons. And remember to bring your own creativity in. Use your known creative skills, be that music, storytelling or art.

Putting these steps into play when working with young people, will enable your session to run more smoothly, and if you are able to manage your own state then you are onto a winner.

I’d be interested to know the results you get from taking these steps. And the steps that you take to enable smooth, productive and engaging sessions, when  you’re coaching/mentoring young people.