From Coffee to Commitment
by Betsy Bass
As Program Planning Chair for the Connecticut chapter of ICF, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to meet many powerful professionals in the field of coaching. Such was the case on October 20, 2004 in interviewing Jenny Ditzler, a dynamic coach and author, during a virtual call hosted by the Chapter.
With experiences such as this one, I always ask myself the following questions:
- What did I learn?
- What can I use right now with my clients?
- How can I apply this knowledge to myself and perhaps to my family?
- If I’ve been inspired, how do I want to follow up on or with this new resource?
On a more personal note, I also ask myself:
- What went well?
- What could I have done to make the experience better for everyone?
- What would I do differently next time?
In preparation for the interview, Jinny and I spoke ahead of time. I wanted her to feel comfortable enough with me to relax and be completely authentic in sharing her personal story with us.
How many of you love a good story? Most coaches can’t wait to hear how people have made coaching work in their own lives and in the lives of their clients! Jinny’s story is one of these.
On a very memorable, life-changing New Year’s day in 1980, she and Tim, her then-boyfriend, now-husband, sat down to take stock of their lives. Jinny had quit smoking the night before and decided she needed a new goal. She suggested to Tim that they run a marathon.
Living in the UK at the time, with the London Marathon not in existence until 1981, they were a strange sight to behold during training.
In May, just over four months after their New Year’s reflections, they ran and happily completed the Paris Marathon. This event reinforced for Jinny the tremendous power of goal setting.
Jinny’s friends have always found her a great listener with the ability to quickly put them at ease. Though so many of them have shared their hopes and dreams with her over coffee, Jinny noticed that none seemed to be making any changes month after month.
Jinny became curious: Why weren’t her friends realizing their dreams? As a natural problem-solver, she asked three friends - two men and a woman - to commit to meeting on a regular, on-going basis for a minimum of three months. She would work with them to set goals , motivating them to follow through so they would be accountable to themselves, to her, and to the group. Support, inspiration and accountability - what a great combination for a coaching group! From this work with her friends and her own self-reflection with Tim on New Year’s, Jinny’s book was born – “Your Best Year Yet!” Her book turned into a program, and then developed into a movement and a franchise. For some coaches who teach “Your Best Year Yet!” program, it has now almost become a “calling” because their clients get such great results.
What’s so intriguing about Jinny’s book and program? It’s SIMPLE, yet PROFOUND.
Her book is based on 10 questions that guide and motivate readers to look back at the past year and use their answers as a basis to set meaningful goals for the upcoming year. These questions can be found in Jinny’s book or on her web site at www.bestyearyet.com.
During our virtual call, Jinny led us through a meaningful, exercise. I hope you will consider using this with your coaching clients. These questions are the first three of the ten in “Your Best Year Yet!.” Here’s how the exercise goes:
- First ask: “What did I accomplish this (past) year?”
- Then ask: “What were my biggest disappointments?” Name two.
- Now, take a moment and ask: “What did I learn?”
Chapter members spent some time discussing their answers to the questions. Several of us were surprised to note that what we learned could actually be applied to both our accomplishments and disappointments!
One of my proudest accomplishments this year has been earning my designation as a PCC (professional certified coach) with the International Coach Federation. One of my biggest disappointments has included not spending as much time as I would have liked with my teenage daughter, Camille.
Time and my conscious awareness of how I was using it affected both my ability to complete the necessary requirements for the PCC designation and my feeling of loss around not being with Camille in as an intentional way as I could have. Thanks, Jinny, for the insightful learning.
In later debriefing the interview with Jinny, I found myself still completely energized. Her passion and enthusiasm for truly helping people accomplish goals was infectious.
As coaches, we always seem to be on the lookout for useful resources and meaningful material. I found Jinny’s book to be very helpful personally and I know it will be a great tool for me to use with clients. In addition, I am impressed with her web site which is attractive, clean-looking, and easy to navigate.
In reflecting on my experience with Jinny, I realized that one of reasons I really liked interviewing her is that I liked her as a person. She is a passionate, energetic woman who really wants people to accomplish their goals, not just dream about them.
Betsy Bass, PCC, LMFT is Assistant Training Director for MentorCoach and enjoys teaching, leading coaching groups, and working with individual coaching clients. She has also had the good fortune of being a pod leader for Authentic Happiness Coaching since its inception by Martin Seligman, PhD and Ben Dean, PhD in 2003.