Our main objective here at the National Coach Academy is to enable aspiring coaches to reach their full professional potential. One of the most effective ways to educate students about the world of coaching is by offering them a window into the world of real, practicing coaches and showing them all the different ways coaches make a difference in the lives of their clients.
We hope today’s interview adds another insightful glimpse into the dynamic world of coaching.
Today we are interviewing Maurine Killough. Maurine is a Hypnotist, Coach, Guided Imagery Practitioner and Meditation Leader based in San Mateo, California.
NCA: Can you describe your coaching practice and the kinds of clients you typically work with?
Maurine: I always tell people my work is in the healing arts and my specialty is guided imagery, which is what I use for coaching. Of course, I’m pulling a lot of different modalities under that umbrella. If people have trouble with that, I explain that I am a certified hypnotist, since a lot of people will understand hypnosis before they’ll understand guided imagery. Sometimes that is a really good way to explain to clients what we’re going to do together.
NCA: What initially got you interested in being a coach?
Maurine: It’s probably true for many of us: I just love people. I love people so much and my heart goes out to them and I know how much we all suffer and struggle. One thing most coaches have in common is this philanthropic disposition. I’ve always been one of those people where maybe I will be giving unsolicited advice in my personal friendships. [laughing] I’ve always had that proclivity.
I stumbled onto an organization at some point through leading group meditations in the community and discovered Imagery International. Through them I became certified through Academy of Guided Imagery and once I got into that, I really stepped into my passion and I discovered at age 50, this was what I was born to do. Before that, I’d been doing admin my whole life running non-profit associations. So I made a career change and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
NCA: In working with your clients, what would you say is the most rewarding part of that process and on the flip side of that, what is the most challenging aspect of the work that you do?
Maurine: The most rewarding are the connections. When you can get that rapport and have that connection, in whatever modality you’re using. When you have that connection, you’re choosing a modality that you know that they’re going to relate to and that’s when you can see the change happening with the client. That’s so beautiful and so rewarding. That something you’re doing can actually help them affect the change that they’re seeking. The most rewarding thing is to see people so happy and feeling that transformation. It’s a dream to be able to help people in that way.
Conversely would be the other side of the coin. Occasionally, I do get a client who says they want to make the change and we come in together to do it and we’ll hit some resistance or we won’t have that connection that I have with most of my clients and I just have to be patient and let them to work it out in their own time. Those are the times where you wish you could do so much more. It’s a sacred process. You just have to respect each individual and know they’ve got to have their time — not only when they’re ready, but how they’re going to want to be ready.
We’ve all been there. Sometimes we say we want change, but we’re not really ready for it. It’s happened to me many times. You just have to bow to that person and have patience. It happens where I’ll think, “Oh, gosh. I wish I could have done more. And then sure enough, they’ll come back a year later and tell me, “Oh, what you did for me last year was so helpful.” And I’m so surprised, but I think we under rate what we do, because something we offer them may need time to soak in.
NCA: Can you think of a mentor or a coach in your own career who was the most vital to your success and in what ways did this mentor help you thrive in your career?
Maurine: I have so many who I do count on and reach out to. At the same time, I’ve always been rather a maverick and I tend to do things on my own.
Steven Gilligan is a psychologist who works with a lot of coaches. He does an incredible program called Trance Camp where he shows techniques on how to work with clients in an energetic way. It’s fascinating because a lot of the work I do is more in the unseen world and he brings that out in a real academic, yet applicable way. Steven Gilligan would definitely be one of my mentors.
Magali Peysha is also a friend and a really wonderful coach with Strategic Interventions. Within the guided imagery group that I’m involved with, Janice Baker and Susan Ezra are two who I’ve counted on. There are so many wonderful practitioners I’ve worked with. They’re there for advice and vice versa. What a great community we have!
NCA: One of the most common challenges new coaches face is self-doubt. Some coaches call it Imposter Syndrome, where early on they feel somehow inadequate to take on the role of coach. What is one piece of advice that you would give to somebody who is in the beginning stage of their coaching career and dealing with these doubts in their mind?
Maurine: My advice is to take the spotlight off yourself and direct it back to the client. Ask yourself: why are you doing this? You’re doing it because you love that person, you want to help! You’re coming from your heart. You’re not coming from your ego saying, “I need to win this one and I’m doing this and me.” No, we’re not doing this for us. We’re doing this for the client. I sincerely want to help this person with all my heart.
What will always help you shift when you hit those times of feeling self-doubt is to come into your heart and you will find the resources, because you have them. We all have them. We all have the resources to help each other. We’re all human.
Come to that place of love in your heart and turn the spotlight away from your own self. How do I sincerely want to help this person with all my heart? That gets all the attention off of the me-ness and into the realm of being the servant and being the facilitator to help this other person, which is the whole reason that we’re all in this business.