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Coaching Interview with Tom Shields

Analysis and Reflection

Elizabeth Horgan

ODEV 640 Dr. John Bennett

November 8, 2010
! I interviewed Tom Shields, a life coach who focuses on personal development

and helping people with what he calls “optimal vision coaching”. Through conversations

with Tom, I was able to get a sense of his coaching style and approach, and to gain a

greater understanding of the business of coaching by learning about his practice. He

operates as an independent contractor and self-employed business person; Tom has

been involved with coaching since 1995, during which time the focus of his coaching

activities have evolved. This paper will review Tomʼs journey in coaching and will

highlight issues of particular interest to me. Reflections on his coaching practice will be

analyzed and insights into coaching as a field will be explored. I found that interviewing

a professional coach dramatically increased my understanding of coaching.

Investigation

! Tom began coaching informally, as the “go to” person at his government job for

people who needed some counsel as early as 1990. He realized that he enjoyed

helping people, and decided to take evening classes, first getting his MA in in Education

and Psychology. He then used his weekends the following year to become certified in

neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). NLP is a practical coaching approach, with a focus

on achieving behavior change by addressing clientsʼ perceptions and emphasizing that

there is a consistent internal ordering and structuring to the way we think and act

(Grimley, 2010). Shortly thereafter, he had major eye surgery and almost died from an

aneurism. These health-related events became a catalyst for change. In 1997 he

shifted to working at first part-time as a coach and then committed fully to coaching a

year later. He joined Nightingale Conant, a personal development company that sold
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self-help books and provided coaching services. Tom became their top coach, actively

involved with leading sales and introductory sessions and working one-on-one coaching

individuals. Tom preferred the coaching aspects of his job and went out on his own a

few years later in order to focus solely on coaching. His journey continues to involve

coaching. When asked to describe himself currently, Tom defined himself as a coach, a

writer, and an author, “I help people see who they truly are and what they can truly

be” (Shields, 2010).

! His personal experience with severe eye issues has shaped his coaching

direction. His focus is on vision, on helping people to see more clearly. He has evolved

over time to concentrate on helping people who want to do things but do not feel strong

enough to actually do them. He targets personal development through inside-out

behavior change. He addresses issues of identity, role, self-image, and purpose, as

well as the “why”s and “what they want to be and create”, using client-derived specific,

measurable goals.

! His coaching business is evolving as a result of Tomʼs learnings and

experiences. Within the last year he changed his approach and definition of his target

market. Tom believes he is most successful working with and coaching authentic

leaders, who he portrays as people who share certain attributes (they are leaders who

want to learn and grow, they have integrity and a commitment to doing the right things

right). What his prospects do is secondary to who they are. He feels that this is a

change from his past marketing when he used to target clients by focusing on particular

groups of people (such as sports figures, doctors) in order to present and promote

himself using niche expertise. Now he has broadened his networking, from Meet-up
groups to churches, and seeks out other opportunities (sports, business groups) to find

authentic leaders and to talk about what he does. He is writing a book, ʻRefocus Your

Life”, which he plans to promote - the goal to increase his exposure and frame his

expertise. He also has a steady referral component that adds to his coaching business.

! Tom feels that he continuously learns and develops. He regularly networks with

other coaches and has a long term coaching relationship to address his personal growth

and development. He is exploring the creation of an Institute as a training and learning

environment - to train coaches, whom he calls “optimologists”, in areas of personal

leadership and life management.

Analysis and Insights

! Tom is a developmental coach who takes a longer-term, holistic approach to

coaching. He considers himself primarily a life coach, working on personal leadership,

life management and personal development. The foundations of his practice come from

the adult learning principles and assumptions of andragogy (Bachkirova, Cox &

Clutterbuck, 2010) and involve several theoretical traditions and genres of coaching.

He applies principles of transformational learning as a foundation of his coaching

practice. He works with clients to dig deep to shift their focus and expand their capacity

so as to “transform their way of thinking, feeling and behaving in relation to

others” (Hawkins & Smith, p.231). Added to this is his NLP training which he applies to

help clients explore their reality and to look at what helps and hinders them as they

construct their personal realities (Grimley, 2010). He also focuses on personal

development, using components of cognitive-developmental coaching in his practice.

His emphasis on understanding the internal in order to affect change externally/

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behaviorally is a key element that informs and directs his coaching approach

(Bachkirova, Cox & Clutterbuck, 2010).

! The business side of Tomʼs coaching practice can be looked at by market, client

and issues. His market is currently in flux, he is attempting to redirect his client base by

prospecting in different ways. He continues to be affiliated with coaching referral sites

on the Internet. However, my view is that his new marketing strategy sounds vague to

me. Trying to meet “authentic” leaders through group participation might work, but his

comments as I questioned him seemed grounded more in hope and possibility than in

structured, concrete plans. The fact that he is writing a book is a time constraint that

can ultimately help or hurt his practice, depending again on his focus and overall

strategic plan. My sense was that his focus was not clear, and that felt problematic for

me as it can hinder business success.

! Tomʼs likes his clients, and apparently they like him. He works with people for a

range of time periods: some clients he has had for 7 or 8 years, and at the other end of

the spectrum, he works with clients for 12 session/3 month commitments. His coaching

business went from being primarily face-to-face coaching to a practice where his

engagements are now done mostly over the phone. He has had to develop skills of

listening to what is said and not said, how pacing, inflection and other auditory cues can

inform the coaching session. My coaching sessions this semester were done over the

phone, so I understand the acute need to listen to the breadth and depth of what is said

and what is omitted.

! There are three issues that arose from my conversations with Tom about a

coachʼs practice and approach. First, the business side of coaching is important to
evaluate, as are the challenges of success measurement. Secondly, the issue of client-

coach selection is more complex than I initially thought. Lastly, through insights gained

from talking with Tom, I realized that continuous learning is a critical element of

coaching.

! In looking at Tomʼs practice, I found is that Tom does not use objective measures

to analyze his coaching success. He relies instead on his own read of client results and

satisfaction. It appears that his business is performing in adequate financial fashion - it

enables him to meet his what I observe to be modest needs. As to measuring/

addressing client results, he self-assesses each situation. Tomʼs passion is not on the

business of coaching, but rather is on the people side, helping others grow. As an

independent contractor, a coach can focus anywhere on a continuum between the

business end and the people side of things as a way of measuring success. While

Tomʼs approach seems to work for him (he has been able to support himself in coaching

for over 13 years), I feel that it is important to have more of a balance between the

business and the softer measurements. For me, balancing client successes with a

stronger emphasis on the financial aspects of a coaching business would drive greater

personal satisfaction.

! I see an issue in the selection of coach by coachee. Tom stresses vision and

seeing in his overall approach to coaching. Yet not everyone experiences things that

way or is a visual learner. Leeds, in her book Smart Questions, notes five different

personality categories, the Commander, the Convincer, the Carer-Nurturer, the

Calculator and the Creator (Leeds, 1987). Each personality category approaches things

differently, for example, a Commander is results oriented and more interested in action
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than seeing. However, for a Carer-Nurturer type of person, a visionary approach may

be very effective in helping with exploration and empowering behavioral change. I

expect that over time and through experience, a coach can have a sense of who he/she

can and cannot best work with.

! Through insights gained from my conversation with Tom I realized that continued

learning and talking with other coaches is an incredibly valuable thing. He talked about

“just do it” - as a coach you donʼt have to be perfect; allow things to take shape, a lot of

coaching is not knowing how. Additionally he talked about what can hinder change. He

said that whenever you set a goal, something always comes up. We donʼt know what it

is, so we call it procrastination. As a coach, the challenge is to dig into what is holding

the person back. Explore it, do not pretend it isnʼt there. Along those lines, Tom has

found that people want to do things, but many times donʼt feel strong enough to do

them. That is why he focuses on inner strength coaching. Each of these insights might

have taken me years to develop on my own, or might never have come to me -

continued learning in this field is critical, in my estimation, to success and to being a

good coach.

! Tomʼs advice to me: “Ask myself “why?”. What is compelling for me in my career

direction? You need passion and purpose for any work you do”.

Conclusion

! As a result of interviewing Tom Shields, a professional coach focused primarily

on developmental coaching, I gained a deeper knowledge about the field of coaching,

reflected on issues new to me, and gained insights into coaching approaches and

underlying client issues. I found that the education you have as a coach combines with
your interests, experiences and passions to create a personalized coaching persona. I

am interested in using a coaching approach in organizational training, and “see” more

clearly now that that I can apply what I am learning and doing in coaching to embark on

a new career and develop a path that works for me.!

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References

Bachkirova, T., Cox., E., & Clutterbuck, D., (2010). Introduction. In Cox., E., Bachkirova,

! T., & Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.),The complete handbook of coaching. Thousand

! Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Grimley, B., (2010). The NLP approach to coaching. In Cox., E., Bachkirova, T., &

! Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.),The complete handbook of coaching. Thousand Oaks, CA:

! SAGE.

Hawkins, P., & Smith, N., 2010). Transformational coaching. In Cox., E., Bachkirova,

! T., & Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.),The complete handbook of coaching. Thousand

! Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Leeds, D., (1987). Smart questions: The essential strategy for successful managers.

! New York: Penguin Group.

Shields, T. J., (2010, October 15). Personal interview.