I love this time of year and I love walking whilst talking. On a personal level that is one reason why having dogs is a good fit for me, as it prompts me outside daily for long, rambling walks through the colourful woods and along the river.
However until recently I hadn’t found a way to translate my love for a good autumn ramble into my work… . That all changes in recent weeks as I embarked on creating the first of what I call ‘coaching walks’: It’s an autumn ramble, pocket edition.
What is it?
The idea for this format comes from my own experience of having wonderful reflective conversations with my then mentor Margaret as we walked our way through parks discussing strategy and solving the knotty problems I encountered as a CEO.
We didn’t get to meet very often, but when we did and had time and space to head outside instead of limiting our sessions to a phone call or even an in person meeting, it was transformative.
I think better when I walk, and I love following my train of thought and my feet, with an open mind about where they might take me.
As a coach I now offer a walking format, both in person and remotely via a phone call, but the logistics of aligning diaries as and when important moments arise can make it challenging to actually make it happen.
What I wanted to offer instead as a walk on demand, an option to take time away and find some headspace as and when my clients really need it. And so the idea for the coaching walk mini course was born.
How does it work?
The format is quite straight forward: it’s a mini online course in six parts, which covers setting out on the walk, the actual walk itself and coming back again. The screenshot of the course overview gives you an idea of the structure: each section has a narrative and activity as well as an audio recording to listen to (which you can download to listen to out and about):
I have designed the activities so that you can choose to simply listen and walk and come back to the written version of the reflective prompts I share along the way later. Each element of the course includes pictures I have taken myself as I go on the walk.
As you will be able to hear, I actually recorded a lot of the audio as I was walking myself, and I found that the most enjoyable part of creating the course.
Where can I try it?
You can preview and try out the full course for yourself for free. Simply head to the course homepage to get started. I think my coaching clients are very much going to enjoy trying this new format and I look forward to hearing what you think.
Hopefully I’ll get a chance to create more seasonal resources like this, so let me know what you’d find helpful for the next edition. I’m already thinking about a coastal path coaching adventure… .
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