Interview with Anne Fitzgerald Life Coach
February 18, 2012 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under Featured Articles, Front Page, Wright Ideas
I am coming to the end of the Wright Place TV Show season and I just can not fit all the interviews that I want to do on the show. So being creative, here is an online interview with Life Coach Anne Fitzgerald. I think personal coaching can bring the break through you need to reach your goals.
1. There are a lot of different types of coaching, what is your style?
I have been trained and continue to be trained in Ontology. An Ontological Coach studies how people show up in their world. While I work with people in creating the results they want, I’m always working on how they are being in relationship to that result. This way of coaching produces lasting change for people. For example, it’s simple to tell someone how to lose weight: exercise more and eat less, or count calories, and if they do that they will lose weight. But if we don’t shift their relationship to food and eating that change isn’t likely to last. We have to address the emotional undercurrents of the strategies we have created in our lives (like overeating when we’re stressed, e.g.) . It’s all about awareness and choice.
2. Who is coaching best suited for?
Coaching is best suited for people who feel their life is mostly working but have one or more areas they’d like to see improved or changed. Maybe they experience it as something missing. These areas can be in regards to relationships (including parenting), income, career, unmet dreams and travel, etc. It’s suited for people who know that this change is not going to happen overnight or sitting down. They have to be willing to take action and look at the reasons that have stopped them before. Coaching requires partnership and the willingness to stretch oneself.
3. Why is self acceptance so important to achievement?
I love this question. Self acceptance is one of my favorite areas to work on with people. Most people are hardest on themselves. We criticize, judge and beat ourselves up because something wasn’t good enough, perfect or “right”. When we begin to accept ourselves, even a little, for who we are, what we’ve done and are now doing, we grow. We become lighter. We become less harsh with others. Spaciousness is added to our life and it allows for achievement. So many of us believe we don’t deserve to be successful. And really life wants us to be successful.
4. What are the important steps to developing our business leadership?
Another great question. I love leadership development. Briefly, (because we could write a book on this topic) as leaders, the most important piece to develop is a sense of responsibility for everything that happens in our lives. Once we understand that we are in the driver’s seat for all areas of our life we have the capacity to support others to see the same. And this is vital to leading an effective team. Leaders also need to have a strong vision and the ability to inspire their team to work toward that vision. This is vital to their success. Is the vision tantalizing enough that the team is enrolled in working toward it? If it is then you’ll have happy employees and this will attract the best people to you. Being a mentor for your employees, not having all the answers, is another key. Leadership is not about control, it’s about creating a team and being part of it. Of course a great leader needs to invest in themselves. This means taking care of themselves, sleeping, eating well, exercising, spending time with family or loved ones, and, of course engaging a coach or coaches to support them on the journey.
5. Are business leaders born or is it something we can learn?
Leadership is something we learn but we have to want to. And business is something we learn, too. Business is not something that is cut out for everyone but everyone can learn to lead their own lives, whether they consider themselves a leader or not. Think of a stay at home mom. She’s a leader in all capacities. She’s likely leading the household budget, medical decisions, educational decisions.. everything. Practice being a leader in all aspects of your life. The world will reward you kindly for it!
6.Is happiness overrated? Is this a goal we should aspire to?
Should people aspire to happiness? This feels like a complex question and I’m going to approach it very simply and say, “yes” we should aspire to happiness. However I’ll add another layer. What is happiness for you? That’s what you should aspire to. The simplest way to invite happiness into your life is to practice gratitude and connection every day. I recommend being easy on yourself and letting yourself really practice happiness. Be careful not to get caught in how someone else is doing happiness. It may not be your thing. Experience has shown me that most of us forget what makes us happy. Maybe it’s because we spent all our time doing something that didn’t make us happy, whether it was school or a job or trying to make ends meet. I invite you to consider all the little things that COULD make you happy. Is it the rain? (Living in Seattle I’ve decided rain does make me happy!) Your child’s laughter? Reading the paper with a cup of tea? Invite happiness into your life in small ways and allow the experience to settle. Happiness feeds on itself.
7. How do we contact you?
“You can contact me via my website at www.anniefitzgeraldcoaching.com , by phone (206)- 789-1213 or by email anne.fitzgerald@accomplishmentcoaching.com
I like what you said about happiness: “Be careful not to get caught in how someone else is doing happiness.” That is such a great way to put it. Most people hate rain, so it’s easy to fall into the trap saying that we hate rain as well. When in fact, it’s amazing that you love rain. I do too! Without it we wouldn’t have all of the beautiful greenery that surrounds us.
What a fabulous outlook on life Anne has!
Dr. Wright,
You asked excellent questions for this exclusive interview. This is great insight for women out there that are interested in the coaching business. It is also an inspiration for entrepreneurs striving to be better leaders.
I am featuring Anne as a success story on my business blog – WomanInLeadership.com
I would like to share some of the interview content on her story. Questions 3-5.
You will be credited of course.
If you have any question, please contact me.
Many Blessings,
Stacie Walker