Becoming a Passionate Teacher and Coach

3 November 2020

When I was a little girl, I had the ambition to become a teacher when I grew up, but my primary school teacher said, “What? Teacher? No, no, no! Think again and change that!”

With such pressure, I ended up considering becoming an air stewardess, a doctor, engineer or accountant, all of which would promise a better future.

Still puzzled, I wondered what was wrong with wanting to become a teacher even though, deep down that’s what I feel called to since I was young.

That day, I went home and shared with my dad, a man of few words. He laughed and said, “Really, you want to be a teacher? You sure?”

Mom, too, said, “What’s good about being a teacher? Why do you want to be a teacher?”

Undefeated, I said, “Teaching can be different ….”

The passion to become a teacher remained with me for years. I joined various corporate organizations, and was blessed with bosses, who asked more questions than they gave answers. It was a challenging time for me as I hardly received answers to my questions; rather, I found myself having to figure out the answers to my boss’ questions:

• Do you have solutions to your problem?
• Ok, what are they?
• No, can you think of at least 5?
• Now that you have your solution, do you still have a problem?
• Great, when can you start?

Back then, as a professional IT trainer, I used coaching facilitation to train participants, and I thank my bosses for what they’ve imparted into my life.

In 2009, with the encouragement from my husband, I explored Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and unexpectedly ended up with an NLP coaching certification. Since then, I found myself addicted to the practice of coaching and have continued to explore coaching. I also realized that my parents and bosses have used coaching techniques to empower me to find my own solutions in life and suffice to say, I am grateful to have been brought up in a culture of coaching.

Before my dad passed on in 2010, I told him, “Pa, your stubborn little girl has quit her job to start a different kind of ‘teaching’ journey.”
He just smiled and said, “Really? You sure?”

Well, here I am today – a different kind of “teacher,” who doesn’t teach but rather coaches to allow others to find their own answers. I am living my dream!

As the events director for ICF Malaysia, I would like to make possible good learning programs that allow all of us to grow as coaches, and above all, foster meaningful connections among each other through various events.