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.

Liaw Siaw Wei Patricia, PCC

patricia@madwithme.com

You are who you believe you are! Human potential is limitless. What you believe, you can achieve. Isn’t that powerful? At times, people are bound by limiting beliefs blocking them from unleashing their full potential. Aspire to help more people to achieve breakthroughs in life; I embarked on my coaching…read more

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