The birth of a website
“If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.”
"I'm a listener" I replied, trying the phrase out loud for the first time. The question was a simple one: "What do you do?" and more of a politeness than a genuine inquiry, but for years I've stumbled to give a simple answer.
It's hard to find the words sometimes. I always knew that I would need, at some point in the evolution of my coaching practice, to have a website that told my story, that gave a sense of who I am, what I do, where I come from, why I love coaching, why someone might work with me. But there were more immediately interesting things to be doing. Doing the work, primarily. Learning more about my craft. Sharpening the saw.
There were less pleasant things to be doing. Homeschooling in a pandemic stands out. But there were others that took, and needed, time, attention, space. Grief. Illness. The myriad paper cut distractions that come in a life with small children.
Finding the words that capture in some small measure what goes on in a coaching relationship has been a drawn-out process. As happens to me often, I only began to get close to what I was looking for when I came alongside the issue from a different angle: in discussions about how to capture the work of The Sounding Board visually with designer Ciaran Hurson. Questioning the intent behind my coaching practice, the meaning it brings, the values that underpin it, he translated my musings and mutterings into a beautiful, kinetic icon that captures the momentum and clarity that happens in a coaching conversation.
Conversations - the casual catch-ups, the walks covering almost every inch of pavement and park in East Belfast, the long-into-the-night discussions - with friends, family, coaching peers, mentors have allowed me to unpick the threads that eventually weave into a semi-coherent story that tells a story of my experiences, skills and connections that find their current home in my work as a coach. I'm grateful for the interest and gentle challenge that each of those chats brought.
“It’s time to put your taxi light on.”
In one of those conversations about why someone might work with me, a wise friend said: "It's time to put your taxi light on." I've come back to that phrase every time I've got stuck, procrastinated, put off progressing the development of the website. My unwillingness to get headshots for the site became a running joke; Jonathan Ryder skillfully pulled me out of my misery with his ease and excellent eye. Talented friends wordsmithed. Support from Belfast City Council who put me in touch with Jordan at Full Circle meant I got access to technical skills and design wisdom, along with great patience and humour, that were far beyond me. It's turned out to be one of the most creative acts I've engaged in and brought me into connection with people and ideas that wouldn't have come about otherwise.
Finding the words and visuals for my work as The Sounding Board has helped me to begin to 'find the way' in Heaney's words.
And so: my taxi light is on. https://www.thesoundingboard.coach