For me, this is why I coach and mentor...

BY KOREY STROZIER

There has always been a desire deep within me, a desire to leave every situation, person, opportunity or group, better than how I found them. I’m not always sure what that’s going to look like, but my effort and approach is always the same in ensuring that it's genuine and my work is honest and transparent. The purpose of a coach is to help individuals improve their performance, to help them learn, grow and look at things from a perch on the balcony and through a lens of experience over opinion. I take a firm stance in saying that I am not sure if I’d be able to comfortably coach someone through something that I have yet to experience myself — because experience is where you gain the confidence to actually do the coaching.

I take pride in every opportunity that I have to coach in areas such as; life challenges, leadership, student success- both secondary and post secondary, as well as career coaching. The path that led me to identify my passion for this type of work has been all but straight.

I know one thing that’s certain, one reason I made it through high school was due to the fact that I had great folks willing to step up and play the role of mentors and coaches. Here is the great thing about that, those same folks helped see me through the completion of my Associates, Bachelors and Masters Degrees. They were also present and readily available to assist as I made the transition from student to employee, from employee to leader- and to this day I know that my coaches are always one call away.

There is something to be said about folks that give their time, effort and energy all for the betterment of others. I absolutely love being a part of the growth journey of my clients/mentees, so much so that there have been countless times where I answer the call, even if I'm not being compensated. That there is an extremely fine line, my very own mentors have given me a stern talking to about the value and allocation of my time- especially with a family at home. I should make it clear that i’m not in the business of coaching to get rich, some people are- there are full time coaches out there, some bringing in around $114K per year according to a study conducted by the ICF. Knowing that, my answer is still NO, i’m not worried about the dollar amount left on the table by refusing to charge folks that come to me in their time of need- I’m just not. This is honestly and truly a labor of love for me with the pay off being, watching others succeed in reaching their goals, overcoming their fears and excelling in their careers — this is what fills my cup. One of my favorite quotes reads as follows:

“Do good things for people, without expecting anything in return. Because some fragrance always remains on the hands of those who distribute the roses.”