Cathy Liska by Vonetta Wade, Certified Professional Coach – https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonetta-wade-pmp-cpc-cisa-csm-47051526/ 
Are you looking for your coaching specialty or purpose? Or how to coach your client for finding their purpose? There is something very special and rewarding about coaching and finding purpose in areas where you’ve overcome your most difficult challenges. Below are questions and as an example my answers to inspire you to explore.
- What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
- I became a mom at a very young age. Prior to that, I had left home at the age of 14, so everything I learned about effective parenting was through pain, trial and error. Where I came from, there was a lot of anger and ineffective communication. This was the same environment my child was being raised in and when she became a teenager, I realized our conflicts weren’t being handled and resolved effectively.
- What steps did you take to overcome?
- I felt like I was failing as a parent and I needed help, so I decided to use my resources and reached out to my new community where my daughter was just starting high school. There was a pastor who provided counseling services. The girls’ basketball coach allowed my daughter to join the team to keep her busy after school. The school principal approved bus service so my daughter could take the bus to my son’s daycare and volunteer to decrease her availability to do unproductive things. The principal also allowed me to start a program at the school that provided support to teens and parents raising teens.
- How can you use your success in this area to coach others?
- My experience both provided the resources I sought to learn to be a better communicator and effective parent and allowed me to find my purpose and help other families during the often-challenging teenage years. My relationship with my daughter (who is now 30 and a new mom) grew stronger and we have an amazing bond. We’re able to help other parent/child relationships by being living examples. People who know me understand that effective parenting has become my specialty. I post about it often and have made videos about it. I’m helping my clients explore the possibilities and be successful at effective parenting too.
Coaching is broad, and although we may have knowledge in many areas, think about a niche that makes you the happiest. Focus on the one that empowers and motivates you to easily help your client explore the infinite possibilities because you have been down that road and successfully explored it yourself.
Since completing my initial coach training, I apply what I learn both in my job and when helping others move past challenges I also experienced.
