The Pilgrim Coach

Of all the roles in the British armed forces, what is the role of the military chaplain?  It's a very important role. Chaplains work with people who have work in demanding situations - sometimes even taking life.  We want them to behave in ways that reflect the values of our society, in ways that are morally responsible, even under the pressures of armed conflict. As well as their responsibilities...

The nature of modern warfare is changing rapidly. Whether its deterrence, peacekeeping, or active combat, service personnel need, more than ever, to be adaptable, insightful, skilful and able to recover quickly from set-backs.  Thank you for joining me again as I speak to a fellow traveller in life, and the world of coaching, Dr Chris Mackel. Chris is a highly experienced coach with a deep busines...

How many CVs do you have? If you’ve applied for a variety of jobs you probably have several, tailored to your prospective employers. I expect you put them in different formats - chronological, skills based, or a hybrid. What they all have in common is what you can do. But what’s on the CV that other people have on you - the one that reflects who you are - your character CV?  It’s the combination o...

One of the more demanding areas to explore in coaching, and in life in general, is how we live out our values. Values don’t just deal with questions of pragmatism - what’s useful or effective - they reflect what we stand for. And to stand for something, usually means that you will find yourself standing against something else. Your values are likely to rub up against other people’s. In short, ther...

On a scale of 1 - 10, how happy were you yesterday? If the first facet of our gem of the thriving life is a life going well, the second is a life feeling good. But what does the good life feel like, and in what should we invest in order to get it? Since "happiness" is a very flexible term that could encompass anything from joviality, to delight, to love and host of other ideas, I'd like to suggest...

How are you today? And how do you know?  In their book,  ‘A Life Worth Living, a guide to what matters most’, Miroslav Volf, Matthew Crausman and Ryan Mckinally-Linz give us three facets that are almost universally held to be important elements of a thriving life. If your life is going well with desirable circumstances, feels good, and is lived well (out of your values) it is likely to be well on...

What’s the different between a pilgrim and a tourist? I think it was theologian and scientist Alister McGrath who mused that whilst a tourist may visit a place looking for an experience, or a memory, or perhaps a souvenir, the pilgrim sees his or her journey as a search for transformation. My own journey to develop a high level of expertise in coaching as certainly been transformational for me per...

What makes you want to do what you do? How much of it is down to natural skills you possess? Have you been shaped by experiences that have opened up possibilities that you previously didn’t recognise as available to you? Do you have a driving inner conviction about your place in the world, or the kind of world you want to live in? I’m Geoff Ashton, a professional coach, podcaster, and occasional s...