| Coach Spotlight: Kirk Bullington |
As I looked out at the faces, I felt overwhelmed by the privilege before me--getting to lead a workshop on coaching for faith-based leaders in the world's second largest town, Mexico City. A good friend of mine had invited me to do this conference several months ago and he and I, along with some of the Mexican leaders in charge of the conference, had met together online through Skype video conferencing calls to get ready for the big day, and now, it had finally arrived. Over the next several days, we began to unpack the skills of coaching--reflective listening, goal setting, smart goals, action steps, etc. There are not words to express how radical of a paradigm shift this was for leaders in an area of the world where faith-based leaders in churches have traditionally been revered as the final, authoritative word on all matters both ecclesiastical and secular. Congregational people share a problem and church leaders mete out solutions. If you don't like or are unwilling to follow the advice given, you could even be placed under church discipline. The looks on their faces were priceless as quizzical frowns gave way to dawning understanding and then smiles of excitement. Toward the end of the conference, special workshops were held on how to use coaching in marital and family relationships. You could sense the energy building as the week progressed, culminating in a closing session in which the leaders stood to share testimonies of how they had changed their understanding of how to lead people and how they planned to use coaching as faith-based leaders in the future. I was elated. On the last day, I sat with a group of faith-based leaders eating a lunch meal of traditional tacos. "What do we do next?" one asked, "When can we do this again?" I laughed to myself and the conversation continued over more taco bites. In my heart I thought, "Soon, hopefully very soon!" |