Many organizations are discovering that the secret sauce to successful talent development is creating an effective coaching program — one that engages not only key talent but also drives strong organizational outcomes.

It is important to have a coach at every age - someone to help you reflect and bring out the best in you. Whether it is "sport" or work or personal, I am blessed to have had coaches throughout my career. To name a few, Jan Maarten van Duin (deceased, my father), Nick Jackson, Peter van Maurik, Barbara Johnson, Marti Pozzi, Robert Schriek and many others. These coaches believed in me and helped me to become a better version of myself. 

Helping young women become more visible and nurturing them in their careers, and having diversity on the work floor is important to me. Paying it forward, I'm now giving insights and lessons learned in my career to young talent. I am a part of the Dutch network group "Topvrouwen.nl" (translated as Top woman) in the Netherlands. Realizing the importance of having more women at the top of the Dutch workforce, Topvrouwen.nl created portraits of 200 top females influencing workplaces. These 200 women are role models in their jobs who can make a difference for the next generation and be an inspiration source for (working) females. 

There are many benefits of having a coach. The personal benefits of coaching are wide-ranging and can positively impact an individual's career if they engage with a coach in the right way. In my view, coaching can help boost confidence, improve work performance, and build effective communication skills.

Here are my ingredients to successful coaching: 

• Be motivated to change. The coachee that gets the most from coaching has a strong desire to learn and to grow.
   
• Build good chemistry with the coach. The right match is key to the success of a coaching experience. Without it, the trust required for optimal performance will not develop and is a missed opportunity.
  
  
• Establish and act toward achieving goals. Coaching allows the individual to define their career goals realistically. Set your goals and actively work towards them to increase the likelihood of achieving the goals.
  
  
• Increase level of engagement. Coach engages coachee with its unique one-on-one feedback and lots of encouragement. With an increased level of engagement, the coachee can contribute more to the organization. This also helps with retention rates and productivity.
  
  
• Create a Safe Place, Using the safe place for encouragement and development is essential. It allows for more in-depth learning and higher levels of comfort. Once the coachee is comfortable with their skills, they can begin to use them daily.
  
  
• Deeper Level of Learning. Coaching isn't just about improving an individual's workplace skills; it takes learning to a deeper level. Through coaching, a coachee can learn more about themselves, find out how others perceive them, and improve on areas of their personalities that they are not satisfied with.
  
  
• Build Personal Awareness. A coach can give their coachee ideas to improve themselves. More importantly, they can help them become aware of their blind spots. Once the coachee is aware of these areas, they can work with the coach to improve them.

Interested to learn how Equinix can support your career journey? Check out open roles here.