I completed CLLI in June of 2025 in Columbia, SC with Jocelyn Washburn and Debbie Higginbotham. I appreciated going into the apprenticeship with the information from the Clifton Strengths Assessment. From the start, I had the information to personalize the experience by looking at coaching through the lens of my strengths (and weaknesses) to adjust my presentations to lean on those strengths and to support the weaknesses. It was also empowering to give names to patterns in my behavior that I was aware of but didn’t necessarily see them as my strengths. I spent a lot of time one-on-one with Jocelyn who shared that her profile was similar to mine. It was helpful to hear how she uses those same strengths and overcomes some of the challenges associated with those strengths.
I also gained a renewed sense of intentionality in my coaching. Reviewing SMARTER, discussing the steps of the routines, talking about the look fors when coaching and mentoring a routine were great reminders for what I should be doing as a coach and also gave me new insight into coaching. For example, I am more aware of coaching being cyclical rather than linear in nature. It is not about just reaching a goal; but reaching a goal, reevaluating and creating a new goal.
I also gained a renewed sense of intentionality in my coaching. Reviewing SMARTER, discussing the steps of the routines, talking about the look fors when coaching and mentoring a routine were great reminders for what I should be doing as a coach and also gave me new insight into coaching. For example, I am more aware of coaching being cyclical rather than linear in nature. It is not about just reaching a goal; but reaching a goal, reevaluating and creating a new goal.