The Academy for Family Coach Training

I am learning so much and getting to work with lots of people who really need this information. I LOVE it. I've been working as a contracted provider for the State of WA since June last year- using all of my coaching skills - working with families. Whew! It's amazing and interesting and has provided me with the income to transition out of window washing as of June 15 last year...seems like forever. One of the biggest things that I am learning is how truly (really truly) powerful this work is. I am getting to watch parents transform their relationships with their kids. I am also learning how great it is to make this material "my own". I am gaining believers who are promoting my work.

This work feels...IMPORTANT. And it feels more right than anything I have ever done~except maybe raising my own children. It is powerful and empowering. I learn more every day.

I recently met with a Family Court Judge who is delighted with the work I am doing and gave me a list of other contacts (plus sent out an introduction email for me) and next week I meet with the head of probation for a one-on-one before he has me meet with all of his probation officers. Pretty exciting! More than that, it's just exciting to see the changes in my clients...and in their relationships with their kids.

I love how well this work crosses the socio-economic boundaries, as well as translates cross-culturally~universally applicable! I never expected to have such great results with the population I am working with and it makes me really happy since these folks have so few other resources...to be able to go in there and REALLY make a difference is amazing.

This course opened my eyes to my belief in myself and to all of the amazing ways I can make a contribution and make a difference with others. I feel blessed to have had the experience. Thanks Diana and Bill and Team!

I loved this course! It is excellently laid out, well thought, well planned, from Foundation to Coaching Skills to Business acumen. Not just a coaching course, this is a one package deal for coaching, parenting and marketing!

The Seven Ways to Coach is a process that can be adapted and applied to diverse parenting contexts. With the skills of a professional coach and the Advanced Coaching Course training parents and teens will have their relationship strengthened and enhanced. My experience has transformed, grounded and enabled me to discover my heart for coaching!
Wendy Groot PCC Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

I highly recommend this course to any one who wants to work with parents or teens. It is rigorous, thought and action provoking. The depth of the material and the experience was life changing.
Carol McNaughton Ho, Chrysalis Coaching, Hong Kong

Whether you are brand new to the coaching profession or an experienced
coach, the Advanced Coaching Course has something for you. Yes, it is rigorous. Yes, it will challenge you (personally & professionally). Yes, it is fun. This program has been instrumental in making me a better coach, but more importantly a stronger individual. Thanks team!
Stuart Fleming, Stride Coaching, New Zealand (Past ICF Chapter President
Christchurch N.Z)

Before joining the course I had worked with parents and teens over the years as a mentor, teacher, and coach. What I was lacking was the foundation for moving out of volunteer/advocacy work into my own coaching business. The work we have done over the past ten months has given me a strong foundation from which to grow and soar with my business. My first client paid me my full rate for a 12 week coaching program and they changed their family life forever!

Katie, my client, also seemed to realize that the process of coaching her teen really meant she was going to have to spend time understanding herself better. We talked about trying to see what it is that is on your own shoulders that causes you to set a certain bottom line. When I listened to her it was obvious that a lot of her concerns were based on “fear”. Katie even said that it’s hard not to micromanage your teen and yet still “be there” for them. It seemed to help ease her fears and increase her understanding of her teen when we talked about teens as “Beings in Development” and that they are riding the waves of personal discovery with it’s ups and downs. She admitted that she had a hard time using the “respect” word out loud as it felt awkward and was unable to use it on her self. She stated that it wasn’t something her own parents used on her but rather “to her”.

Our sessions also got Katie to talk about how different each of her children really are and to begin recognizing that she doesn’t always interact with each of them the same. She was able to notice that it was easier for her to interact with her son who was more like herself and thus she felt she understood him better. We then talked about being a “parent coach” as an “on-going” process of relating to your child. You don’t have to be perfect and try to fix it all today…..just practice, practice, practice. Katie said that it was becoming clear to her that if you said less, it was their chance to say more. We also went over the accountability triangle and in one session we discussed a specific agreement that she had made with her teen. After looking at the situation from the triangle method it became clear that her teen actually had held up her end of the agreement and that Katie’s fears were more about what “others might do”. She also stated that she was starting to realize that her daughter's stuff was not necessarily permanent but part of her “self-discovery”. We went over the different stages of development that children move through and laughed as we decided mom’s are or see themselves as “emotional bandaids”! Finally Katie said that she has mostly found herself talking to her husband about the things we discussed in our sessions. She bought the book, Parent as Coach, and sees how it might work in different ways with her children who are 7, 11, and 15.

I also feel that working with Katie, reading the book again and using the course materials has resulted in a lot of my own internal work. When I was working with Katie, I just kept trying to slow down, stop thinking, stop talking, and just listen. I also had to remind myself over and over that I didn’t need to jump in and try to fix it. I’m realizing that when you coach, you are learning a new way of talking to others. It’s made me more aware of the ways that people do “communicate” with each other both within my own family and elsewhere. If I am to be completely honest, I have also felt increasingly frustrated with my life as I continue to learn. I have discovered that I am much more isolated both personally and professionally at work than even “I” had realized. I now know that I need to find ways to meet more people, make new friends, and just generally support my own needs. I think that if I keep trying to use these coaching tools, they can be part of a life-long way of improving my relationships with others.

The thing I want to do next to increase my learning is to talk more with my husband about this model and use it more with each other and our children.

One of the things that I have liked the most about way I see this work with the Parent as Coach Approach is its integrity. It’s built on a positive, loving method of helping people to help themselves. It encourages people to communicate in a healthier manner and can help people make some great behavior changes. WOW!

“I just wanted to thank you for generously sharing your stories and wisdom on raising teens with a coaching perspective. I am a step-mother of two teens, and I look forward to being more of a cheerleader and less of a "nudge" as they navigate through these important years. My step teens thank you, too!

“What a great class! Made me really think about some things I'm doing with my 12 year-old daughter, which I can change as she becomes even more of a teenager. Thanks for your time, talent and wisdom.

“Thanks so much for offering the Parent as Coach approach; there are a number of ideas for me to consider as practices. Our situation is a complex one, and since I am the step-mom, I don't have the "authority" to make a lot of decisions, although I can change my own reactions to Krista. You are doing such important work!!”

“Your presentation was terrific! Our customers really enjoyed the valuable information you brought to them.

Page Jordan, Community Relations Manager, Barnes and Noble
Portland, Oregon

“I took away value that I could use immediately with both my 13 and 9 year old. I had a big Aha! in the discussion and my perspective shifted. I am a marketing professional who has been working with the parents of pre-teens and teens for the last two years. I think your work is breakthrough and I applaud you. I look forward to sharing you and your message with both the parenting and coaching community that I am a part of. We also had a conversation last night about how she hates when she I'm on the phone and she comes in the room and mouths silently to me and I share it very cavalierly with whoever I'm talking to. It was such a very basic issue of respect and I got it. And she got that I got it! Was very good moment.”

“As a mother of two, I have experienced the benefits of Diana Sterling’s wisdom when it comes from interaction with children and approaching them with deep listening, respect, love and clear requests. The Parent as Coach Approach is personal, practical and offers sage advice for building a strong foundation with your beloved children, as well as all others near and dear to your hear.

“Yes, I would pay any amount of money to learn about how I can Live for Success. This work is eye-opening, motivational and real. Thank you!”