How Coaching Others Has Empowered Me Professionally
By Joe Leong, Product Manager, Core Skills Academy, NTUC LearningHub
In my previous role as a career coach, I have been fortunate enough to help many individuals achieve their career goals and improve their livelihoods. However, little did I know that becoming a career coach would positively impact my professional development and boost my confidence at the workplace. I started my career in manufacturing, providing backend support for processes and machines. After nearly a decade, I found that relating to people was more my strength than working with machines, hence I pivoted to a career in recruitment. In the beginning, I found the job very challenging because I was not used to the competitive and stressful nature of a sales role. Thankfully, I had a great and understanding boss who coached and gave me much encouragement.
STRUGGLING WITH IMPOSTER SYNDROME
As a career coach, my goal was to help people find meaningful jobs. While I was confident in the role, I had my own set of insecurities and doubts about my abilities. Internally I struggled with Imposter Syndrome when I could not see how my work translated into results that impacted others positively. This crippling feeling of inadequacy and self-doubt at times stopped me from embracing new challenges and possibilities. Surprisingly, I was not the only one. Even famous individuals such as leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities also struggled with Imposter Syndrome. These individuals have spoken publicly about their struggles, including Serena Williams, Tom Hanks, Michelle Obama, and even Albert Einstein. For Einstein, despite being acknowledged as one of history's finest physicists, reportedly battled feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt throughout his professional life.
COACHING OTHERS AND MYSELF
Over time, I learned to recognise and manage my own insecurities and self-doubt. As I started working more with my clients, I realised that I actually had a lot of valuable insights and experiences to share that could make a real difference in their lives. Helping others build confidence in their abilities and find clarity in their career goals, made me reflect on my own strengths and achievements. I started to recognise the unique value I brought to the table and how my own experiences and expertise could provide a learning platform for others. In the process of coaching and understanding clients, I noticed patterns in their struggles and successes. I also gained a deeper understanding of the job market, the hiring process, and what employers seek in a candidate. I started to recognise the importance of lifelong learning, networking, personal branding, and possessing strong adaptive skills to ensure lifelong employability.
This newfound knowledge made me a better coach and opened the pathway towards gaining confidence as a professional coach. At the same time, I applied these insights and strategies to my own career, including proactively seeking out new opportunities to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone. For example, I enrolled in relevant online learnings to occupy my evenings, involving myself in volunteer work to widen my network and connecting and engaging with subject matter experts on LinkedIn.
Utilising coaching skills such as listening and asking questions, has increased my confidence through the positive feedback I received. Hearing kind words from clients who have found success in their careers after working with me has been incredibly rewarding. Knowing that I have played a key role with coaching has given me a sense of pride in my own abilities.
EMPOWERING OTHERS TO COACH
Even though I am no longer working as a career coach, I am privileged to be involved with coaching in another meaningful way with NTUC LearningHub where together with my team, we provide upskilling opportunities to current and aspiring coaches, managers and leaders, equipping them to help others be better individuals in life and at the workplace.
Coaching has not only allowed me to help others achieve their career goals, but it has positively impacted my professional development and career. Through my work with coaching, I have gained a deeper appreciation of its benefits for others and myself. Most importantly, I have learned to recognise and appreciate my own strengths and achievements, which have all made me a more confident and empowered professional..
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Brewing a New Chapter Through Lifelong Learning
Sheena brings more than a decade of experience in the retail and education sector, where she managed multiple retail outlets specialising in educational toys and oversaw day-to-day operations. Over time, she began to notice a shift. Customers were increasingly seeking more unique and experience-driven products, while the retail landscape itself was becoming more competitive and fast-changing. At the same time, Sheena observed a growing interest in more mindful and natural lifestyle products, which sparked her curiosity about opportunities within the Food & Beverages (F&B) space. With her experience largely rooted in traditional brick-and-mortar retail, Sheena made a deliberate decision to pursue her lifelong interest in F&B entrepreneurship. Inspired by her passion for floral and herbal infusions and her desire to create a brand of her own, she enrolled in the Flavourful Ventures: A Journey Into F&B Entrepreneurship course at NTUC LearningHub to turn her vision into a reality. Returning to the classroom was initially a challenge for Sheena, as she had not studied for a long time and found some of the learning processes unfamiliar. However, with guidance from her trainers and support from her classmates, she gradually adapted and grew more confident throughout the course. Throughout the programme, Sheena gained practical exposure to key aspects of building and managing an F&B business, including identifying business opportunities, product development, branding and bringing products into the market. The hands-on learning experience also gave her greater insight into creativity, innovation and customer engagement within the F&B industry. Beyond equipping her with practical entrepreneurial skills, the programme also broadened her perspective on what it takes to build and sustain a business in today’s competitive landscape. Sheena eventually went on to start her own tea brand, Tea Therapy Singapore, offering a distinct range of caffeine-free, unsweetened and 100% natural floral tea blooms. Through the course, she was able to turn a long-standing personal interest into something more tangible, gaining the confidence and practical knowledge needed to pursue her passion in the F&B space. The course also gave her a supportive space to experiment, learn from mistakes and grow her confidence as a first-time digital business owner. Today, she manages the business end-to-end, from sourcing raw materials to product design, branding and online sales, applying the skills and knowledge gained from the programme to shape and grow her business. Through the journey of building her brand, Sheena also came to appreciate the importance of lifelong learning, adaptability and continuously upgrading herself to stay relevant in an evolving business landscape. Looking ahead, Sheena remains committed to lifelong learning as she continues to grow both professionally and as a business owner, and plans to further develop her skills through NTUC LearningHub courses, including public speaking. Reflecting on her journey, she shares, “Learning is a lifelong journey. When we continue upgrading ourselves and apply what we learn, we can turn our passion into new opportunities.”
Taking the Next Step: A Mid-Career Digital Journey
At 49, Farizan has built a steady career in the services industry where she has worked for the past four years as a Sales Admin Executive, overseeing sales coordination, purchasing, logistics and finance support. Working closely with multiple departments, she ensures smooth daily operations and keeps workflows running efficiently within her organisation. While working hard to establish herself as a dependable, meticulous and consistent teammate, she could never shake the persistent feeling that she could further streamline her work processes by expanding her skillsets. As businesses moved deeper into digital transformation, Farizan took a step back to reflect on how she could remain relevant in Singapore’s highly competitive and dynamic economy. Through her own research on social media, she began to see the potential of technology to enhance efficiency and productivity in her daily responsibilities. Determined not to let comfort and familiarity stagnate her professional development, she seized the opportunity and enrolled in the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme (SCTP) Digital Marketing Specialist course at NTUC LearningHub after chancing upon it online. The structured and industry-relevant curriculum gave Farizan clearer insight into how digital strategies translate into real business impact. It also helped her better understand how campaigns are planned, executed and measured in today’s digital landscape. Farizan gained practical knowledge in digital marketing strategies, search engine optimisation (SEO), online copywriting, campaign analytics and online campaign management, areas she had always been curious about but had not had the opportunity to explore in her previous scope of work. The guidance from experienced trainers and the unique insights shared by coursemates from diverse industries further enriched her learning experience. By embracing the intensity of the knowledge-filled course, she was able to bring together the different concepts she had learned through the programme’s capstone project and apply them in a practical digital marketing scenario. Building on what she learned from the course, Farizan now approaches her role with a broader perspective. While she continues her core operational responsibilities, she has also taken on expanded responsibilities at work, supporting digital marketing initiatives, assisting in online campaign coordination and contributing insights to enhance customer engagement. These opportunities to apply her new skills have not only allowed her to add greater value to her team but has also strengthened her confidence in navigating change. This step forward marks just one of many in her journey of self-improvement and lifelong learning. Shortly after completing the programme, she began exploring other courses to further develop her data analytics capabilities, such as the Retail (SF): Data Science Fundamentals course. Recognising that others may still be on the fence about taking the first step, she shares, a mindset she now carries beyond the workplace and even onto the stage as a performer, “Do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Learning new skills may feel challenging at first, but it opens new opportunities and builds confidence.”