What have Sir John Whitmore and Bon Jovi got in common?
What have Sir John Whitmore and Bon Jovi got in common?
By Paula Jones-Hunt
In August of this year I had the absolute honour of being invited to attend a dinner where the guest of honour was no other than Sir John Whitmore, the guru of coaching. Not only was I invited to attend, but I was asked to speak about my experience of introducing coaching and a coaching culture into my workplace.
When I was thinking about what I would say, I was reflecting on how I came across coaching and how it has changed my life.
When I was 11, I heard my first ever Bon Jovi song, “Living on a Prayer” and at that moment my life changed! Not only did the music “rock my world” but how gorgeous is Jon Bon Jovi? I remember that moment as clear as day. I have loved Bon Jovi since and they have been with me through all the important days of my life. I walked down the isle to marry my husband to a Bon Jovi song, my birthing plan consisted on ensuring I had my “Best of” Bon Jovi CD and the truth is I just LOVE them.
I got the same feeling when I was first introduced to the GROW model! A light bulb switched on in my brain and I changed my outlook on how I worked in HR, how I built relationships and how I self-managed myself.
To me, Sir John Whitmore is the “Bon Jovi” of the business and coaching world. The GROW model “rocks my world” as much as the music Bon Jovi makes. And from now on whenever I have a light bulb moment I will refer to them as “Bon Jovi Moments”. Moments that change your perspective and bring you happiness in your life.
When I realised this, I just knew that I had to let Sir John know exactly how I felt! So in my presentation I told him (and everyone there) exactly how coaching had changed my life! It was quite a funny moment when I told Sir John Whitmore “you are my Bon Jovi!!”
The greatest success I have experienced has been to live vicariously through the successes of the Managers I have worked with. To empower them to develop their own strategies for people management and helping them to empower the people they manage. All of this is accomplished through my coaching skills, which all began with a tool developed by my coaching guru, Sir John Whitmore.
What “Bon Jovi” moments have you had?
