Competency No. 5
Around 4% of the 55,000 + coaches certified with the International Coaching Federation hold the revered status of Master Certified Coach. Why so few? I'm about to find out. Competency No. 5, the podcast, explores how we maintain presence when we coach, lead, and live our lives. We interview coaches and others whose very livelihood depends upon staying calm and present with those they serve. We also chronicle my attempts (as a self-retired professor and global business reporter from New Zealand) to become an MCC coach. This effort requires beaucoup coaching hours, mentoring, and adhering strictly to the ICF's seven core competencies, especially the deceptively tricky Competency No. 5, maintaining presence.
Competency No. 5
“I have the best job in the world!” Oliver Singh on hotel ownership and the calm that comes from vacation
Four in ten Americans don’t take their full paid time off (around 46%) of full-time workers according to the Pew Research Center. But that’s a real shame says Oliver Singh, manager and part-owner of the Ocean Mile hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., who really gets to see the benefits of holidaying when interacting with his guests.
In our lovely conversation, we hear how Oliver once aspired to become a doctor or lawyer like his siblings. When his parents (who bought the hotel several years ago) asked him to manage the place and make it better he found he had the best job in the world. It’s finding people at their very best—on holiday—that makes him so happy; but also his communications and interactions with his steady and regular guests.
When mentoring hoteliers suggested he outsource the phone answering, he torpedoed the idea. “I just love hearing what people want and how I can help improve their stay,” he says. “I’ve found happiness through happiness.”
We talk too about why many don’t take their paid time-off. (There are many blockers, including worrying that we’ll burden our workmates, getting behind, or losing our place.) But when we do, all sorts of magic occurs with our work and relationships, even if it’s a stay at home.
You can find the Ocean Mile hotel here. Reach out to me, your show host, for keynote speaking engagements, group coaching, and training via my website, or find me also on Linkedin.
