Meet Jen!
While on a photoshoot for another client, I met Jen. We recently crossed paths again and discussed her passion for transformation coaching. She told me that was creating a new website and needed updated headshots. We arranged to meet at Aqui Coffee at Sargent's on 2nd for her headshot session. I found Jen to be a remarkable human being and I really wanted to capture her incredibly kind and calm spirit in her images. With Jen being a transformation coach, it would be important for her website to feature headshots that conveyed someone who was confident, yet approachable. I feel like we achieved that goal and had a lot of fun along the way! Read on to discover more about Jen in our Q&A.
Jen West, Transformational Coach
Q & A
Tell us about what you do?
I am a Transformation Coach. I help you define your vision, Transform limiting beliefs, and engage a strategy to get you to your vision. If you don't yet have a vision I help you discover what you may not have believed possible but is the vision you have for yourself.
Who needs an executive coach or a life coach?
Everyone. Everyone can benefit from someone who will fiercely advocate for them and shine light on the blind spots that get in the way of their best lives!
How is coaching different from counseling/therapy?
Coaching and Therapy this is my favorite question. I love it when people seek help in any form. Therapy is so many things and paired with coaching can move you to possibilities not yet imagined. The true difference is that coaching is action oriented i.e.. what do you want and what action will you take to get there, and in my experience therapy is introspective and the why behind who I am. Both are much needed to get us to where we want to go.
How can someone tell if they are selecting the right life coach for them?
The best way is to have an initial conversation, do you feel like that person is truly out for your best life and will hold you accountable to what you say you want? Will they tell you what you may not want to hear so that you can get out of your own way? Do they have a coach to do their work with? You can't do surgery on yourself or its a mess if you try so a coach that is right for you will help you move forward faster with full satisfaction in your life.
How would others describe you?
Jen is kind, compassionate, knowledgeable and supportive. She is super well prepared, she has a great attention to detail and great empathic powers and she knows how to stir the coaching to what is important and relevant. Jen immediately became a valued member of our organization’s team. She facilitates hard, sometimes really hard, conversations and challenges our limiting beliefs. She is a fierce advocate for our entrepreneurial journey and her belief in us often provides the “push” we need to keep going.
Click here to visit jen's website.
What are your strengths and talents?
My strength is, I coach the whole person, I help people in their pursuit of what they want and who they want to become in the process. I am talented at hearing what is not being said and asking questions to shine light on these blind spots, so that my clients can gain new perspective into themselves and get them to their vision faster.
What separates you from other life coaches?
I love you, when I say, "yes I want to be your coach," and it's because I love what you are ready to create in the world. I fiercely advocate for the life you say you want. I will lovingly point out what is keeping you stuck and I will not get hurt if you get angry at me for pointing it out. I will be a steady force who will not placate to your victim stories. I will call you up to your greatness and hold you accountable for the vision within your heart. I won't quit when you tell yourself the stories that you can't. Because I believe with all of me that the only thing in your way is your perspective and that is a very small bump in the road.
Do you ever seek a coach or a mentor yourself?
Yes, yes, yes, do not hire a coach who does not have a coach!
Do life coaches have yearly professional development?
I am always working to learn more and be the best coach I can be. I work with multiple other coaches in a collective and we retreat together to do continuing education.
How long do coaching sessions usually last? The duration is a few weeks, months?
My coaching programs are 6 months to a year working together 3 times a month for 45 min calls.
What can a person expect to invest when working with a life coach?
Investment means different things to different people. When I think investment I think if I want 100% out of something I have to put 100% into it. I also wonder what does that mean to each person. I ask that my clients are committed to the work by showing up open, vulnerable, willing to take risks, and commit to the work. What I make up the question is actually asking is about how much will it cost me to hire a coach? What is your vision worth? What is loving your life worth? That conversation has a different outcome for each person. I'll leave you with this... How much will it cost you and those you love NOT to find and realize your vision?
Jen West, Transformation Coach