Submitted by Barbara Asimakopoulou, PCC, Your Time of Power

The voluntary program YOUR TIME OF POWER is an initiative of the students, alumni and professors of “Coaching Skills and Tools in Practice,” an ACSTH training program provided by Human Resources Expertise; and it is taking place for the second time. The project started in 2020 during International Coaching Week to support Greek society and economic sectors that were affected by the global pandemic. In 2020, we offered 70 free coaching sessions to businesses and the healthcare industry.

This year, they chose the education sector that faced many challenges due to the pandemic. On the national 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, they considered that now, as then, the education of young people is crucial for the preservation of culture, national consciousness, great history and keeping the flame alive for the liberation of their homeland.

Atomic coaching (two 45-minute pro bono coaching sessions) was offered to teachers for May and June 2021. Workshops were also offered. After the sessions, they informed the participants in the program about the benefits of coaching to facilitate the work of education and communication with students with a pro bono workshop focused around their own needs and particularities due to area and conditions. Once the sessions and workshop were completed, they captured the conclusions that could be turned into useful actions. The goal was to co-form a framework to support teachers through coaching as close as possible to their wishes and needs starting from themselves.

Your Time of Power promoted the link of the action to principals, the teachers themselves, local media, or specific municipalities. Whoever receives the link can see all the volunteer coaches and learn more about them before making a choice and making contact.

As a result, they have reached 30 teachers and provided 60 pro bono coaching sessions. The project was extremely difficult because coaching is 90% unknown in the education sector, and there were multiple barriers and sources of reluctance. The results were above expectation with 99% satisfaction and great testimonials. They stressed that the whole project was an excellent opportunity with many benefits for the coachees and the coach. This initiative was an excellent way to promote coaching, to teach students how to promote themselves as professional coaches and establish their coaching identity in the market with confidence.