Blog : What Is Neuroscience?
One of the most important things when considering coach training is to think about how ready you will be to practice as a coach when you have finished.
This is why, at Optimus we train our coaches in evidence-based approaches like Neuroscience and Positive Psychology so you can support your clients effectively.
Neuroscience is embedded into our coach training framework, but what is it exactly?
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system and is central to behavioural change. Since we work to shape other’s behaviour in coaching, neuroscience is incredibly relevant! For a coachee ( the person being coached ) to embed new learning and behaviour into their lives, their brain has to be taught to make new connections so it can break free from how it has been hardwired.
Back in the 1990s when I first studied Psychology there was a common belief that as an adult your brain was fully developed and that you couldn’t build new pathways. With brain scanning technology becoming more widely used we know that our brains have the power to continuously change and adapt and re-organise themselves in response to external and internal prompts.
Some of the seminal studies on Neuroplasticity were done in the late 1990s / early 2000s by Maguire looking at black cab drivers in London: she found that their brains changed after learning “the knowledge” with new connections and activity in the Hippocampus region. This plasticity means our brains are constantly undergoing physiological and structural changes forming new connections between neurons and creating new networks in response to our experiences, actions, thoughts, and emotions.
By harnessing the power of Neuroscience, you can create lasting and foundational change not just for yourself but for future clients. True transformations can take place.
Through repetition and interrupting old thought patterns with new ways of thinking, you can help clients to rewire their brains creating long-lasting and life-changing shifts : This is why we think Neuroscience is such an important part of coach training.
New To Coaching? Listen to recent graduates who were in your position and hear their experiences first hand
" There is a huge amount of support from the teachers on the course and really great support in the sessions... And then you've got this bespoke service from your mentor where you can really get into some detail on your own journey in coaching. And then the unexpected big element for me is about finding this community of peers who are going through the same journey with different approaches, a real diversity of professions and expertise and ages and so on" Tess Nixon Speller - Coach & Fundraising Consultant
"It’s opened my eyes actually to all different types of coaching and that was part of the reason why I chose to go on the Optimus course. When you do it in a corporate environment, typically, you come across Grow and some of the other more basic, more transactional type models, whereas having the opportunity to learn about things like positive psychology and neuroscience and transactional analysis and how that all links into how you can approach stuff as a coach has made a huge difference." Chris Roberts - Leadership and Team Coach
Existing Coach ? Discover the impact our training has had on other full-time coaches and how it has benefitted their work!
"The financial impact has been quite significant actually. I am charging way more than I would have been comfortable doing before. I've well and truly more than earned back the cost of the course. So the ROI for me is well worth it. I think as well from a credibility perspective, I am able to work with organisations in a different way and at a different level " Ruth Wood - Executive and Leadership Coach
"It's an outlay, but I've always been that person who loves learning. You'll make back the money with how much you can charge because you're actually somebody who knows what they’re talking about. You're coming from experience as opposed to just making it up as you go along....I met so many different people who I'm still in touch with some of them and then the fact that you've got the alumni. Phyllis Woodfine - Resilience, Mindset and Business Coach
I’m honestly shocked by how useful this training has been. I really didn't think I needed it, but I’ve totally changed my mind on that now. It was exactly what I need and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to maximise their coaching potential.”
I'd say, yes, it's an investment. And you know, everyone has to think long and hard about where you put your time and your money, but the me. If you want something comprehensive, well rounded, you want an experience to be able to grow as a person, to grow as a coach, to be more business minded, and to have a community of people around you and great trainers and mentors. This for me, hands down is the best training out there. And I think just three months down the line, I don't regret it at all, if anything, I'm happy to sort of encourage other people to jump on it and do it, it's really worth it is more than worth it.”
I think if you want to be a coach, work as a coach, be successful as a coach, be confident as a coach, then this is the course for you. It's unlike any training that I've ever done before, it's just great. I never worry about coaching someone now. I feel like I always know where to go. I can respond and I don't go in thinking what I am going to ask them. I can be completely curious and open to what they want to do in the session and it works: it is so much better for them and I just love it. I'm so happy to take the full joy out of it.”
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