Newsmaker Q&A: Osborn banks on coaching to spur creativity

When Bob Brenner, the all-time weight-loss record setter for the television show “Extreme Weight Loss,” called Chris Osborn, president and chief executive of Coach Training Alliance in Fort Collins, to ask about his services, Osborn had no idea who he was talking to. But he must have said something right, because Brenner is now a CTA graduate and coaching evangelist. We asked Osborn, a former banker, why he got into coaching and how the national recognition has changed his business.

Question: Why did you decide to get out of banking and what brought you to coach training?

Answer: I never really considered leaving First National Bank as getting out of banking. When I joined FNB in 2003, I saw FNB as a great place to grow an organization and lead a great team. It just happened to be a bank. I have always been involved in a variety of industries and still spend some time in banking and related businesses as an investor. I love diversity in what I do, who I meet and where I get to learn.

Following the death of a close friend and the sale of a business, I co-founded (McDash Analytics), I hired a coach to work through where I wanted to put my energy next. That process really focused me on organizational growth, capital formation and new markets. As I concentrated on that next step, Coach Training Alliance presented itself. I joke it’s like the old razor commercial, “I value coaching so much I bought the company.” Distance education is amazing in its reach and ability to use new tools to allow students to both learn and practice new knowledge. CTA had scale, a solid reputation, great people and was focused on education of the entrepreneur. I quickly fell in love with the business, our faculty and our team. Working with a faculty of world-class educators as well as practicing coaches is very fulfilling.

Q: What do you enjoy about coaching?

A: What I enjoy most is seeing the growth that coaching manifests in people, and the positive impact CTA students can drive in the world. CTA has trained more than 8,000 coaches who are building their practices in 13 countries. The power of coaching can be seen in organizations that use our co-creative leadership training. We are not in the “boot camp” or event business but rather in the business of turning knowledge into positive behavioral practice. I expect this approach and coaching’s positive impact will only grow as CTA breaks ground with new programs in lean process improvement, Yoga2Life coaching and our graduate center level offerings in career coaching, wellness, weight loss as well as social and emotional intelligence.

Q: Life coaching is a largely unregulated industry. How can a consumer determine whether or not someone working as a coach is actually qualified and able to help?

A: The coaching industry, like many service businesses, is self-regulating. As a school and training organization, we hold ourselves accountable. CTA’s programs are approved by the International Coaching Federation, a trade organization with thousands of members and credentialing processes and guidelines, not unlike other service businesses. It’s guided by not just credentialing but a very clear code of ethics. At CTA, we also take our Better Business Bureau rating seriously as a transparent way to validate our consumer experience. Most of all, we survey our students about their experience, our value proposition and where we might do better.

When choosing a coach, we recommend you approach it like you would any other service choice. You need to educate yourself as a consumer. Look for a professional who is transparent about the services they offer, the fees they charge and where they were trained. Ask if they have an ethics code they follow. Don’t be afraid to ask for references.

One misunderstanding is that coaches are like therapists or consultants, and that the client is buying knowledge or a diagnosis. They are not. Coaching is hiring someone to help you be accountable as you pursue change or focus in your life. Coaches guide and fuel you as you do the work, but they don’t tell you exactly what to do or how to do it. This is the secret to the effectiveness of coaching.

Q: How did you get involved with the “Extreme Weight Loss” TV show and how has that national recognition affected your coaching business?

A: Bob Brenner, the show’s all-time record setter, lost 253 pounds (or 56 percent of his body weight) during last season. Bob was so changed by his incredible experience he decided to become a life coach to help others do the type of transformational work his coach, Chris Powell, had done with him on the show. Bob reached out to CTA after researching coach training schools. I actually spoke to him one Friday afternoon this spring, unaware of who he was or what he had done. He enrolled with CTA, and it was only later that we made the current connection between the show and UCHealth here in Colorado. Bob is the kind of person who makes me love this business because he is focused on growing himself, helping others and changing the world.

The national recognition has caused more inquiry into who we are and what we do, so that›s been all good. As a recent graduate, Bob is an awesome ambassador and his forthright and vocal appreciation of CTA has driven more people to look into our programs and explore coaching.

Q: What does it take to become a great coach? Can anybody do it?

A: I think just about anyone can improve their own life, as well as become a better partner, leader, parent and even spouse, by gaining some basic training in the co-creative process of coaching. That said, to become a great coach and achieve mastery, I believe it takes trained skills, a passion for the work and experience. By trained skills I mean developing strong coaching, business and marketing skill sets. CTA students are trained in all three areas to help them build successful and sustainable coaching practices.

Q: Why does coaching work?

A: Coaching works because the client develops the solution. Opportunities for change are presented to us every day. A coach is merely the guide in the co-creative process who raises awareness of these opportunities. Co-creative means that both parties (coach and client) are growing their awareness and understanding of the changes available to the client. Building on this greater awareness, clients develop a framework of accountability for their choices and what they want to see manifest in their lives. Over the last few years, neuroscience has been able to map these processes in physiological terms. Orders and directives from others fail to “light” the growth areas of the brain. Co-creative work has been shown to flip that switch, which is needed to afford positive change. People find new pathways to new behaviors and growth through a coaching process. It is awesome.

– Maggie Shafer

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