Your Identity as a Coach or Online Service Provider – She Leads She Thrives Podcast Episode 27

When I originally planned the topic for today’s episode – our 27th for She Leads She Thrives podcast – I had something completely different that I thought I was going to talk about. And, you know, I felt like it was the right topic when I planned it, right for when we are sharing this episode. But then as things often happen in my world, it became clear to me that something else is actually more important right now. 

Shannon Dunn  00:26

So instead of what I had planned, I’m here to shine the light on an important topic that I feel gets overlooked in business, the topic of identity. We see it show up in different ways and I’m going to dive into it and kind of unpack it from a new lens, hopefully, for you today. And we’re going to talk about identity in relation to you in your business. Now, I likely talk a lot about identity as a coach as that’s my primary lens to consider identity in a business perspective. But please just interchange the word coach for whatever word resonates for you, in terms of your business or your career. This is about identity after all, you identify in what in what way works best for you.

Shannon Dunn  01:02

So welcome officially to a new episode of She Leads She Thrives  podcast, I’m Shannon Dunn, your host here in this wisdom space. And as a business and leadership coach and business educator, author, speaker for a long time now, a couple of decades and counting. If you’ve listened to episodes to this point, then you know I have plenty to say about a lot of things to do with business, with the coaching industry and the broad range of things that are reflections of my personal and professional values. 

Shannon Dunn  01:28

If you’re new to She Leads She Thrives, welcome! Delighted to have you here. And as you just heard me share I plenty to say, no warning labels required. I’m a philosophical deep thinker from way back who is increasingly intentional and determined to both create impact and leave a lasting positive legacy that contributes to the good of the world and her people. 

Shannon Dunn  01:47

So let’s kind of get started, let’s dive right in and dive into identity. Now, I believe 100% that identity is a key aspect of self-leadership. You may have heard previous episodes, solo episodes even reference around self leadership at different times during the course of other listening experiences with She Leads She Thrives, I also believe that identity is a key aspect of business. And I believe that identity is not talked about enough. It’s talked about in many different ways, but not necessarily with a direct focus on using the word “identity”. 

Shannon Dunn  02:23

Now, I’ve been interested in identity for a long time, perhaps even before let me think from I’ve actually, definitely before I started counseling in the 1990s and then art therapy in the mid 2000s. And you may have heard in previous episodes when I’ve shared the fact that I became aware of archetypes as a teenager. That was back in the 1980s. So here I go aging myself again, probably way before many of you listening were even born. But libraries back then if you kind of know about libraries from that time bear with me, you’ll probably have a laugh at this. Those of you that don’t know what libraries were like back then, or don’t even know what libraries are like these days, just listen for a moment a little story to share with you. 

Shannon Dunn  03:03

Libraries back then were full of books and if you were lucky, the libraries had access to something that they called microfiche, not fish, it was spelt very differently. But this was a system whereby books and texts of different kinds were captured on transparent kind of cards if you like, and you put the card into a machine that magnified it so it could be read. It was so modern back then. Yeah, who would have ever thought we would be where we are now. So you know, so archaic really if you think about that back then which was modern, but archaic in these days considering that in the reality in today’s world we nearly all have access to multiple computers. We have our desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, is almost pretty standard for a lot of people. And that’s for internet enabled devices items each potentially. 

Shannon Dunn  03:52

So back in the you know, back to the 1980s and my birth of interest, I guess you could certainly call it an obsession at times with human behaviour and human interaction. It was a big deal at school back then to give up your lunch break, to sit in the library trying to research something. Not like it would be these days, you know, giggling in between chats with your friends about whatever latest thing is on trend, watching TikToks or whatever youngsters do these days. 

Shannon Dunn  04:19

But identity is a key aspect of human behavior and interaction. And right back to the early philosophers like what feels like a what, bazillion years ago, the questions of who am I? What is my role or my purpose in the world were posed. And for all the years since we have individually and collectively attempted to answer those and other associated questions. 

Shannon Dunn  04:37

But you know, what does identity have to do with business? Well, short answer – a lot. Yeah. If you’ve been in  business for even a hot minute, you’ve heard someone say something like to connect with your ideal client, you need to know who they are, this is identity. And you may have heard, you need to know who you are. This is identity and you will have heard, you need to know what is different and unique about you, or the term unique selling point or point of difference or anything along those terms, all identity references. 

Shannon Dunn  05:08

And when we have a shake up in our life or business, we can find ourselves in a state of true identity crisis. So if I put my kind of counsellor/therapist hat on now, identity crisis is far more common than people realise. And it has different degrees and different impacts for individuals. And if I think about some of my own lived experiences, I know as one example, that identity crisis was true for me when my marriage ended in 2019. And I’d spent the entire of my business to that point, building a brand and business using a name that I no longer resonated with. And with this not knowing kind of how to move forward with that disconnection from that name that I was well known for, you know, there are still hundreds of interviews, recordings, and all kinds of things with that name out there in the world, it was almost like I needed to, you know, start from scratch. And that’s how it felt. And I literally spent an entire year feeling puzzled as to what to do about it, and how to make a change, because every cell in my body, and my entire soul being was saying, I couldn’t go on with that name any longer. You know, I’d published books by that point in time. 

Shannon Dunn  05:08

You’ll have heard people talk about shifting their focus in business that’s identity related, you know, the, what was the trend word from the 2020, and even into 2021, pivot business, pivot myself or pivot what I’m doing or how I’m doing it, those were all identity shifts, whether that be for the business or the individual, or for both, really both. And you’ll have heard people talk about niching, or niching, as is often pronounced in different parts of the world. Identity related also. And you’ve likely heard people share about not knowing, so not knowing who they are, what they do, why they do what they do, all identity related concepts and a little bit of kind of identity questioning or crises potentially going on there. But identity infiltrates everything in life and business. 

Shannon Dunn  05:53

Now, the solution ended up being quite easy once I got to it. But the reality was that the whole identity crisis phase was a good year of feeling puzzled and not knowing and feeling uncertain. And I know, from that perspective, I definitely had moments where I drew back from the work that I was doing, I stopped myself from putting myself out there in the way that I had been previously, I resisted doing speaking in different levels, because I just kind of didn’t want to add to more content with that name that wasn’t me. And it can have so many impacts. And I’m sure that you’ve lived through identity challenges or changes or updates, or shifts or crises, in your own personal life and in your business. That, for me was a personal one that infiltrated into every aspect of my business. 

Shannon Dunn  07:49

But even businesses on their own, have identity shifts, changes and crises. If you’ve ever rebranded to a new business name, or adopted new brands, from a visual perspective, both of these are identity related experiences. If you’ve ever been in a workshop, or perhaps had an event, or listened to a podcast, or book or something like that, been in a conversation, and heard something that had you questioning who you are, who you believe you are, what you believe? Or what matters to you most, yes, these are all so identity related experiences. 

Shannon Dunn  08:21

Identity is everywhere. It’s infiltrated into all aspects of human being, identities, how we relate to others, you know, we ask things like, what do you do? Where do you live? Where are you from? What do you like to do? In your spare time? Do you have a family? What did you study? What do you do for work or in your business. Every single inquiry about another person is identity related in some way. 

Shannon Dunn  08:49

Now, our answers, give others a framework to make sense through their own personal lenses of who we are. Now, they form an identity for us these individuals that may be interacting with us. Now sometimes, it’s reflective, that identity of the identity that we also have for ourselves, other times, not. Just recently, I was watching something, I think it was on binge, I can’t remember the exact name of the show. Or you know, what the context of the character was, but it was something that I was very familiar with. And we will all be able to resonate with this. 

Shannon Dunn  09:24

So one of the primary characters on the show was overheard making a judgment about a group of people who were visiting a particular venue where this individual was working. And as he watched them walk up to the venue who made the decision that they would be difficult to get on with, based on how they looked, what they were wearing, and the looks on their faces. And those references were made by this individual, as in you know, what they look like, what they were wearing, and the looks on their faces. There was comments about they don’t look very happy, they look miserable. 

Shannon Dunn  09:52

Now the individuals in question, that had been judged, turned out to be welcoming, polite, grateful, and some of the best visitors ever to this venue, and the judgy the character was quick to say he’d never make judgments based on how people looked again. But we do, don’t we? We do make judgments based on what we see what we hear, and what we hear from people directly, but also what we hear from others about individuals or groups. 

Shannon Dunn  10:19

And we define someone’s identity based on what we see, hear and experience, that’s just part of being human. It’s a part of human nature and character. So why is this important for business? Well, I feel you want to be the one guiding the narrative with a strength of confidence, that is hard to challenge. You know, there’s always someone who could get things wrong and not completely understand. But better you have shared your truth and reality, then leave it completely to guesswork. Well, that’s how I see it anyway, I want to be, and  100% am guiding the narrative about what I share with the world. I’m not here to share a half truth or a mistruth or a calculated or, yeah, I don’t know if you can think of the words really, but, you know, held back version of me. But at the same time, there are some things from a business perspective that are not appropriate to share. And I see examples of that all the time. 

Shannon Dunn  11:12

But when someone doesn’t understand what you do in business, I would encourage you to see this as a gift and an opportunity, both of those things, and an opportunity to challenge yourself to get clearer. And then once you have the clarity, share what you know, make it as easy as possible for people to know you and your business, to know who you serve, why them and the outcomes that are possible. This way people can literally identify with you. Identify being an identity related word, or they perhaps won’t identify with you because you’re not a good fit for each other, which is another gift. When someone knows in this moment that you are not for them, or they are not for you. Yeah, that’s a great thing rather than trying to guess whether it’s someone that you want to invest in to work with. 

Shannon Dunn  11:58

Now, this week, I’ve been hosting a live experience. It’s the first time I’ve hosted Thrive as a Coach. And I’ve loved every moment, it’s a lead in to registrations opening for the 2023 cohort of the Thrive Factor Self-leadership Coaching Certification, that opens Monday, the 27th of March, which is coming up very fast for this year, and will be open right until our welcome call for new students, which is later in April of 2023. So in the second session of Thrive as a Coach, we explored the theme of identity and specifically identity in relation to you as a coach. So I wanted to share some of that content with you in today’s episode just to deepen or extend if you like, the conversation about identity. 

Shannon Dunn  12:40

So first up, in this session in Thrive as a Coach, I posed some key questions about identity. You know, the what feels to me like an obvious one here, what is it? What is identity? Why is it important for myself for my clients? What role does identity play in coaching success? You know, how do I feel, what do I feel about the term coach? What about coaching to describe what I do or will do on the future? And while I’ll mention in a moment, one of the, I guess, definitions for want of a better word about what identity is and the way that I would define or understand identity. In relation to the question, what role does identity play in coaching success – a huge, huge role – where it plays a huge role in the success for any individual and business, coaching is not excluded from that at all. And in the context of what I’m going to share moving forward, hopefully, you’ll be able to better understand how and why. 

Shannon Dunn  13:35

But at this point, I want to share with you a description of identity that came from Psychology Today. And they shared that “identity encompasses the memories, experiences, relationships, and values that creates one sense of self. The amalgamation creates a steady sense of who one is, over time, even as new facets are developed and incorporated into one’s identity. ” 

Shannon Dunn  13:58

So I think the key words that jumped out for me there are sense of self, it is sense of self in terms of our own identity. But also, as I mentioned earlier, identity is from an external perspective, the way that people have a sense of who we are. Now, when I’m thinking about how I would look at identity to get myself a better understanding of what is it what contributes to it? I look at three different layers if you like or three different lots of influences. There’s a demographic aspects, these factual aspects such as gender, age, race, education, job, relationship status, those kind of thing, facts about us,  irrefutable facts about us and who we are. 

Shannon Dunn  14:42

There’s also the influence of the psychological factors, our thoughts, our emotions, our beliefs. And then there is a layering of our lived and learned experience. I use that phrase a lot in sharing on the podcast and all my teaching, but it is something that is so important to understand and to recognize the value of both our lived and learned experience,  not only the value of it, but its influence on who we are. And those things definitely influence our identity. 

Shannon Dunn  15:10

So recognizing yourself as an individual who has a unique skillset, lived and learned experience, values and beliefs is paramount to being able to identify as a coach or mentor or whatever your role is in the world. And identity is also key to thriving as a coach, or thriving in your business as it ties directly to personal brand, and USP or unique selling point or unique selling proposition, bit of marketing jargon in there for you.

Shannon Dunn  15:37

 So I posed this question to the group in Thrive as a Coach, who could you be as a coach or someone that’s helping individuals, and I encourage those that were joining me live that experience, as I’m going to encourage you to consider what personal values will also or do also influence the way that you work with clients. If you’re new coming into coaching or mentoring or that kind of one-on-one support with individuals, then think about it in terms of your future clients. As a coach, what kind of values from a personal level, can you bring forward that you will bring forward? 

Shannon Dunn  16:13

If I think of some examples for myself, freedom is an incredible value for me. It’s inherently part of me being a Liberator Engineer, it’s one of my four Thrive Factor Archetypes. And freedom is something that’s talked about for a lot of people. But for me, it’s like breathing. If I don’t feel free, like nothing is flowing in my life. It’s a really intrinsic personal value, but it’s also a professional value. Integrity is another one, you know, what integrity, what does it mean to be integrous, to have integrity to lead, to learn, to exist in the world with integrity. Integrity just flows through into every aspect of my life in my business. So these personal values are not isolated to my personal life and world, they come through into my business. And that’s a very important thing to consider when we’re talking about identity. 

Shannon Dunn  17:00

Now, another way I absolutely adore reflecting on identity as a coach, and this is relevant for your life to is through the lens of the Thrive Factor archetypes and if I think about my Thrive Factor archetypes, my four archetypes, then I can see, by looking at the skills and the personality traits, and the different strengths that each of those archetypes bring, as a coach, I can then define in a very expansive way, what it is that I offer. 

Shannon Dunn  17:30

Yeah, and so if I look at it as a coach, I offer a unique blend of vision, strategy, trust and ability to see and move towards what is truly possible in a futuristic kind of a way, that’s directly related to my Visionary Creator archetype. 

Shannon Dunn  17:43

I also offer wisdom, knowledge and ways to turn this into profit and purpose. That’s my Mentor Teacher playing out and just expressing true to type. I offer unwavering belief, motivation and ability to see your potential achieved or rise to it possibly even expanded, which is very Inspirer Believe, that is my Inspirer Believer archetype at play there. 

Shannon Dunn  18:05

And also, as a coach, I offer alternate paths and personalised solutions that lead to ease, which is my Liberator Engineer doing what she does best. So if I take those four archetypes and those parts of who I am, I can easily understand what’s unique about me in terms of what I offer to my clients in whatever context, whether we’re talking about actual coaching, business and self-leadership coaching, or we’re talking about teaching and being in the principal of Thrive Factor School, and guiding students through our coaching certification. 

Shannon Dunn  18:35

Now this getting to know who you are, through the lens of your archetypes is something that I do teach in the Thrive Factor Coach Certification, because in this experience, we don’t just focus on the archetypes on profiling clients and coaching them through the lens of their archetypes. I also teach a lot about business in this space. It you know, would be 100%, a waste of my extensive business mindset, money and marketing expertise to not share that for our students and coach community. You know, one of the big drivers for me is to see you succeed as a coach. And as a businesswoman, when you’re part of our community. It’s incredibly important. And if I can somehow support you positively, to thrive as a business owner, and as an incredible coach, and you happen to also be using the Thrive Factor Framework in your coaching, then that just made my entire world.

Shannon Dunn  19:25

 So another identity consideration comes through the lens of your unique attributes and skills. There’s some other questions that I posed in the session that we did for Thrive as a Coach. And I asked you to consider questions like What unique skills do I actually have that possibly support others? What past lived and experience make me one of a kind? What values are most important to me? Like I’ve shared a little bits about these before. These are really great questions to ask. 

Shannon Dunn  19:53

If you want these questions, any of them that I’ve shared today. I hope you remember if you’ve listened to episodes before, if you’re new to this, we share a transcript in the show notes. So you can go and get access to the questions there. Other questions ask, why do you want to help others? I think that’s such a key thing. You know, coaching is a helping profession, if you want to look at it like that. So why do you want to help others? Why do you want to help or guide? Or who do you want to help or guide or support the most? Why them like, what is it about those individuals that or groups that is really resonant for you? And the kind of bonus question for this is that if you do know your Thrive Factor Archetypes, consider what they affirm about who you are. 

Shannon Dunn  20:34

Now, just as a side note here, I will add, I’m sure I’ve shared this before in previous episodes, particularly the one where we talked about the archetypes which was right around the start, or like kind of the end of 2022 going into 2023. And I introduced you to all 12 Thrive Factor Archetypes. But the way that I teach the archetypes and the way that we work with them when we’re coaching is that each archetype has its own inherent strengths. And each archetype has its potential challenges that can become actualized. Yeah, this is not a definitive “this is all you are”, there are a lot of frameworks, assessment pieces, or tools or personality profiling things out there that are very much this is all you are there. And I can understand why people are resistant to using some of the different things that are out there in the world, because they feel kind of caged in or boxed in or limited in some way. That’s not how we work with the Thrie Factor Archetypes. We use this as a launchpad to go, this is who you are in this moment based on what we know about the archetypes, and what we know about them individually, what we know about their interaction with each other. But this is a springboard to who you could be it’s a very expansive kind of experience. 

Shannon Dunn  21:42

So this is a great way for you to gain identity clarity. And with that you’ll be able to articulate to the world exactly who you are, what you do, why it matters and who it’s for. So your uniqueness I’ve mentioned, this really already, is your ultimate point of difference. 

Shannon Dunn  21:59

So at this point, I want to share some valuable and truthful assumptions. And I shared these in this second session of Thrive as a Coach where we focus on identity.  I’m not really a big one for making assumptions, but at the same time this was relevant to do so. Now there is 100% a place for you as a coach in the world. Yeah, and want you to know that. There are clients looking for your uniqueness. They don’t want to work with someone who looks and sounds like everybody else. The average human being out there wants something that’s different. And I think there’s a part of most of us that wants to work with someone who’s really different to the kind of everything the vanilla kind of looking everything and everyone looks and sounds the same people that are out there. 

Shannon Dunn  22:41

There is a market willing to pay to work with you and learn from you, know that. Coaching skills at a depth of personalization are often missing in other professions and industries. So there’s plenty of professions and industries out there where people get to work one on one or in groups with different people. But when you add coaching skills like true actual coaching skills, where you have been trained in coaching skill and methodology, there is a different way that you can work with someone as I said, I describe it as a depth of personalization, that is often missing and leaves, other experiences often feeling very empty, and like they didn’t really lead to an outcome. 

Shannon Dunn  23:19

And I also want you to take on this truth, this valuable truth that coaching is a forward momentum collaborative way to work with people that propels them towards success. When done right, when there’s actually ways that you are using to work with clients. So your identity as a coach or a business leader or a woman in business or an ambitious soul in business, or in service is found at the intersection between two key parts, you’ve got your skills – your lived and learned experience, so all those attributes of your identity as an individual, plus your coaching skills, the methodology you’re trained in or learned and a proven framework. 

Shannon Dunn  23:58

So those things coming together create as I say, an intersection and when I visually imagine this, I literally look at those two pieces previously like gifts, like a present all wrapped up. But when we merge them together, we intersect them, it becomes a treasure chest, it’s kind of a different expression visually than it is when you’ve got two lots of gifts coming together and merging together. 

Shannon Dunn  24:22

So the treasure chest becomes the intersection of who you are, and your coaching gifts, the skills, methodology and framework. And this is what will set you apart or stand you apart from others out there coaching or doing what you do. You know, there is no other soul like you. And that’s the most incredible thing. I shared in the Thrive as a Coach session on identity, the reality that it’s not uncommon for me to have women in my coaching groups, in my coaching programs, probably more so but also my masterminds and other groups on retreat, where they have exactly the same archetypes. That’s not an uncommon thing. But the reality is that those two women, with exactly the same archetypes, are not the same person. Because when we look at purely the archetypes, and we don’t take into context, the lived and learned experience we’re missing that individualization or that personalization of who you are in the world, your identity in the world. 

Shannon Dunn  25:21

So when I look at kind of this intersection, how these things to come together, we want to take into account yes, that lived and learned experience, other qualifications that you may have, values and belief. And then if you imagine it like a piece of a puzzle, like there’s a puzzle with four pieces, and each of those has its own piece. And then we add coaching in it’s like completing the puzzle. 

Shannon Dunn  25:40

All right. So I want to share a couple of examples with you about where coaching from an identity perspective can really help someone to build confidence, to gain clarity on who they are, and to be able to describe themselves and what they do and the outcomes that they experience with their clients in a different kind of broader and more concrete way. 

Shannon Dunn  25:59

So these are examples that I also shared in Thrive as a Coach. And it was leading into the fact that in the third session we talk about framework and in this instance, I will be talking about or did share about the Thrive Factor Framework. 

Shannon Dunn  26:11

But these two examples come from real clients of mine that I’ve had in the past, both of them many years ago. Now, neither one of these individuals are actually certified and licensed Thrive Factor Coaches, because these experiences of working with them was long before I actually offered a certification in coaching. 

Shannon Dunn  26:29

But the first one was a health professional. Now she had formal industry training, she had a decade of expertise in her industry, she was finding clients though weren’t committing to their treatment plans, a treatment plan was a terminology or language that was appropriate for her to use in relation to the qualification she was and the role she had as a health professional. So she was feeling incredibly frustrated that she had no way to identify kind of what was contributing to the client’s behavior. You know, why weren’t people following through? They come and pay for her for the sessions, they got the treatment plan that they said they wanted, they told her that they were motivated to make change, they wanted to experience different aspects in their health. And yet, they weren’t taking action on anything that had been defined in that plan. And she couldn’t understand why. She was feeling like they weren’t getting results and feeling incredibly sad, frustrated, overwhelmed, challenged by all of that.

Shannon Dunn  27:22

 Now, she went and did add in a coaching certification to her existing qualifications as a health professional. And by adding in that coaching expertise, and an actual framework to work with people, she gave herself a reliable way to work with a client from a mindset and behavior perspective. She had ways to have conversations with, to guide, to understand, to highlight, to illuminate, things within her clients for themselves so that they could understand what was going on and make more conscious choices. 

Shannon Dunn  27:52

Now, a similar story is with a client I had, who was a money professional, again, formal industry training, she kind of had more like 13 years of expertise in her industry, when I was coaching her. Her clients were doing everything, but following the guidance that was provided. Yes, she was feeling like, like the health professional, frustrated. And she just kind of didn’t know what to do with it, like what was contributing to the client’s response and behavior. It was puzzling her so much, and creating a lot of energy drain, and distraction away from the work that she’s kind of here to do in the world. 

Shannon Dunn  28:24

Again, she did add in a coaching certification, had a very defined framework to use, and gave herself, like the health professional, a reliable way to work with clients from a mindset and behavior perspective. Now, what this led to, for both of those clients, was that their clients got results, they actually got sustained results, sustainable results, that led to more referrals to their businesses, and just like the whole kind of thing, but more importantly, I think, from an identity perspective, what happened was that they were able to really own who they were, they were able to see the value that they provided, they were able to articulate the difference that was made in their clients lives that they were co-contributors to, if you like. The difference made wasn’t because of them, it was a part of like how they worked with the client. So very, very cool. 

Shannon Dunn  29:21

So a final couple of reflections before we wrap up for today’s episode. Now if you’re not already a coach, I invite you to write down three things that you can see yourself integrating, three ways that you can see yourself integrating coaching into an existing business, or choosing coaching in our future business or a role. Yeah, so you might be in career and not in business, like a lot of our listeners are, I’m sure, but you could see how coaching could fit into that. 

Shannon Dunn  29:45

But if you’re already coaching or mentoring then think about your identity through the lens of these questions; do I actually know who I am? Do I know who I serve?  Is it clear to others who I am? Is it clear to others who I serve? Are the outcomes results etc clear to the people I want to serve? Is it clear what matters to me most? You know, does my message and brand tell people exactly what to expect? Or is it confusing or puzzling? Or there’s more questions for people than there are answers and clarity? And how often do people get it wrong in relation to what I do and who I serve? Those are really great questions to ask. And to reflect. As I said, I talk a lot about looking at things through different lenses. These lenses this, these questions are a lens for you to really challenge yourself to better understand how much you have clarity in relation to your identity. 

Shannon Dunn  30:38

So use the kind of questions to guide you to a greater sense of identity clarity, and know that using a framework or a system like the Thrive Factor Framework, one that is focused on personal and where relevant, business identity, and draw on psychology as its foundations can be a true game changer in your business. It offers you a self-leadership reference point to use for yourself in business. So knowing my Archetypes and sharing through the lens of each of the four that means I don’t question who I am, or what I’m here to contribute, this is me, and any additional self-leadership related learning is like an icing kind of cherries, toppings on top with a metaphorical view of who I am. 

Shannon Dunn  31:14

It also offers you a self-leadership reference point to use with your clients in every interaction with them. So in every coaching experience, I have an opportunity to reference a client’s Archetype or Archetypes, and with that I illuminate her strengths, supported and navigate potential and actual challenges poacher to meet and rise up to share her innate potential. There is limited opportunity to forget who you are, limited chance to abdicate from your innate wisdom and potential and the gift and opportunity to know without question, this is who I am. It’s such an incredible gift when you have that kind of a framework or a system to work with. 

Shannon Dunn  31:51

Now, when you have that kind of clarity and confidence, identity becomes your guidance system, your compass, your anchor to what’s most important, tethering you to identity instead of holding you back or holding you down. So I hope that that’s got you thinking about identity, I don’t imagine that if you’ve been in business for any amount of time that you have not recognised identity showing up and I’ve given you some examples today to think about that. It really is in everything, but we just don’t necessarily refer to it as identity. 

Shannon Dunn  32:21

But thanks so much for listening to my musings on identity. It’s been fun as it always is to create and share this with you this week. If you want to tune into Thrive as a Coach and learn more about the Thrive Factor Coach Self-leadership Coaching Certification, which is I have discovered through some research this is in this last few weeks, the only one and therefore the first of its kind in the world, then use the link that all will have in the show notes to sign up and get access to the session recordings. 

Shannon Dunn  32:45

I’ll also send you updates on the certification and enrollment dates that are upcoming and into the future. So that if you are aware of what’s coming up and when. So we are only taking 10 students this coming April. This is an important feature of the certification. The intimate personalized space for you to learn and expand as you lean into and embody your identity as a Thrive Factor coach. And at this stage, this may change, because things do change, but at this stage, this is the only cohort for 2023. So it could be an ideal time to add Thrive Factor coaching to your repertoire. So if you want to know more, sign up get access to the Thrive as a Coach that will give you a lot more information. But also, you’re welcome at any point in time to reach out via email to hello@thrivefactorco.com If you have questions about certification or working with me, my team and I are always delighted to hear from you and happy to answer any questions that come through. 

Shannon Dunn  33:39

But for now, before I come to my official sign off, that’s kind of it for today’s episode. I will be back next week with a new guest, Susi Martin so when we recorded Susi’s episode to share with you as a couple of months ago was before she got married, so she’s had a name change. Susi Kaeufer was what she was referred to previously she’s now Susi Martin. She’s a fellow coach, has a lot to share about the shifts and changes in the coaching industry like I do. Our conversation as I said was recorded a few weeks ago, super fun, insightful, inspiring. And I know you’ll love hearing about Susi’s personal evolution in the three or so years that I’ve known her. It was a really truly ideal episode to flow from today’s focus on identity so I look forward to sharing that with you. 

Shannon Dunn  34:21

But as always beautiful soul, be you, shine bright claim all of who you are, share it with us so we can get to know you so we can really identify with who you truly are in the most beautiful aligned and magnetic way. And always remember you were born to thrive.