Coach in the Spotlight: Anne Gelebart

Describe your journey into coaching.

Originally, I wanted to be a doctor but ended up going to Business School.

I went on to work in Supply Chain management for some big corporations like Danone, Associated British Foods and Starbucks.

My work allowed me to experience different cultures and use my language skills. I’m originally from France, but I’ve also lived in Spain and then the UK for several years before moving to the Netherlands in 2014.

When we moved here, it coincided with my maternity leave. This time out of work gave me a sort of “parental gap year” to think about the next steps in my career.

Through my former employer, I attended a leadership programme where I got to experience being coached for the first time.

I found it incredibly interesting, and it made a huge impact on me. So much so that I decided I wanted to become a coach myself.

Interestingly though, I wasn’t motivated to step away from Supply Chain management straight away.

I loved the logical elements of my job, but I wanted to make my life a bit more meaningful and have more in-depth conversations, so initially I planned a portfolio career – combining coaching with my existing job.

I went through the coaching certification and started my own business on the side.

After a few years working for Starbucks EMEA, the support office closed which meant my ‘day job’ was at risk.

I remember being in the room when we were told about the closure and redundancies – there were a lot of people crying. But I found myself feeling secretly pleased. Suddenly it was crystal clear to me that I would focus full time on my coaching business.

I joined a leadership programme from the Co-Active Coaching school which really helped me in the early days of coaching full time – particularly throughout the pandemic.

As a freelance coach, I was concerned about feeling isolated, so it was great to have a tribe of other coaches to support me through my journey.

When I look back on my career, I realise my motivations for becoming a doctor were the same as my reasons for becoming a coach. They’re both firmly rooted in what’s most important to me. Both professions are about caring about other people and helping them to improve their lives.

My business experience has also been hugely helpful in terms of running my coaching practice so everything I’ve done so far has helped me get to this point in my career.

 

My motivations for becoming a doctor were the same as my reasons for becoming a coach. Both professions are about caring about other people and helping them to improve their lives.

 

Why did you choose to become a Firework-licensed coach?

I’m a Co-Active coach and that approach gave me all the core coaching skills in terms of being present and aware of what’s happening in the moment.

However, I’ve found it useful to incorporate additional tools and methods to support my clients, specifically those with career related issues.

Firework came highly recommended through my Co-Active community, so I decided to become a Firework-licensed coach to give further structure to my career coaching.

Now, I feel I have all the tools I need to help people through career transition. Rather than using Firework as an end-to-end programme, I pick and choose the elements I want to use with each client. This is what I love about Firework – it’s so flexible.

I am a natural planner, but I also like the freedom to vary what I’m doing with each client. With Firework, I don’t have to follow a strict method, which is great. I always use visualisations, which are so powerful, and I also like the House of Knowledge.

In addition to career coaching, I also do leadership development coaching, life coaching and team coaching. Firework has added to my toolkit, and I use it with all sorts of clients.

In addition to Firework, I also trained with ORSC and Team Coaching International. My coaching approach is holistic and I bring body awareness to clients as part of the coaching experience. I like to use a variety of tools and methods in my work with clients.

 

My coaching approach is holistic and I bring body awareness to clients as part of the coaching experience. I like to use a variety of tools and methods in my work with clients.

 

Who do you typically work with?

I often say that as a coach, your niche is YOU – or perhaps, it’s the old you.

Predominantly I find myself coaching people who are working for international corporations, and they want to progress or want more work-life balance and find greater fulfilment overall.

They’re often in their 40s and have children (but not always), so they’re keen to find more balance between work and home life.

I might support my clients with leadership challenges, whether that’s how to progress to a leadership position, develop strong leadership skills or their own authentic style of leadership.

Other times I’ll be working with someone who’s really fed up with the career that they’re in and they want to do something else. I’ll end up using a lot of the Firework tools with those types of clients.

When it comes to my clients, I love variety!

 

How have you grown your coaching practice? How do you source your clients?

I built my coaching practice gradually, whilst I was still working in supply chain management.

I completed my Co-Active coaching certification in 2017, when I began to coach friends of friends and quickly word began to spread.

I found more clients through the parents of my children’s school and a Dutch network of French women I am part of.

I volunteer for a foundation as well, so this gave me the chance to do more coaching on a pro-bono basis. It was a great way to grow and build up awareness of what I was able to offer people.

My coaching business has grown organically, and I’ve tried many different things to market myself over the years. I’ve spoken at events and hosted some workshops. Prospective clients might come through LinkedIn, my website, or one of my talks.

I started working as an associate coach for coaching agencies which helped me to build up a regular income and a steady stream of clients.

In terms of how I spend my time, I tend to coach for around 20% of my working week, and the rest is made up of volunteering activity, content creation and social media activity, all of which supports my coaching practice.

 

My coaching business has grown organically, and I’ve tried many different things to market myself over the years.

 

Tell us about some of the results you’ve helped your clients achieve?

I coached a client who was working at an executive level, but also feeling fed up with their career and wanted a complete change. After coaching with me, they got a new job outside of their organisation, but in the same industry, and got promoted quickly. In addition, they made some other changes in their personal time which enriched their life overall.

What I loved about this case was that the client came to me saying “I need a complete career change” but changing their environment made enough of an impact that everything became easier for them.

I worked with someone else who had relocated because of their partner’s job and they felt quite lost in terms of what to do career-wise. They’d been in the marketing industry previously but following our coaching sessions, they decided to become a teacher.

Another client came from a chemistry background and went on to study for a Master’s degree.

There was another client who was working in Sales and decided to set up their own business.

I tend to work with people for three or four months and some of my clients can make a career change in that time, or they’ll at least decide what they’re going to do next.

All my clients show huge amounts of courage. It’s inspiring.

I'm always surprised by how fast people can change their mindset. The impact of coaching can be really powerful!

 

I'm always surprised by how fast people can change their mindset. The impact of coaching can be really powerful!

 

What challenges have you faced as a coach? How have you overcome them?

When I worked for a large corporate company, I did my job and I didn't need to understand how the rest of the business worked.

But when I became a full time coach, I quickly realised that there’s the coaching element of the job and then there’s running a business! 

I initially underestimated the amount of time the business part would take and it has certainly kept me on my toes.

I was initially concerned that working alone would be an issue, but it hasn’t been the case.

I'm very happy to work on a one-to-one basis with my clients but I enjoy collaborating with others when it comes to creating new programmes. I think if I had to do something like that on my own, it would take me forever.

Having a support system of ‘colleagues’ in other coaches and having ongoing sessions with my own coach has been vital to my success.

At times, I’ve found it difficult to cope with the financial uncertainty. I don’t always know when I’m going to get my next client, which can be unsettling.

However, my income is a lot more predictable now that I’m using coaching agencies to help me find clients.

I’ve seen a lot of coaches who end up going back to a ‘regular’ job, because they’re unable or unwilling to cope with the uncertainty. Being coached myself has helped me cope with all the ups and downs and develop resilience and courage.

When it came to marketing myself, finding my authentic voice was one of my biggest challenges.

It’s important that what I’m sharing feels true to me, and not just something that people want to hear.

It took a lot of reflection and personal coaching hours to help me find that authentic voice.

I’ve also worked with a psychologist, an ayurvedic practitioner and a healer over the last two years.

I’ve spoken on panels, delivered talks, taken part in events, and started improvisational theatre.

All of these things have helped me to grow in confidence and become more conscious of my body and mind.

There is a holistic approach to the way I learn, and the way I like to work with my clients. It's important that I lead by example.

 

When it came to marketing myself, finding my authentic voice was one of my biggest challenges.

 

What advice do you have for new coaches?

Firstly, take your time with building up a coaching practice.

It's helpful to have a strong understanding of what’s most important to you and what is likely to make you ‘freak out’ before you take the leap and leave your day job.

In my case, I knew I would be anxious if I wasn’t earning enough money, and it wasn’t until I knew I would be made redundant that I felt ready to go full time into my coaching business.

Each person will have their own concerns and things that cause them discomfort, so it can be helpful to plan for that.

I’d also suggest delegating things that you hate! I don't like accounting, so I have an accountant to do it for me.

I tried to build my website at the beginning but decided to outsource it as it was draining me and taking too much time and energy.

 

It's helpful to have a strong understanding of what’s most important to you and what is likely to make you ‘freak out’ before you take the leap.

 

What is the most rewarding aspect of coaching for you?

I love it when a client ‘sees the light’ and feels confident enough to move forward. The transformation process is amazing to witness.

It’s fulfilling when a client tells me I’ve changed their life.

 

Anne Gelebart is a Firework-licensed Career Coach and certified Co-Active Coach. Originally from France, Anne now lives in the Netherlands with her partner and two lively children. She describes her coaching approach as holistic, raising awareness of how the body and mind work together. In addition to coaching, Anne is also a Pilates instructor and volunteers at Empower Amsterdam, a foundation that provides support and guidance to unemployed international professionals living in the Netherlands. Find out more about Anne at www.angelcoachinginternational.com