I was five years into my executive coaching practice when I was invited to lead a workshop on “Coaching Skills for Human Resource Leaders” at a global conference. As the room filled up with participants, I identified a few colleagues who had already been coaching professionally for more than a decade. I felt self-doubt start to kick in: Why were they even here? What did they come to learn? Why do they want to hear from me?
I had expected the session to be attended by professionals who were seasoned in their field (human resources), but not in my specific zone of expertise (coaching). I was caught off guard. Wasn’t I supposed to be the subject matter expert? What if they challenged my credibility or authority in front of my peers? What if I said something wrong and was publicly embarrassed? What if they simply walked out of the presentation because there was nothing of value for them?
