b'WHAT IS AUTHENTICCOACHING?R uth Kudzi is a London based mindset andIt was only when I realised all of my skills and business coach specialising in helping newexperience were very relevant as a new entrepreneur service based businesses to start up and scale.and I needed to use them that it started to change. She talks about her journey, the coaching15 years of leadership experience, business knowledge industry and why being her true self and buildingand sales experience coupled with true resilience has relationships has helped her to achieve her goals. now enabled me to create a successful business that In a world where coaches seem to appear to pop-upgives me a great income plus the freedom to travel and online as an overnight success, this just isnt the reality.operate on my own terms.The true foundations are built in the background wayThere are many buzz words in the online coaching before the visibility and Ruth is living proof of this. space, the most of which are integrity and At the start of my business, progress felt slow. It tookauthenticity.Many say they hold the values of me nearly a year to find my feet properly; and I hadauthenticity and integrity but, for me, it goes a lot a baby in between which brought new challenges ondeeper than just saying it. Showing up as my true self top. It was a year of highs with new clients,and being honest and open in what I do means I build speaking gigs, collaborations, blogs,trust. travel but also a year of lowsIf we are going to show up for them, we need due to lack of confidence,to start with ourselves and make sure that we tech barriers, badCoaching is aare showing up as who we really are.decisions, projects not working out and clientsrelationship and, likeAs in any industry, there are always saying no. any relationship, trustplenty of experts whose messaging may seem too good to be true. If you is the main foundation.scratch beneath the surface, it often is To build trust youand there often couple with a lack of need honesty and thissubstance. is where authenticityThe world of coaching can be easily comes in misunderstood, with many believing it is a magic wand or something that delivers guaranteed and immediate results. Practicing as a coach, I believe that coach training is invaluable and needed; ideally training that is accredited by one of the external bodies too. I believe having this training and adhering to ethical guidelines shows integrity. My advice would be to anyone looking to work with a coach would always be to ask about their training and experience.As a coach, we cant guarantee results as we cant guarantee what we will uncover. Coaching is highly individual. What is right for one person wont be right for another and each business is also individual, operating at different levels.Some coaches are also mentors and trainers so there is a merging of roles. I deliver courses and content too and this is where the distinction can become murky as many qualified coaches do increase their offerings to meet the needs of a wider pool of clients. 10'