Jon Lewis
May, 2010
Reflections on a Day of Life Coaching,
It was just six months ago that I first seriously considered the possibility of seeking some help from a “Life Coach.” Although I have plenty of years under my belt in ministry leadership, the challenges of the past couple of years have been unique. Partly due to the uniqueness of a CEO’s role and partly stemming from complexities of my own making, the fact is I had reached a point where I knew I could use some outside help.
Spending a day and a half with Bill Anderson in an executive/life coaching setting was the answer I was looking for. Never having experienced life coaching before, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from our time together. But from the first exercise of filling out the extensive self-evaluation to the last hour of concentrated one-on-one dialog, I found the experience stimulating and refreshing.
Having now read a bit about life coaches, I realize they come in all shapes and sizes and focus on different aspects of a person’s life challenges. For me, Bill offered a wonderful combination of experience and character. With more than 30 years as a CEO himself coupled with a compassionate heart for fellow leaders, he offered me insight, advice and counsel that matched my personal need.
What I particularly appreciated about Bill is that he did not attempt to present me with generic “cookie-cutter” solutions from some leadership textbook. Instead, he took the time–significant time–to learn and understand my particular challenges and then took even more time to think them through with me in order to drill down to practical ways to address those challenges. I left our day and a half with a notebook full of rich nuggets of wisdom and advice that I have begun to apply and which have already made a difference in the way I am approaching my leadership role.
I am blessed to be surrounded by a faithful wife, a loyal board of directors and a caring pastor. But I now recognize the special value that a professional, third-party life coach can bring which no one else from my circle of friends or family can offer. Bill has not only proven what that value can be, he has helped me crack open a window of new hope for my role as a ministry CEO.
Under His wings,
Jon Lewis
Former President/CEO
Partners International