"I find the coaching process was and is very beneficial for me. In my case, it helped me to become ‘unstuck’. With hindsight of weeks of coaching, I can now say, were it not for coaching process with Klaas I would be in exactly the same spot that I was in months ago but with deeper distress and depression.
My experience has not been linear by any means. In the past I’ve read about people who with coaching (appear) to go from a to b and c and beyond. I think I often take two steps forward and then one back. On the other hand I have made tremendous progress with different parts of my life and I rejoice in that. And really it’s unrealistic to expect that progress is always upwards and onwards as life itself it not linear but a series of turns and twists.
In other areas of my life, coaching has provided clarity. Standing outside the situation with someone else gives perspective. It lessens the potential for feeling helpless. It generates a sense of control.
One of the biggest ways in which coaching helped me, was to be accountable to myself. When I knew I was meeting with Klaas on a weekly basis I remembered that we had agreed a series of actions or steps that I would take in the intervening time. It’s not like being accountable to a parent or teachers as we are obviously all adults. And sometimes those agreed steps did not work out for valid reasons and this is progress and learning as well.
I would recommend coaching with Klaas for a number of reasons. He is both encouraging and supportive. If I am fearful to the point where I might otherwise be ashamed of speaking about these fears, he is judicious and wise so that it is the fear and not me that is diminished in that situation. I cannot say better than that! While coaching cannot change your life (only you can do that) it is a practical, supportive and empowering process."
11 December 2009
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"My experience with Klaas goes back a good few years. When I was first introduced to him, I wondered what it was all about and what good it could do for me. I soon found out that we could cover a lot of areas in a relatively short and painless way. Klaas helped me to explore and identify a number of critical issues in both my personal life and my business that were blocking progress.
However, we also identified many personal strengths I had never really thought about, or valued in any way. As a result, I was able to look at my development needs from a much more positive perspective and work, not just on my "weaknesses" but also to enhance my "strengths". He showed me how I could be more successful by building on the stronger aspects at the same time, rather than facing the extreme challenge of bringing my weaknesses through to strength on their own. Working on both in parallel was so much more rewarding."
21 December 2009 - Cormac McGrane
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Working with Klaas Jan is inspiring and activating.
His curious and accepting attitude works motivating and reassuring.
Working on the growth of human beings seems just natural to him. Klaas Jan empowered the belief in myself by giving constructive feedback and focusing on my strengths. His coaching enabled me to realize my plans and ideas by focusing on the goal: the project was completed successfully in many ways. I got to know myself better, and was able to continue successfully on the path that we had set out together. He helped me realizing a plan I thought of being too big a challenge for me.
When co-facilitating a workshop on the work-life balance for couples, he quickly earned everybody’s trust in a playful way and coached delegates to a clear view on how to improve their lives with their spouses. It was a pleasure to work with him, with his relaxing attitude and creative mind!
8 February 2010 - Steffi Wiesmann