Animas Purpose
The Animas Purpose is why we exist at all and how we live this out through actions.
Core purpose
To help people live meaningful, fulfilling and happier lives through the power of coaching.
The first part of this statement might be understandable but you might ask, “OK, but why through coaching?”
We believe that everybody struggles to some degree with the choices and challenges posed by everyday life. And we don’t mean here, the big questions around the meaning of life. We mean the daily challenges of creating a life you enjoy – at home, at work, in relationships, in parenting, in business, in health and in wealth. People are often overwhelmed by choice, uncertainty, self-doubt, fear, difficult conversations and challenges of every shape and size.
There’s a word for this.
It’s called being human!
We also believe that one way – not the way but one way – is to talk to someone who is not stuck in your particular set of struggles, who doesn’t claim to have all the answers for you, who cares and is interested, who holds up a mirror to show you your part, who helps you think through with clarity and determination what you really want and how you can move towards it.
That’s where we believe coaching can serve a life-changing purpose by enabling someone to gain greater self-awareness, alternative perspectives, clarity of vision, accountability and direction.
We’d even go as far to say that it ultimately creates greater courage to face your truth. Hence our name: Animas, to live courageously.
Our Aims
To develop and support unique, authentic, competent coaches grounded in humanistic practice throughout their professional lives.
With our core purpose in mind, our key aim as a school is to train, develop and support coaches who find their own unique authentic approach and who can make an impact in the world through coaching. We believe the ripple effect of coaches supporting their clients to change their lives in big and small ways will have immeasurable benefits to the world.
We also believe that being a coach is a journey of a lifetime not a one-step training process. As a coach, you don’t step out of initial training fully formed. It’s the beginning of a journey of constant learning and reflection which is why we create multiple ways for coaches to broaden and deepen their knowledge, skills and practice.
Whether through our further training, content, talks, interviews or events, we aim to support coaches in their ongoing development and the expansion of their mental maps for the work they do.
To nurture a vibrant, diverse community of coaches through lifelong connections, events, education and support.
Alongside continual development, we know that coaching can sometimes be a lonely profession. When you’re out in the world working with clients it can be one of the greatest feelings ever, but you’re often doing it alone – you and your clients – and it’s easy to lose connection with the wider profession.
That’s why one of our aims has always been to nurture a lively, welcoming and supportive community of coaches who stay connected in-person and virtually.
We want coaching to be more than just the activity you do with your clients but to be something you belong to, thrive within and connect to for the rest of your life.
To influence, grow, challenge, promote and contribute to the coaching profession.
Animas is not alone. We are part of the wider coaching profession that has grown up over the last 40 years and taken a respected place in the spectrum of personal and professional change practices alongside psychotherapy, mentoring, counselling and related practices.
The profession is still in its formative years and we aim to be part of the process of shaping and influencing it for the better both by supporting it where we can and challenging it where needed. Few things are ever perfect or complete and that’s part of the joy of an evolving profession such as coaching.
Our aim is to ensure that coaching continues to evolve into a theoretically sound yet passionate, flexible, creative space for human dialogue to unfold and for the profession as a whole to make an impact in the world through the coming together of shared values.