Our Purpose is why we exist. It’s what drives us to do what we do. And even though we might not be thinking about it specifically every day, it is there in all our aims and actions.
Our Missions are what we do to pursue our purpose. It’s what we do day to day, month to month and year to year consistently. Our Missions also provide the values and directions that shape the decisions we make and the aspirations we set ourselves.
As grandiose as the statement above might sound, we believe that everybody struggles to a greater or lesser extent with the choices and challenges posed by everyday life.
We don’t mean the big questions around the meaning of life (though they matter too!) We mean the daily challenges of creating a life they enjoy – at home, at work, in relationships, in parenting, in business, in health and 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 believe that one way to deal with these challenges and questions is through purposeful conversation.
And not just any conversation.
Not the kind that reinforces limited ways of thinking and leaves you feeling just as stuck, just as hard-done by, just as powerless, as before.
Instead, we mean, a conversation with someone who believes that change is always possible, who trusts that you can find the right answer for yourself through the power of a challenging but compassionate exploration, who doesn’t claim to have all the answers for you, who cares and is interested, who holds up a mirror for you to see where you are part of your own problem, who helps you think through with clarity and determination what you really want and how you can move towards it.
We mean coaching.
We believe coaching can serve a life-changing purpose by enabling people to find greater self-awareness, explore alternative perspectives, achieve clarity of vision, gain accountability and make progress towards their vision.
And ultimately, this is what allows us all to achieve greater happiness, meaning and fulfilment.
With our core purpose in mind, our key aim as a school is to train, develop and support coaches to 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.
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.
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 as 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.
This is why we host our podcast, Coaching Uncaged along with frequent roundtables, summits, workshops, livestreams and more. We care passionately about the profession and want to leave a legacy with the coaches who are impacting the world and the ideas we explore and share.
