Ruth Gavilán, Academic Co-Director at EEC, celebrates her recent accreditation as an MCC coach by the ICF with a mix of gratitude, excitement, and responsibility.
Thus, after more than 2,500 hours of one-to-one coaching and exhaustive testing, and after more than 15 years involved in coaching, the coach, mentor, and coach supervisor highlights that the true value of the journey has been in the opportunity to keep growing alongside clients, students, and colleagues.
Congratulations on your MCC, how do you feel now?
Happy and, above all, very grateful to the people who have accompanied me on my journey. I couldn't have been luckier to develop professionally at the School. Every person I've interacted with since I was a student fifteen years ago has left their mark on me.
In particular, I would like to name Cristina Martínez de Aragón, who accompanied me at the beginning with the greatest affection, when it was difficult to believe that one day I would be able to coach (laughter). And well, working with Silvia Guarnieri It has been a true privilege and a constant learning experience, also transforming our professional relationship into a personal connection of support and, on my part, of great admiration.
I have been very fortunate to have had so many professional and caring guides. How lucky I am!
What does it mean to you to be MCC?
Being an MCC represents an even greater awareness and connection with rigour when supporting others, whether as a coach for clients in coaching processes, as a trainer with students in training, or as a mentor to fellow coaches.
I dare say that obtaining the credential has led me to pay a bit more attention to the deontology of our activity. Taking care of the coach's role is fundamental to sustaining the impact of coaching.
All professional coaches are custodians of the seriousness of this work, and perhaps the most senior among us are most responsible for continuously transmitting this in our relationships with clients and in our activities as trainers and mentors.
What would you highlight about the path to becoming an MCC?
I particularly highlight the relationships I have built on this precious life journey I have been taking since 2010. The path has been filled with very significant moments in my life, spaces for nourishing conversations in more or less formal settings, and moments with colleagues who have become friends along the way.
It has been a journey full of exchanged glances and shared learning with colleagues, teachers, students, and clients.
Regarding the journey we've taken with ICF, I want to highlight the continuous focus on development and evolution as a coach, gradually achieving the depth and presence that ICF requires for this credential.
What has been the most difficult thing in your career as a coach? The most beautiful, the best?
I think the most difficult thing has been approaching conversations with clients while feeling unsure if I was fully qualified. Of course, on the other hand, those moments have been essential for continued growth.
The most beautiful thing, even today, is the intact enthusiasm when working with clients, students, and colleagues. The connection I feel when establishing that committed conversation still seems like the best gift in the world.
It continues to amaze me how much I enjoy each time I interact as a coach, mentor, or facilitator. This is the best, without a doubt.
What have you learned in this process?
Absolutely loads. I've learned to enjoy learning, to replace stress with the fun of the process itself, to accept that my vulnerability enriches me. It's been a huge achievement. (laughs) I've learned to recognise small wins, to maintain a mindset of possibility.
I've also learned to use my curiosity as a lever for growth. As coaches, we're fortunate to receive feedback from our clients all the time. Paying attention to it provides invaluable guidance for our performance.
What do you know now, as MCC, that you didn't know before?
The pit stop that the process of applying for the credential entails can be experienced as a golden opportunity to place greater awareness on customer service.
No matter how much care and rigour you practise, and however much supervision we provide throughout our journey, the exercise of pausing and reviewing in detail presents a fantastic opportunity to align more finely with the standards our clients deserve.
In this process, I've been able to reinforce my competence in deontology and confirmed how the high standards set by ICF contribute to maintaining an ethical and professional coaching culture, where the client is always at the centre.
What does the MCC allow you to do?
Accompanying is an enormous privilege. Every interaction, whether it's a coaching session or a conversation with a colleague, is an opportunity to grow and continue evolving. This doesn't change with a new credential. If anything, it means reinforcing the role of a rigorous and responsible facilitator.
There is great satisfaction in being able to work with others on their challenges and contribute to the development of future coaches.
What coaching for today?
For many. Coaching is a powerful tool for change and growth, two constants in our lives. It is simply singular and special.
Coaching supports, motivates, builds self-confidence, opens new perspectives, fosters a possibility mindset, encourages questioning, and enhances action, all from the client's autonomy.
Yes, coaching for a lot. Not for everything, and yes for very many aspects of life. In the age of AI, thanks to which so many professional and personal aspects are facilitated, for example, access to data, suggestions, patterns, diagnoses, alternatives, etc., coaching resides in the relationship, experience, presence, human intuition, and contextual discernment.
What would you like your legacy as a coach to be?
More than a legacy, I would like the people I have the privilege of accompanying on a small part of their growth journey to feel that they have been accompanied with rigour, affection and respect.
Customers should take away that participating in a coaching process means, above all, having a space to question and explore previously unthinkable options with complete security, guided by a rigorous and respectful professional.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I want to profoundly thank every teacher I've encountered over these years for the time and energy dedicated, and for the conversations with which we have built this path together. The best news of all is that this path continues.
