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Inspired paths in and beyond academia

Coaching & workshops for staying in connection and moving forward with integrity and joy.

Fascination, and a love for the connectedness we feel when teaching and learning, underlies many a path into academia.

If only we could keep finding our way back to that in the rough and tumble of growing up and growing wise in academic careers.

But this is not easy. “How, and why, does academic culture discourage us from living connected lives?” asks Parker Palmer in The Courage to Teach. In the process of finding our way as researchers, writers, teachers and leaders, pervasive evaluation and comparison activate our habits for self-protection. 

Maybe you’re tightening in perfectionism. Perhaps you pretend that you no longer care. Maybe you lose yourself in busyness. Maybe you disown parts of your work, your interests, your self. 

You may not even notice what you do, until you’re getting the message that it’s time to reassess. That message may come from those around you, from your body, from not getting the results you’d hoped to get.

If you’re not willing to shrug your shoulders and say ‘well that’s academia for you’: welcome. Welcome to treating your life in and beyond academia as an arena for growth and leadership. This is the alchemy of an inspired path.

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Receive word of upcoming workshops and other offers, and ideas for cultivating personal skillfulness in and beyond academic life. 

How Can I Help?

Below are some examples of what people have accomplished with the support of my coaching or workshops.

A book manuscript that had received critical reviews was reworked and found a better publisher.

This is about re-emerging from setbacks with greater clarity and insistence on what really matters.

A leadership role that was obtained after facing inner resistance and doubt, and through developing an authentic personal vision.

This is is about tapping inner resources and growing new capacities to become the person you need to be to rise to the challenge.

 

Things falling into place  by exchanging an old sense of not being a ‘proper sociologist’ for a more interdisciplinary identity.

This is about coming home to yourself as the basis for serving others. 

Article revisions that were successfully finished while their author also found her way back to the poetry-writing she used to enjoy.

This is about recognizing your creativity, and accessing both power and joy in your writing.

 

"Coaching with Catelijne has helped me find my bearings after I lost my two most loved family members, and transition into a new leadership role at my university. Most recently, it has helped me find courage to move on to pursue my dream. Catelijne has been empowering me every step of the way, fully embracing me for who I am, and helping me draw on my faith, strengths and core values to bring out the best in me. I have grown so much as a person, in sureness of what I stand for and what I want, and in emotional strength and capacity to face life's challenges."
Kelvin PangFormer Master of Tembusu College, National University of Singapore
“Before working with Catelijne, I had doubts about coaching. But when I hit a period of strong adversity in my career, I approached her, hoping for practical suggestions. I gradually learned that coaching is an affirming experience through which I could transform my worries into motivation. With Catelijne’s help, I was able to re position myself and claim back my own space. Since we started coaching, I have completed a lot of work that I’m happy with. Making critical decisions about what to do and not do has also become easier. Catelijne is a patient and understanding coach who from the very start believed in my potential. She is able to dig into the meanings behind what her client is experiencing and help find solutions. And these solutions are practical, not unrealistic.”
Harry WuAssistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
“Catelijne is a super smart and trustful coach. I am so grateful that I simply started this as a fun experiment and gift for my 50th birthday, to reflect on and enrich my academic life after 20 years in academia. It was way beyond my original expectation that I learned so much about myself, developed so many useful skills for my academic life, and ended up with so much transformation and excitement for the next 15 years! As a senior scholar and teacher, I have done a lot of advising for students and junior scholars. Still, after working with Catelijne, I must say that professional coaching has its unique expertise and contribution that differs from other ways of seeking advice or reflection. It has been an amazing journey."
Chia-Ling WuProfessor, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University & Former editor-in-chief of EASTS
Writing my PhD thesis in the midst of all the other curveballs life was throwing at me was a daunting experience. In my final year, I felt I had lost focus. It was easy for me to produce more words but I was less and less sure that I was doing something meaningful. Coaching with Catelijne allowed me to reconnect with what I value most about being a researcher, and to get a different perspective on what I was struggling with. This helped me write with greater focus and purpose, and gave me some wind in my back to finish my PhD. From our first meeting, Catelijne was warm and confident and allowed me to discuss my life without ever taking away my agency. This is what I think is the strength of her coaching: she enabled me to think through and articulate everything that I was going through while ensuring that it was I who always solved all my problems."
Gayathri HaridasResearch Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design
“I gave coaching a try as I’ve always felt that academics (and others!) need coaching to get the best out of themselves. Coaching is like a touchstone of deep calmness and empowerment that I return to. It feels as if Catelijne, like a sports coach, is at the touchline cheering me on, correcting mental traps and mistakes, and helping bring out my best game. As my coach, Catelijne has helped me to:
• Connect with the core of what really motivates me to fulfil my life calling, as a scholar
• Refocus away from things I can’t change, toward the things I can do to reach a place meaningful and satisfying at a deep level
• Find the courage to face, process and move on from struggles in the past"
YYXSenior Lecturer, National University of Singapore
“Catelijne Coopmans’ coaching sessions helped me to connect with a part of myself that I thought was lost for a long time. Her coaching techniques provided me with the tools to allow the self-assured, confident and powerful side of me to resurface. As an entrepreneur I need to be able to make important and company-defining decisions on a regular basis and after several months of coaching I know that I can confidently make these decisions without doubting myself. Her coaching has given me the tools to do this. I had never been coached before and, initially, I had my doubts but after just one session Catelijne was able to help start uncovering deep-seated hidden issues within me that were blocking my path to success. I have never felt so mentally and emotionally strong in my life after getting coached by her."
Abhi KumarChief Creative Director & Cofounder - ‎Warrior9
“For three years I’d wanted to get into the varsity team and play squash for NUS. After I got coaching and training overseas, I felt I had acquired the hard skills to do it, but somewhere in my mind there was still a barrier. I tried coaching with Catelijne and the experience was really good, above my expectations. The resources Catelijne helped me create for myself have unlocked personal strength and depth of character that I have been able to use in my game. I am more confident than ever about who I am as a squash player. Beyond that, the coaching also connected me with the full potential of who I can be as a person.
Nicholas Tingvarsity athlete, National University of Singapore
“As an analytical person, the experimental, non-linear element to Catelijne’s coaching initially took me by surprise, but it definitely brought valuable and actionable insights, perhaps as it took me away from my ‘normal’ approach to working things through. The biggest change has come from my re-discovery of routines that really work for me. I also feel more skilled now at recognizing when I get stuck or overburdened, and how to address that. Looking closely at the challenging places in one’s life is difficult to do, but it’s easier in the long run than consciously ignoring those places, especially when you can trust that your coach sees and wants the best in you. I always felt that way with Catelijne." .
Craig E.
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