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"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence"
Vince Lombardi
"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence"
Vince Lombardi
Greetings!
My name is David Smith, CEO and Owner of Leads7 Coaching. I offer life coaching services from both the secular and Christian perspectives…whatever the client is most comfortable with. My specialties are goal success and life purpose, along with spiritual formation in the Christian realm.
One of my favorite quotes about coaching comes from the late Vince Lombardi, revered head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the late 50s through the late 60s. In his first team meeting, he told them that “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” We will never be perfect or complete in this life, but there is no reason we cannot be excellent. That’s what coaching is about…helping people become excellent.
I’m glad you are considering allowing me on your journey to excellence. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you are interested in this coaching adventure.
Sincerely,
David Smith, EdS
Owner and CEO, Leads7 Coaching
Education:
A.A. in Education- Cowley College, Arkansas City, KS
B.S. in Music - Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, MO
M.S., Ed.S. in Higher Education - Pittsburg State University
M.C.M. in Church Music (cum laude) - Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
M.A. in Biblical Studies with High Distinction - Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, Newburgh, IN.
Ed.D. (in progress) in Leadership, American College of Education, Indianapolis, IN
D.R.S. (in progress) in Counseling Ministry, Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, Newburgh, IN.
Humans are wired to seek and achieve goals. Life is about purpose. Without it, we drift along aimlessly. Leads7 Coaching helps people to seek out their true purpose in life and how to flourish in it. I walk with people as they plan for short-term and long-term objectives.
According to Light University, formation concerns God's action on a person, much like the potter forms the pottery on the wheel. How we respond to His actions is discipleship. Leads7 Coaching stands ready to walk with Christians in being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
With more than thirty years of experience as an educator in higher education, I help post-secondary students with academic skills such as test-taking, note-taking, textbook reading, as well as writing and editing papers.
I help mid-level managers and administrators determine appropriate leadership styles, manage and resolve conflict, navigate difficult conversations and situations, as well as creating strategies for personal leadership growth and development.
"David would encourage me to question policies or decisions, and doing so has helped grow my confidence in my workplace. Another big takeaway I had was how to survive as an Introvert in an Extroverted world.
One of my favorite “assignments” was to read Quiet by Susan Cain. The book was very enlightening and reassured me that I could in fact, be an academic advisor even if I have Introvert tendencies. I would, and do, encourage reading this book to gain important insights on working with Introverts and Extroverts alike. My last biggest takeaway was how to be a leader. David is a true leader and mentor, and has set a wonderful example for me in the future as I seek more leadership roles."
Mary P.
Program Project Specialist
North Texas State University
"David Smith is my academic coaching advisor, and we meet about every week or so. You can tell he cares both about his impact on his students and the students themselves, and it's very reassuring to have someone like that in your corner (at least academically).
He's reliable and he goes out of his way to help me out with scheduling, academics, strategies, and helps me realize things about my academic style and way of learning that I likely would not have gotten otherwise. We go over strategies, goal success, time management (which was a big flaw of mine), and we talk about how to overcome these challenges and he's always there to help guide me in the right direction. I would say he is doing a great job with the program and how he uses it to help others."
Ryan E.
Current Student/Biology Major
Jefferson College
"I recently had the pleasure of participating in leadership coaching with David that was truly remarkable. David’s ability to provide practical examples and their genuine dedication to understanding my strengths and areas for growth were instrumental in making this a valuable experience.
This practical approach made the coaching session much more engaging and relevant. Additionally, the coach's willingness to listen attentively and ask insightful questions demonstrated their commitment to understanding my unique perspective and goals.
I was particularly impressed by the coach's ability to identify my strengths and leverage them to overcome challenges. His coaching techniques, such as a listening stance, helped me to develop a deeper self-awareness and a renewed sense of confidence in my leadership abilities. I am grateful for the valuable insights and guidance I received during this session.
"I would highly recommend David to anyone seeking to enhance their leadership skills and achieve their professional goals."
Jenna F.
Senior Student Services Coordinator
School of Natural Resources
University of Missouri
I worked with David as I transitioned into a new role where I began supervising a team and building a new department with several moving pieces. I was equal parts excited and overwhelmed to take on this job. David observed, listened, and then helped me organize and redirect my energies into focused and productive tasks. He helped me identify my big picture goals and not get lost in daily tasks, through prioritizing and organization. David uses practical tools and homework combined with his experience and humor to partner with his clients. He is an excellent listener, cheerleader, mentor, and coach. I am so grateful I had David in my corner as I started my new professional chapter, and I wholeheartedly endorse him as a coach!
Heather Bond, MSW, LCSW
Director of Wellness
East Central College
Please reach me at david@leads7coaching.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
At Leads7 Coaching, I use the GROW Model. This acronym stands for:
G: Goal-setting
R: Reality check
O: Options and alternative strategies
W: What, When, and Will to do
Think about the traditional athletic coach. His/her main job is to inspire team members to do their best in whatever sport they participate. They do this in many ways—encouragement, admonition, modeling behaviors, etc. The life coach does this, except not for athletic performance. The life coach’s main purpose is to help clients:
a. Decide what they want to accomplish;
b. Plan how they want to accomplish it;
c. Manage the plan of accomplishment.
This video clip is the best representation of the coaching process I’ve ever seen. Watch this and you’ll see why most people need coaching:
In a life coaching session, you can expect to discuss yIn a nutshell—Therapy seeks to fix, consulting seeks to advise, coaching seeks to guide.
Coaching bears more resemblance to consulting in that often the client is seeking advice to solve a problem. This makes the consultant an “expert.” While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, a life coach may or may not be an expert in a field where the client is having issues. The life coach guides the client into researching and solving problems on their own, rather than the coach solving it for them.
Certainly, coaching and therapy are quite different. In therapy, the therapist helps the client/patient resolve issues from the past that will impact the future. The coach, while recognizing the presence of past issues, seeks to move the client forward. Another major difference is the regulation of each field. Mental health professionals/therapists are licensed by states to practice and can clearly identify when someone has a mental health issue.
Life coaching, on the other hand, is not regulated. Therefore, the life coach (unless he/she is a licensed therapist as well), cannot and does not treat any kind of mental health condition. In my client agreement/contract, I specifically state this and also state that I am obligated to refer clients to a therapist if I see a possible condition that needs this kind of treatment.our goals, challenges, and strategies for overcoming obstacles. Your coach will provide guidance, support, and accountability to help you achieve your goals.
a. I begin with an initial free call that a potential client can schedule through my website. From that initial conversation, we determine if coaching is necessary and desirable, and if I am the right coach for that potential client. I coach adult men and women 18 and over.
b. From there we schedule the first coaching appointment. (At this time, I only do online coaching via Zoom). Appointments generally run 45-60 minutes.
c. After the first appointment is scheduled, I send an e-mail confirmation/welcome to the client with the following attachments:
i. Your Identifying Goals worksheet;
ii. A Powerful 'Pondering' Questions Form;
iii. Invoice for the first month with a link to PayPal to make payment;
iv. A copy of the Coaching Agreement with instructions to scan, sign, and e-mail back to me.
d. The structure of coaching appointments vary somewhat depending on the nature of the client’s wishes. Generally speaking, the outline is something like this:
i. Session Goals—goals for both coach and client.
ii. Reflection—What did we decide to do during the last session?
iii. Client Check-in—how did things go between the last session and this one.
iv. Discussion—What needs to be done before next session?
v. Action Steps—Specific actions to be completed before the next session.
One of the roles of a coach is to help the client be accountable for working toward their goals. One way to do this is to help the client determine some action steps that need to be completed before the next session. These action steps will be discussed at the next session—this provides a measure of accountability. I also have some handouts and worksheets that the client should complete before the next session to keep his/her focus on the process. I may also e-mail clients between sessions with other information. answer to this item.
AdA primary tool coaches use is questioning…a lot of questioning. This serves two purposes:
i. It releases responsibility from the coach
ii. It helps the client assume responsibility.
This process is often compared with the Socratic method of instruction, where the teacher asks the student a wide and varied series of questions designed to make the student think. The coaching process works much the same way—coaches ask many questions in order to help the client take responsibility for achieving their objectives. Remember that coaches guide, they do not dispense advice.d an answer to this item.
It depends on the coaching package. We meet anywhere from three to six weeks. Sometimes life happens and we have to postpone a meeting. It is very important to me and to the client, however, that we finish the package the client paid for.
My certifications from Transformation Academy are in Professional Life Coaching, Life Purpose Coaching and Goal Success Coaching. I also have a certification from the Board of Mental Health Coaching, and training in Christian Life Coaching and Spiritual Formation Coaching through the International Christian Coaching Association (my diplomas are available in the Downloads section). My primary interests within those certifications are:
i. Writing
ii. Academics
iii. Discipleship
iv. Post-secondary Instruction
v. General Goal Success
vi. Leadership
vii. Motivation
(Note: I do not do relationship coaching—sorry)
Article 10 of my coaching contract answers this question:
10. CONFIDENTIALITY
10.1 The coaching relationship and any information that the Client shares with the Coach as part of this relationship is considered confidential (“Confidential Information”). Coach agrees not to disclose or make use of any Confidential Information, directly or indirectly, except for the sole benefit of Client, as necessary to perform the Coaching, without Client’s written consent. Coach will not disclose Client’s name as a reference without Client’s written consent. Coach shall not directly or indirectly disclose or make use of any Confidential Information after the term of this Agreement for any reason. Coach will use reasonable care in handling Client’s Confidential Information so that it does not enter the public domain. Coach will return all Confidential Information to Client upon termination of this Agreement.
10.2 Client acknowledges that the Coach-Client relationship is not considered a legally confidential relationship (like the medical and legal professions) and communications between Coach and Client are not subject to the protection of any legally recognized privilege.
10.3 Coach may disclose Confidential Information to the extent that: (i) it becomes publicly available or known by no fault of Coach; (ii) Client grants permission for such disclosure in writing; (iii) Coach obtains the information from a third party, without breach of any obligation to the Client; (iv) disclosure is required by any court or government agency; (v) Coach reasonably believes that there is an imminent or likely risk of danger or harm to the Client or others; or (vi) it involves illegal activity.
10.4 In receiving Coaching, Client will have the benefit of proprietary systems, strategies and techniques developed by Coach (“Coach’s Proprietary Information”). Client acknowledges that Coach’s business relies on Coach’s ability to provide such insights to various clients. Client agrees not to disclose Coach’s Proprietary Information to any third party, directly or indirectly, during the term of this Agreement or after it ends.d an answer to this item.
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