FOUNDATION, PASSION & VISION - Being innovative, inclusive and inspiring!
Teamcoach International has come of age. Yet for us, there is still so much more to learn and explore! Everyday brings a new beginning as we adopt new ideas and infuse our programmes with fresh perspectives on development and growth.
Over the years, ideas have visited us in abundance from numerous sources and inspirations. While some can be swiftly taken on board, others may take a longer incubation time. Whatever the speed of our development, one thing is for sure – the cycle of change is ever-spinning and life affirming, helping us to absorb, adapt, invent and reinvent in ways that support and enrich our approaches to learning and training – be it coaching, facilitation, skills-building, leadership enhancement and community building.
Yes, we are ever evolving and growing – thanks to your participation, support, contributions and belief in us, Teamcoach International is expanding as a global family, making a difference further afield, yet continuing to serve local needs with an ever-increasing passion that puts people at the core of our work.
We have travelled many roads and through the twists and turns of our learning journeys, we have been able to fine-tune our approach to offer innovative programmes that are not only inclusive, but remain true to our goal to ‘inspire and facilitate learning with purpose and passion’.
We are excited to be sharing our stories with you, journeying through the learning paths that have shaped our philosophy and actions. We hope you will get inspiration from them!
The TCI Story
PART One:
TCI’s Journey - Fine-tuning perspectives and renewing goals to deliver inclusivity and quality.
Captain Dr Shan Moorthi, Founder and CEO of Teamcoach International (TCI), reflects on the company’s ever growing spirit of giving and sharing in its mission to make coaching accessible to all.
“Our intention was simple – to see whether coaching works across the different sectors, from education to small and medium enterprises and of course, at the community level too. We wanted to be truly inclusive in our service.”
“Once we we began to think more deeply about how coaching can change everyone’s and anyone’s life, we started to explore ways of extending our services beyond the main beneficiaries of our programmes, that is companies, organisations and businesses.
This got us into working with a range of communities, particularly disadvantaged groups and individuals with different abilities and special needs. It naturally confirmed our belief that anyone can embrace the tools that coaching offers to support their activities and enrich their lives.
Having undertaken a lot of corporate programmes since our inception in 1991, TCI started to look deeper into how we could be much more inclusive in our coaching, facilitation, leadership and training programmes, which can be expensive, especially since they have been largely delivered to the corporate world. With the successes that we have had in coaching with professionals and businesses and as we grew, it became necessary for us to review our roles in society, so that we could ensure that coaching is non-exclusive.
We had to do much more than what we had achieved so far as we realised that there were many local groups, small set ups and marginalized individuals and communities who could benefit from our initiatives but did not have the resources to afford our programmes. So, from there on, it is was as simple as saying to ourselves that there are places where we can charge and there are places where we can just give.
We were clear from the start we were not going to compromise on quality and not treat the CSR projects that we undertook as if they were ‘low-paying projects’. We chose to maintain the same level of professionalism for all our clients, paying or non-paying. This has opened us up to a better understanding of various communities and at the same time, we get to see the impact of our initiatives in different situations.
The one question we asked from the start was if there was a difference between corporate work and community work, especially in terms of coaching. The answer is no, except for the fact that one has all the funding and sponsorships at its disposal while the other did not. We felt strongly that the lack of resources should not get in the way of people receiving knowledge and skills.
What we found was that by sharing the same knowledge and giving the same skills that we gave our corporate clients to communities, not for-profit organisations and small businesses, we were supporting the latter to empower themselves much more than we could have ever imagined. They were also very grateful because L&D programmes were not something they got everyday.
What we focussed on was to train and provide coaching to enablers of communities, so that they could equip themselves better in order to give back more effectively to those people they support on a daily basis. We wanted them to capacity-build first and foremost, so that they could could go on to help build and strengthen communities with the coaching and facilitation skills they have learnt.
So, indirectly, we have worked across a range of communities, reaching out to enablers who work to improve the lives of refugees, orphans, Orang Asli villagers and people with disability.
We believe it is very important to give enablers the skills and knowledge that would help them discover their potential and develop innovative ways of engagement. Community enablers are the best people to be given the right tools that can encourage and facilitate the growth and development of those they care about. ”
Part Two – E – Reach – coaching for Enablers, Educators & Entrepreneurs:
Part Three – Notes from the Founder’s Diary:
Part Four – Communities at Heart – weaving coaching into community building: