Every person has the potential to accomplish great things - and is constantly compelled to advance towards them. Coaching helps break barriers and clarify situations, allowing what already exists within us to be optimally expressed.
Every coach needs a coach. Rachel Halperin, a senior certified life coach, established Otzarot to provide guidance and training for the next generation of life coaches as they help their own clients reveal and realize their hidden potential. Halperin started her career running parenting and relationship groups, and currently specializes in life-decision-making. She harnesses her expertise to supervise coaches-in-training, inspired by the words of the Jewish sages who taught that each student should be led toward his own path.
What is coaching?
In short, coaching is a series of conversations that help the client move forward in life. Man is built to move forward. It’s how G-d designed us. As the Torah teaches, Hashem told Avraham: “Lech Lecha”—go forth, move forward. It is up to us to decide how and when, and then make the move. Through coaching, we help our clients do just that.
How do you know what the client is capable of?
Every person is born with all the potential he needs to live his life and fulfill his destiny. I don’t need to know the exact details; what I do is help remove barriers to action and success. Our goal is to work together and find ways to continue developing clarified potential.
How exactly is this done?
Come study with us and find out! You’ll learn that, in a nutshell, coaches learn to define each client’s goals; what he or she wants to advance in life—changing careers, lifestyles, or any other goal. Together, coaches and their clients identify the best way to achieve their goals.
The role of encouragement throughout the coaching process is paramount. The coaching session must take place in an atmosphere of support, transforming any problem into a call for the client’s potential to be expressed. We listen carefully, then reflect the client’s need back to him or her in a manner that drives action.
To do so, coaches must learn to listen carefully and extract crucial information. They must act with caution and precision to guide clients to cerebral action, even when at times emotion can get in the way. Coaches must also know when to refer their clients to an appropriate mental health or other professional.
How did you find yourself in the field of coaching?
For years, I led parenting and relationship groups and even dabbled in training group leaders. Then, 11 years ago, I discovered coaching. I tested out everything I learned about it (from a number of programs) on myself. In a short period of time, I saw clear results. This was all the encouragement I needed to launch a fruitful coaching career of my own. I wanted to give as many people as possible access to the benefits that coaching contributed to my life.
10 years on, what industry void does Otzarot fill?
The center engages in a wide variety of approaches, from being and doing to NLP and more. But what truly sets us apart is our focus on precise listening, which helps pinpoint the optimal approach to take in every session. And, of course, the fact that the center’s philosophy is built upon the spirit of Judaism, yet entrenched in modern professionalism. This is a drawing factor for our students and our clients.
What would readers like to know about your training program?
Most of Otzarot’s student-coaches reach the center through word-of-mouth. Whoever is driven to move forward in life and help others do so can secure a spot in the training program. Our students are prepared to work hard, expand their thought processes and accept others, without accepting their station in life as permanent. Once they have passed the preliminary interview, students—of all ages and from all different backgrounds—begin a 30-day training program, over the course of seven to eight months. Learning is done in dynamic group sessions, alongside individual coaching sessions with a certified life coach. Once the course is complete, students can to coach clients, under supervision, before ultimately receiving certification from Otzarot and the Israeli Coaching Foundation )Lishkat Hamamanim bYisrael).
What are your students saying about your program?
Chana, 45, special ed teacher: “The tools of coaching increases my students’ capabilities and confidence.”
Miri, 38: “I opened a clinic at home and work fewer hours and earn more than any other work I’ve done in my life.”
L, 29: “I have young children who need me… I work as a coach five-six hours a week. I’m calmer, more attentive. It has a positive effect on those around me.”
It gives me great pleasure to know that my students are earning a living helping others improve the quality of their lives.
About Otzarot
Otzarot is a center for life coaching and coach-training established by Rachel Halperin. The center is founded upon the belief that every person is born with innate treasures. Otzarot coaches seek to reveal hidden treasures through conversation, guidance and encouragement, operating according to the principles of Judaism, active listening and active change. To learn more about Otzarot, contact Rachel at: 054-4948008 , 054-5683043 or [email protected]
