Tala Ocampo is an Associate Certified Coach from the International Coach Federation. She has a registered coaching practice based in Singapore and she is also my best friend since 5th grade. I am writing about her because I was able to sample her coaching during a difficult time in my life. I know what you are thinking…Why ask her to coach me when she is my best friend and I can ask her for advice any time?

Talking to a friend is different from a coach

• Friends and family have good intentions, but though they might not be aware of it, they talk from a biased perspectives with their own agendas. After all, your personal relationships are affected by your decisions.
• As my coach, Tala clearly put away her friend hat and put on her coaching hat. Tala has graduated with honors, undergone graduate studies in Psychology, is a certified coach and a seasoned Learning and Organization Development professional. She is trained to help you cultivate vitality, get more engaged in life, find meaning and grow in your work.
• Your friends might want to make you feel better and even thoughtfully think of what you want to hear to make you feel better. Coaches are trained to set aside their agenda, put your needs front and center. They are also trained to ask the right questions to lead to the truth of the situation in a way that is not clouded by emotion, fear or judgement.
• Tala’s goal as a coach is to help you experience meaning and alignment in your leadership, career and life, something she knows about after more than a decade of international experience in human resources.

Tala Ocampo’s work as a Human Research Consultant, Certified Coach and Career Researcher has been featured on Philippine Daily Inquirer (Newspaper) , Leading Philippine Organizations (Book), Workplace Wisdom (Book), Good Housekeeping Philippines, Make It Blissful among others.

My Coaching Experience

As friends, Tala and I talk about anything and everything in life. Since Tala is an amazing introspective person, who always makes well-thought out decisions that is right for herself and her family, she gives amazing advice. I am so lucky to have her as my best friend. But as a coach, it was like having Tala . She focused all her knowledge and training in our sessions. She was friendly yet very professional, and I didn’t feel judged or pressured. I was depressed, I was lost and I was super frustrated. I cannot tell you the details of the situation I was in because I would like to keep it private, but I will tell you that we came to a very unexpected conclusion. I committed to doing something that seemed quite minor at that point in time, but what I came to realise then is what led me to living my own truth.

Though this solution or act did not solve my entire problem, it said “I take ownership of my life” and “I can do something to create a change within me.” And the best thing was that the action I committed to at the end of our session was something tangible and measurable. This little act, led me to a series of other empowered actions that helped me get out of the rut I was in and heading towards the right direction.

After our sessions, she sent me a summary with the timelines I committed to, with some bonus resources to boot. These resources were so on point and helped me make changes in my life.

Is Coaching Right for You?

– Do you feel lost?

– Do you want to revitalise your career and life?

– Or do you want to be a better leader in your company or organisation?

– Do you feel like you are drowning and unable to manage a good work-life balance?

Tala specialises in coaching emerging leaders in their transition both in life and at work. Tala does individual consultations and she also works with Organizations. You can check feedback from her clients here.

If you want to rock your world, Tala is currently offering a promotion to celebrate her coaching accreditation: If you sign-up to be part of her Vita-List, you get 50% off on their first Vitality Session or Package from now until December 2014. Email her at [email protected] or head over to her website www.talaocampo.com.