Episode #29: Fiona Setch – The Freedom That Comes From Impossible Situations
Fiona Setch has faced seemingly impossible situations in her life.
From caring for terminally-ill patients during the HIV/AIDS pandemic of the 1980s, to experiencing a devastating loss to COVID-19 through a nursing home window in 2020, life's biggest challenges have, she says, changed her.
Those hardships have given Fiona the gift of being able to be present when faced with death, and a rare ability to talk about it.
As a professional coach and trainer with vast experience, she now brings a coaching approach to palliative care, running training to support doctors and nurses through the current global pandemic alongside a broad portfolio of coaching and training.
Her flair for poetry has helped her to make the change she sees in her coaching clients more visible, and the conversation we shared created a space for wonderfully poignant reading.
In this episode, we talk about:
The importance of experiential learning
How Fiona structures her maternity coaching and retirement coaching work
The curse of perfectionism
Confidence coaching, and how to wobble without falling
Emphasising the 'super vision' of supervision
Fiona's talent for writing has also led to a forthcoming new book that tells stories about the unique moment in time we are all living through, interwoven with the coaching strategies she has honed during a fascinating career.
For more information about Fiona, visit http://www.fionasetch.co.uk/
For information about Robbie’s wider work and writing, visit www.robbieswalecoaching.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community
Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):
- Marie Curie https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/
- London Lighthouse https://lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/London_Lighthouse
- AIDS: Monolith public information film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iroty5zwOVw
- It's A Sin https://www.channel4.com/programmes/its-a-sin
- Benjamin Zander – The Art of Possibility https://www.benjaminzander.org/about/the-art-of-possibility/
- Benjamin Zander's TED Talk https://www.benjaminzander.org/about/speaker/
- Benjamin Zander's rule number 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-HG6X6fpBM
- Terrence Higgins Trust https://www.tht.org.uk/
- Marianne Craig coaching https://www.coachlifeandcareer.com/
- Kolb’s learning cycle https://experientiallearninginstitute.org/resources/what-is-experiential-learning/
- Skyros holistic holidays https://www.skyros.com/
- St Oswald's Hospice https://www.stoswaldsuk.org/
- Dr Kathryn Mannix – With the End in Mind https://www.dyingmatters.org/page/end-mind-kathryn-mannix
- Fiona's ebook, The Art of Interview Skills https://bookboon.com/en/the-art-of-interview-skills-ebook
- Bookboon https://bookboon.com/
- Firework coaching https://www.fireworkcoaching.com/
- Maternity coaching http://www.fionasetch.co.uk/maternitycoaching.html
- Two Coach Confidence Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/two-coach-podcast/id1511161169
- Richard Nugent - The 50 Secrets of Self-Confidence https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/richard-nugent/the-50-secrets-of-self-confidence/9781473622234/
- Gina Ford https://www.ginaford.com/
- Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
- Coaching at Work https://www.coaching-at-work.com/
- Coaching Through COVID https://coachingthroughcovid.org/
- Michael Heppell – How to Be Brilliant https://www.michaelheppell.com/books/
- Tapping therapy, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) https://www.thetappingsolution.com/tapping-101/
- Association for Coaching https://www.associationforcoaching.com/
BIOGRAPHY FROM FIONA
Fiona Setch's passion for seeing life from every perspective led her to take on the nickname 'Ms Carpe Diem', and her curiosity and natural gift for teaching have underpinned her career.
After training as a nurse in the old apprentice model, Fiona worked first in Newcastle-upon-Tyne then in Saudi Arabia for a year, where she learned to scuba dive and fulfilled her dream of becoming a part-time mermaid.
Moving back to the UK to train in HIV and AIDS, she then spent six years caring for people in London before moving back to her beloved northeast in 1997.
While starting a new role as staff development officer at the Marie Curie centre in Newcastle, Fiona picked up a magazine featuring an article about life coaching – a "lightbulb moment", she says.
Now she runs a freelance business offering motivational coaching, training and consultancy, specialising in confidence coaching, maternity coaching and retirement coaching, and is the author of five published works.