My father 1died around twenty-five years ago.
Strange how fathers become clearer after they leave. While they are alive, we are too busy arguing with them, avoiding them, or pretending we know better. But after they are gone, their voices quietly return. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation. Sometimes while making a decision. Sometimes while looking at your own children and realising you have become frighteningly similar to the man you once argued with.
The other day I found myself thinking about my dad.
And suddenly I realised that most of what had gone right in my life had come from him.
Not money. Not influence. Not connections.
Just talks. Advice. Correction. Guidance. Moulding.
My father was not what the world would call a spectacular success. He was not famous. He did not build an empire. He did not own companies or appear on magazine covers with folded arms and expensive watches.
But he knew how to shape lives. Especially the lives of his two sons.
And as I thought about him, I realised something else. My father was what today the modern world would proudly call a coach.
A few days ago I was speaking to Varundeep Sachi of the International Coaching Federation and he mentioned their conclave in Bengaluru on June 5 and 6. As he spoke about professional coaching, leadership mentoring, and guiding corporate leaders, I suddenly saw my father differently. Because that is exactly what coaches do. They shape people.
Their success is not measured by their own trophies but by the victories of those they mentor.
And perhaps that is the greatest lesson organisations are slowly beginning to understand. That successful CEOs, powerful industrialists and famous corporate leaders are not necessarily the best people to mentor others.
Success alone does not make a person capable of shaping another human being. What people truly need are professional coaches. Men and women trained not merely to speak about success, but to draw out hidden potential, build confidence, correct gently, listen deeply and guide wisely.
Because the finest coach is not somebody who creates copies of himself, but somebody who helps another person become the very best version of themselves.
A good coach may never stand on the podium himself, but somewhere behind every successful person is often a patient voice that kept saying, “You can do better.”
Today coaching has become a respected profession. Companies hire leadership coaches. Professionals seek mentors. And perhaps the world is finally beginning to understand that shaping a human life may be one of the greatest gifts anybody can possess.
The world celebrates stars. But often forgets the people who trained them. We applaud the singer and forget the music teacher. We admire the athlete and forget the coach standing quietly near the track.
As I thought of my father, I realised he may never have seen himself as successful.
But he was.
Because the true success of a coach is seen in the lives of those he shapes.
And somewhere up there, I hope my father looks down and feels his effort was worthwhile.
Because I know now, more than ever before, that maybe he was not what the world would think of as a success, but he was a brilliant and successful coach…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
