Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish — The Power of the Beginner’s Mind in Coaching
(By Kainny Chin – Founder of Collective Guts HK, S88 NGO)
When we are engaged as coaches, we are expected to come with a certain level of experience and expertise like powerful questioning and other coaching competencies. What happens when we step into an entirely unfamiliar sector or context? Are our experience and expertise still relevant and applicable?
Earlier this year, my charity Collective Guts HK launched a pioneering group coaching programme with St. James’ Settlement (SJS), fully supported by experienced coach Leona Wan, IFC-MCC. Our vision was to equip frontline staff in their After School Care Programme with basic coaching skills, empowering them to support low-income families to build emotional resilience and break the cycle of cross-generational poverty.
What we realised is that the tools still apply, but the context shift means we have to adjust our mindset to adapt. In social work, the immediate priority often revolves around crisis intervention, whereas coaching focuses on empowering forward-looking change. Bridging this gap requires immense patience and empathy.
Stepping from the corporate world into this space gave Steve Jobs’ mantra, “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” a profound new meaning for us.
Stay Foolish: Embracing the Outsider’s Journey
To be “foolish” is to embrace a beginner’s mindset. Before introducing coaching, we spent three months simply listening. By observing centre interactions and conducting interviews and surveys, we tried to understand their daily challenges and core objectives as much as possible.
This mindset continued after launch. We sought feedback after every session, constantly fine-tuning our approach. Being “foolish” meant admitting we were outsiders learning on the job, allowing the client’s evolving needs to guide our delivery.
Stay Hungry: The Patience for Impact
Navigating the intersection of social work and coaching brings inevitable friction. Our operational languages differed, and the roles of “counselling” versus “empowering” can sometimes feel conflicting. Yet, our shared “hunger” sustained us through this exploratory phase.
We firmly believe coaching is not just for the C-suite; everyone deserves empowerment. This belief was beautifully validated when several frontline staff members shared impressive breakthroughs. By shifting from their usual advisory roles to asking empowering coaching questions, they successfully guided exhausted parents and even students to discover their own solutions. Witnessing these staff members confidently spark such resilience proved that every moment of friction, the patience worth it.
Stepping into a new sector is never easy, and the impact may not be immediately visible. My reflection is this: give yourself permission to explore. Stay foolish enough to observe patiently, and hungry enough to trust the process. Seeing your coaching change lives in unexpected places is well worth the wait.