Meet our Coach Members
Meet our Coach-Members: Benoit Foucher
Career and Personal Coach, Stress Management
What led you into coaching?
I started to coach for many reasons, most importantly: my desire to help people find their own values and inner confidence; my desire that more and more people live more passionately and fulfilled; and my frustration not to have helped people as well as I thought they needed when I was a tennis coach.
Who do you coach?
I coach 2 types of people. The first is the person in a transitional moment in their life. Examples include the spouse in a family of newcomers to Hong Kong. Typically between age 30 and 40, she is wondering what to do with her extra time while raising her children. She is usually torn between pursuing a hobby or going back to her old job. Another is the person who is bored in his/her work and wondering how to become more fulfilled. Usually s/he is between 35 and 45 years old, has extensive experience in his/her field, and is earning a good salary but cannot see the point in working, lacking fulfillment and meaning in life.
The second type includes those who need to learn to relax to achieve greater results in their lives, such as athletes who would like to be mentally prepared for an important competition or managers who would like to better handle stress at work.
How does coaching in Hong Kong compare with other places where you’ve coached?
I recognize the cultural differences between France and Hong Kong, and I make it a point to integrate cultural nuances, such as expressiveness and career orientation, in my coaching approach. Having different clients with different perspectives is one of the things I like most about coaching. However, I recognize that everyone wants a harmonious life, regardless of where they happen to live in the world.
Tell us something unique about your coaching style.
I usually hold coaching sessions in nature to help myself as well as my clients feel more inspired and relaxed. I believe that nature offers us a lot of signs to tell us where to go, which improves our ability to live in the present.
I believe that the body, unlike the mind, cannot lie (in a certain manner), so I put a huge importance on body language, signs and intuition.
Last but not the least, I work together with two other great coaches with different profiles. After the first appointment with a client, we jointly decide what to do, and which of us will be the best coach for him/her.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment is to live a passionate life. I followed my passions for tennis becoming a professional, then tennis coach and now personal coach. At the same time I lived the last years with an extraordinary, wonderful woman — definitely my greatest accomplishment.
Even though a coach might enjoy great results (my clients tell me that they have a better awareness of themselves, they are clearer about their goals and what to do to fulfill them), I believe the best help he can provide is to inspire by example, in other words ‘walk his talk’. Everyone along their journey has troubled times. From my point of view, I have decided that I want to create an ideal life in all areas — the same goal I have for my clients — rather than only react to what I didn’t like. I know it is worth it, I know the pride, the self-esteem and the inner confidence are following this path.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
I’m still French after all, so I enjoy sharing good wine with friends - that’s good living! I still play tennis, do some sport for fun and physical well-being, and I’m learning the Argentinean tango.
Contact Benoit
Tel: (+852) 9651 8536
E-mail: foucher.benoit@gmail.com
