To Enable Your Community to Pursue the Best Possible Versions

MARLEQ: Can you tell us about yourself?

Fedrick William: I am an International Coach Academy (ICA) certified workplace coach who brings over 15 years of professional experience and more than 1500 hours of coaching practice to my role. My journey with coaching began in my early twenties during my first professional engagement. Initially skeptical about the value of coaching, I now embrace it as my Ikigai (1) , my reason for being.

Throughout my career, I have successfully guided team members and clients toward achieving their personal and professional goals. I firmly believe in the principle of lifelong learning and continually invest in self-development through travel, reading, self-reflection, journaling, and coaching.

I am a strong advocate for the transformative power of coaching. I believe that anyone seeking a fulfilling life can benefit from having a coach. My coaching brand, invincibleu, is deeply rooted in my personal journey of triumphs and setbacks. The name is a fusion of the adjective 'Invincible' and the pronoun 'You', symbolizing the potential within each individual to overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

With a unique blend of coaching expertise and life experience, I am committed to helping my clients become the best versions of themselves. I aim to empower them to transcend their perceived limitations and explore new horizons.

(1) Ikigai" is a Japanese concept that combines the words "iki" (生き), meaning "life," and "gai" (甲斐), meaning "value or worth." Ikigai is often translated as "reason for being," and it represents the concept of having a purpose in life or the thing that gives one a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

MARLEQ: Tell us, how do you help clients become the best version of themselves?

Fedrick William: I believe that unbiased listening is a key skill for a good coach. I help my clients become their best versions by first listening to their goals. When their goals are unclear, I help them create their goals. This serves as a starting point for their journey. I encourage my clients to write their short-, mid-, and long-term goals and revisit them regularly. Along with coaching, I mentor my clients when the moment is right. I tell them that as a mentor, I am sharing my experience and best practices with them; however, I ask them to take my mentorship with a ‘grain of salt’. I tell them while mentoring that “just because something worked for me in a certain way, it does not have to work for them in exactly the same way. They can follow some of the best practices however they have to remain invested in their goals and dreams to craft their way forward in a way that works for them”. Generally, for short-term goals a mix of mentoring-coaching works. When I recognize that I have a client who is looking beyond a short-term goal, I employ coaching principles. I firmly believe that with regular coaching interventions and actions by the clients, sustainable and transformational changes occur.

MARLEQ: What role does your exposure as a Product Manager play during your coaching sessions?

Fedrick William: The top 3 responsibilities of a Product Manager are a) to prioritize the next set of developments; b) to communicate these developments to stakeholders and adjust when changes occur; c) to keep an eye on the ‘North Star Metric’ and make sure that the developments are in sync with the NSM (outcome driven).

These principally are transferable to most coaching sessions.

MARLEQ: Do you see Tech or AI as an opportunity or threat to professionals? Why?

Fedrick William: It is both. It is a threat to those who resist the change and are not ready to adopt and adapt the best practices.

It is an opportunity for those who learn the new tools and treat it as a partner in helping them achieve their goals.

MARLEQ: As a versatile coach, how do you encourage versatility in your clients?

Fedrick William: “If there are 7+ billion people in the world, there are 7+ billion types of people."

While there are several well-renowned personality tests that group people in certain segments, there are variances within the behavior of people within the same segment.”

This belief helps me remove my personal biases and helps me help my clients explore the path that works for them. I help them with tools and frameworks that help them meditate and craft a way forward. However, the way forward belongs to them.

MARLEQ: What in your opinion will help expatriates relevant in any economy?

Fedrick William:

1. Resilience: As an expatriate, the feeling of being an outsider will keep emerging multiple times. There will be biases from people, rejections and maybe even insults. Resilience helps expatriates stand up for themselves while not letting the biases and opinions of others decide their own self-worth.
2. Right-attitude: When one moves from one country to another, more often than not one is moving from a place of relative more security and comfort to a place of relative lesser security and comfort. In such times the right kind of attitude in all facets of life is critical. For instance, one might have an expectation that, since they were already managing a team of 20 in their previous country, they should automatically be eligible for a similar designation in the new country. It is not incorrect to have that expectation however one also needs to align their expectations with the new realities and have the right attitude to learn and re-grow in the new circumstances.
3. Discipline: “Motivation is temporary. Discipline is a habit.” That sums it up.

MARLEQ: How does your exposure to different countries and cultures set you up for success as a coach?

Fedrick William: It helps me challenge my own understanding of myself. The more I travel and especially to places where I do not speak the same language, it helps me understand and challenge my own biases and status quo.

In turn, I am able to bring that understanding to my clients when I coach them. I am able to listen to them with a much more open mind and help them achieve their goals and dreams within their world. It helps me help them see and challenge their self-limiting belief and encourage them to create a path for themselves.

MARLEQ: Who is your target audience?

Fedrick William:

1. 25-55 years
2. Gender, Religion, Region, Culture agnostic
3. Who wants to create any kind of paradigm shift in their life
1. career
2. moving to another country
3. relationships
4. mindset
5. health

MARLEQ: How important is work-life balance to you and how do you personally ensure it?

Fedrick William: I believe in ‘managing my energy’.

There are tasks that ‘bring me energy’ and there are tasks that ‘take energy away from me’

These tasks can then be personal, coaching, employer-related, or anything else.

Generally, I know what works for me and I plan my day with a mix of these tasks in a way that I am meeting my daily, weekly and hence long-term goals as a person, a coach and an employee.

MARLEQ: What is the best movie or book you have read? Tell us why. 

Fedrick William: This is the toughest one. There are several.

If I have to choose one. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Why? It helps me work at my core level to create changes that are first visible to me and then to others. These are changes that are long-term and sustainable.

Movie. It is a Hindi movie. It is named ‘Anand’. The central character is called Anand and that translates to ‘Joy’ in English. It is available for free on YouTube. It sends a message which communicates that “life should be deep rather than long”. It has and continues to evaluate my life. How can I do more with less? How can I have deep meaningful conversations and relationships and create lasting impact?