Coach FEATURE: Tola Oladiji

We continue to meet our fellow coaches, get inspired and build coach community with our "Meet the Coach" features! This month we meet Tola Oladiji, a forward thinking life coach, NLP Practitioner and therapist from Nigeria.

About Tola

Lives In: Lagos, Nigeria

Company: Centre for Emotional Wellness Africa

Type of Coach: Life Coach & Therapist

Describe your coaching business in one sentence: I am a life coach and therapist who helps young people achieve their goals, find fulfillment and purpose in life, and become the best version of themselves.

Meet Tola Oladiji

QUESTION 1. What one book should every coach read - and why?

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Coaching is really about helping people find their own path, and the Alchemist is a book about an adventurer who finds his own path. There are a lot of correlates to really draw from in our quest to help people.

QUESTION 2. Whom do you admire most and why?

That has to be Lanre Olusola—who is probably the biggest coach in Nigeria. He was very instrumental in establishing the coaching industry in Nigeria, especially at a time when it was not a thing. Takes a lot of gut and courage to do that. I also love his integrative approach to coaching and therapy which is unique to a developing country like Nigeria.

QUESTION 3. What's your vision for your life? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years, I see myself designing coaching and therapy solutions for multinationals. The pandemic has really showed that investing in the mental health of wellbeing of employees isn't a luxury but a necessary cost for improved performance and I want to champion that in Nigeria.

QUESTION 4. What is your "big project" at the moment? OR What are your Top 3 Goals at the moment?

My big project at the moment is designing a wellness solution for a top multinational in my country with the potential to reach about 1000 employees. That's really big for me and I'm thinking about all the lives that will be impacted by the ripple effect. Super exciting.

QUESTION 5. What has been your favourite coaching moment so far?

My favourite coaching moment had to be with a client who wanted to scale up her business but was conflicted about it. Funny thing was that she came to me looking for advice because she wasn't sure how coaching worked. But we had just one session together and I barely asked 5 questions throughout the entire session. It was really beautiful to see her come up with her own answers and figure out her own "Why". That was really great.

It's just remarkable when you guide people to find their own part and empower them to follow it.

QUESTION 6. What are your Top 3 favourite coaching tools and/or resources?

1. The Life Audit Wheel
2. The Triangle of Alignment
3. The Neurological Levels of Change (NLP Tool)

I find them to be very practical tools in breaking through people's internal limits.

QUESTION 7. What do you love most about being a coach?

The best part about being a coach for me is being able to contribute to people's lives. That is such a big thing for me because it has a reverberating impact on other people. You coach one person about their business and it grows to employ more people—that's more lives touched indirectly by you. Or you help one person find happiness with their partner, and now their home and kids are better for it.

It's such a great feeling to know that you are touching people's lives by simply being in a conversation with one person.

QUESTION 8. Tell us a secret about you...

Fun fact, I was previously a medical student. I spent about 4 years in medical school before transferring out to Psychology.

This was easily the best decision of my life. Now I help people's minds, and that's where the power is.

QUESTION 9. If you could change one thing in our world, what would it be?

The one thing I would change about the world would be to introduce free healthcare for everyone.

It breaks my heart when people have to crowdfund to pay for hospital bills. I don't think anyone should have to beg just because they want to live.

QUESTION 10. And how would you go about it?

How would I go about it? Tax the super rich and have their taxes go into some sort of 'healthcare for all' fund for the poorest of the poor.

LEARN MORE about Tola here: Follow Tola on LinkedIn >> Follow Tola on Instagram >> Follow Tola on Twitter >>