"Walking the talk" - An interview with Zsanett Czifrus, Transformative Coach

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Janet (Zsanett) Czifrus, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Zsanett, how did your coaching career begin?

I’ve been always curious about the purpose of life since I was a child. I kept creating surveys and asking friends and relatives what makes their life happy and meaningful. Parallel to my management career, I started my personal development journey in my early twenties. I worked with coaches, holistic practitioners and therapists to expand my horizons, deepen my self-awareness and embody my true self. On this road, at some point I was asked to share my experience and help others.

First my friends, and my coworkers, then people from my broader environment started to ask if I’d have conversations with them about their life, they turned to me at crossroads, when they faced a difficult situation at work or they were about to make a significant career decision. My yoga students sought guidance from me to navigate their spiritual journey and get help interpreting what they were going through their journey. People I’ve met in business, through my management consulting, corporate and startup jobs were curious how to bring more calmness and harmony into their days. One day I was having a conversation with a friend when she asked: “Zsanett, why don’t you actually work as a coach?” – I became curious. This was when I first started to consider turning it into my profession.

What inspires you to be a coach?

I’ve met fantastic coaches along the road. Ann-Marie McKelvey, my mentor coach and teacher at the Mindfulness Coaching School inspired me with her wisdom and passion to believe that through coaching I can contribute creating a better world. Emily Walker, my supervisor inspired me with her empathy and ease to always stay in a conversation and trust that the the other person might have the missing piece of the puzzle. Rich Litvin inspired me with his strong work ethic and value-based approach to be in service of others and coach toward insights instead of information. My clients inspire me every day showing me the possibilities of the human potential, creativity and resourcefulness.

Speak about what it means to you to be a coach?

For me to be a coach means walking the talk. Thriving to be a better human, living an authentic life and serving those around me.

Coaching is both a calling and a profession to me. I believe that I make the world a happier place by helping people realize their big dreams, and live a balanced and fulfilling life.

What is it like to work with you?

My approach is both strategic and holistic. Imagine a business professional with a strong strategic mindset combined with the calmness and depth of a monk (or a yogi), and the vibe of an urban hipster.

I help my clients break down complex problems, articulate clear goals and act boldly. I challenge their status quo, work with their whole self, including body, mind and spirit and I invite them to go deep within. I have a joyful personality and I make it fun working together.

Why your clients choose you as their coach?

My clients appreciate my wholistic approach and my ability to build a link between the poles: the rational and the intuitive, the spiritual and the material, and the strategic and spontaneous. Most of them choose to work with me based on our first meeting: they have a strong sense that I’m gonna be able to help them. Read more about what my client’s say.

“Zsanett has a special talent for holding joyful, compassionate, presence. She brings happiness and light-heartedness to each session. I know that she will hold a strong presence while at the same time bringing ease and joy.” – Jonathan G.

What a typical session looks like with you?

We set the tone by building on a positive momentum, or reflecting on an achievement since the last session. I ask my clients to prepare in advance and define their agenda (i.e. their theme, what they need help with and what they want to achieve on that particular session). I give them materials that help to prepare or questions to contemplate on before we meet.

If someone arrives from a busy day or feel uneasy, I offer to guide a meditation or sit in silence to arrive and get grounded. Others prefer to ventilate (we call it clearing technique in coaching) to unload their mind and get ready to be coached.

Then, the best part, we dive into coaching, unpack the topic, and explore it from multiple dimensions. I use various tools, obviously the most important one is powerful questioning. I like involving the environment, somatic modalities and having impactful silences. I intuitively prepare for my session by researching quotes, thoughts and stories that I might share with my client on the session. I created my own Affirmation Card Collection that also makes a wonderful addition to the sessions. These prompts are most of the time land just perfectly and bring up fresh perspectives. At the end I ask for the biggest insights, I ask my client to set the action they will commit toward to, we agree on accountability and close the session.

This is a ‘regular’ online session, yet, each one is different. I also do in-person experiences that can differ from this structure. We might meet at the top of a monument to help my client explore new perspectives with the support of the unusual view, visit a sound bath to set the tone and calm the mind before the session, combine the coaching conversation with a yoga practice to enhance the impact with the poses, or cook together to evoke creativity and help my client experience the various layers of nourishment.

Coaching is a transformational change on a mental, emotional, physical and spiritual level. I am passionate about creating the space, designing the sessions and facilitating experiences to enable and enhance this transformation.