Photo Blake Weyland
When you think of the words ‘coach’ or ‘coaching’, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it a movie with a sports coach leading a team to the anticipated championship win? Did you know that today coaching can be applied to improve leadership, management, personal effectiveness and planning, and health and well-being? It is a service that is sweeping the planet and the gains for individuals and organizations can truly be life altering.
What coaching is
What do we mean when we talk about coaching in this context? Coaching is a series of planned conversations where the coach facilitates discussion to unlock a client’s potential. This helps clients optimize their performance and achieve their goals. The coach achieves this by deploying a range of skills including intelligent questioning, intense listening, articulating, clarifying, observing, feeding back, feeding forward, empathizing, championing and challenging, while at all times holding the client in positive regard.
One of the fundamental tenets of coaching is that the client is not a problem to be solved but is, instead, perfectly formed. You, as the client, choose the content of the conversations, while the coach guides the process. In addition to powerful questions, the coach may use approaches, models, techniques, tools, activities and a myriad of other aids to motivate you to create change and attain your goals.
Coaching will often involve you identifying your values, behaviors, strengths and resources. Doing so is a positive exercise that can set you on the path to a happier, more contented and more meaningful life. All of this is done in a safe environment, with confidentiality assured.
What coaching is not
Is coaching the same as therapy? No. Therapy usually involves a therapist and client working through an issue that happened in the past and that may be blocking the client in the present. Although the past can inform issues in coaching, coaching is very much focused on the present and the future.
Is coaching the same as mentoring? No. Mentoring normally involves an expert, who has many years’ experience in a specific area, giving advice to a client on how to progress in that area. Although a coach may, at times, make suggestions to a client when appropriate, the aim of coaching is to have clients come to the learning points themselves. In this way, the change in thinking resonates after the coaching sessions have finished and the client can tackle new challenges with the tools, techniques and knowledge that they have gained.
Professional Coaches
Whilst there may be good coaches who do not have qualifications or accredited training, there are professional organizations such as the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and International Coaching Federation that require certain standards, knowledge, abilities and adherence to a code of ethics from their members. Using professionally qualified coaches provides an important measure of protection for clients.
Giving yourself the gift of coaching
If you were asked what you would like to be coached on, what would it be? Achieving progress in your career? Becoming fitter and healthier? Writing that book? Becoming more self-confident? Removing negative thoughts that cause you anxiety? Whatever it is, availing of some coaching with a qualified coach may be that little gift to yourself that ends up letting you live your best life.
James O'Boyle MBA MSc
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