WHAT IS COACHING?
The International Coaching Federation definition: Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performance and enhance the quality of their lives. Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach’s job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.
We often define coaching in the context of sports. No matter how good an athlete is, they will hire a personal coach to enhance their growth and skill development. As Tiger Woods has demonstrated, a coach can continue to enhance even the best. Executive, Leadership and Career coaching is also aimed at performance improvement. Coaching is a one-on-one collaboration between the coach and client who work together to develop the highest personal and professional potential of the individual. It is a distinct process of engagement based on supporting and guiding using key questions and activities to achieve your objectives. A coach is an advocate, a sounding board, a cheerleader, an accountability partner, a truth teller and a supporter. Coaching is a powerful alliance that advances the process of human learning, organizational and personal effectiveness and self-fulfillment.
Coaching is NOT therapy. Where therapy brings understanding and awareness of the past to a client; coaching provides the support and strategy to make changes based on the awareness a client holds. Coaching is movement oriented and action based. Coaching is similar to consulting. However, consulting provides temporary or intermittent solutions. Coaching is a consistent, on going relationship where the coach stays with the client to help implement new skills, changes and goals. Another distinction is that consulting often involves dispensing advice, telling people what they should do. Coaching is different in that it focuses on assisting an entity to discover a solution on its own. A supportive friend is wonderful to have in life, yet does not hold the objectivity and distance that a coach does. A coach is a professional who is trusted to work with you on the most important aspects of your life and/or business. A coach offers a different perspective of the truth because of the emotional
Coaching is a formalized relationship in which a qualified coach works with a business professional or leader to help that individual achieve higher levels of performance. The ultimate goal of coaching is to cultivate capabilities and tap an individual’s full potential. In doing so, the individual expands possibilities, creates new options, shifts viewpoints and accelerates results. Professional coaching is similar to athletic coaching in the sense that it also focuses on specific skills (e.g., perfecting a golf or tennis swing). In this case, the coach and client work together to perfect new work behaviors to support a desired change. In executive coaching, the desired change may involve something as basic as improving listening skills or as complicated as mastering behavioral change. Back to top.
Coaching is a collaborative partnership between the coach and client designed to help the client reach his or her goals or dreams in business and in life. The coach asks provocative questions, provides feedback, encouragement and support towards attainment of the client’s goals. It is not consulting. I don’t tell you what or how you should do something, which is consulting, but help you explore and discover solutions and answers that have meaning, value & importance to you personally.
