More about Coaching

Coaching is an incredibly powerful vehicle that can help us in so many ways. The field of life and business coaching is said to have been started in the late 1970’s by Thomas Leonard, who is known as the “father of coaching”. Sports’ coaching in contrast has been around for an indefinite period of time and although has some similarities to life and business coaching, can be a very different process. So, life and business coaching, having been around just over thirty years, is a relatively new field that has experienced incredible growth and become increasingly popular worldwide.

The coaching process helps people to make significant changes and shifts in their lives that they may not otherwise make. Let’s face it, we all get into are own grooves and patterns in life, many of which we don’t even think about as they have become a part of our regular routine. These patterns typically produce the same results, some good and some not so good. If we want the results of our actions to be different, then it makes sense that we will need to change our actions or our ways of doing things. If we want ourselves and our lives to be different, then we must live differently. If we want to change, then we have to change.

Two catalysts in the process of change are awareness that something is wrong, or at least not all it could be, and the desire to do something about it. Although we may know that we want more out of life, we may not be clear on what needs to be done to obtain the life that we really want. Often, we are blind to what needs to be changed. These are areas where coaching comes in to play.

Coaching, as per the International Coach Federation, “honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work, and believes that every client is creative, resourceful and whole”. It is the coach’s responsibility to assist the client in discovering and clarifying what he/she really wants in life and to help the client align those desires with his/her values. An insightful coach will help you to see your blind spots and what has been holding you back in life and to achieve your definition of success.

Coaching is not only for people who are experiencing problems or issues, but for people who want to achieve more from their lives. Most people who seek coaching have already experienced many successes in their lives. Also, a life and business coach does not need to be an expert in the area in which you are struggling or your particular area of business. A coach is not a consultant that supplies you with the answers to your problems. A good coach is an expert at being a coach and helping you to discover your own answers. If the answers you seek are not immediately available in the coaching session, then the coach will help you to discover ways in which to get the information that you need. The power of coaching exists in the relationship between the coach and the client, understanding that the coaching session is always based on the client’s agenda. My focus as your coach is you and your success…period!

Having said this, I do have areas in which I like to work and have experienced personal success. Considering this, it may at times be helpful to work with a coach who specializes in the area in which you are seeking guidance. I have found, however, that most people end up talking about an assortment of goals, challenges and situations during coaching sessions, whether that was their initial intent or not. A good coach will use their experience, training and insight to shine a light on areas that may not have previously been seen by the client. The point is, you may enter a session with a goal in mind and come to realize that in order to achieve that goal you’ll need to make changes that are not directly related to the goal. For example, let’s say that Bob is an accountant and he is unhappy with his current position. He feels that it is time to move on from his present duties and into a new and exciting position within the firm. Bob just wants to be happy with his work and he is sure that if he advances within his company and receives a promotion, he will be happy with his new position. So, he seeks out and hires a coach who specializes in working with accountants. This coach was so helpful that through the power of the coaching sessions, Bob received that promotion in only a couple of months. But then he realized that he was still unhappy, even with his new position! Now what? As I’ve said, the coaching session is all about the clients agenda so did the “accountants’ coach” do anything wrong? Not necessarily.

The coach followed the client’s agenda & the client achieved his goal. So, what went wrong? Well, the answers could be many. The point here is that an insightful, well-rounded coach could have helped Bob to uncover the true reason for his unhappiness prior to spending two months working towards a promotion that ultimately left him unhappy and therefore unsatisfied, still searching for reasons for his unhappiness.

So, although there can be benefits from working with a coach who specializes in what it is that you want to accomplish, this is often not the case. A coach who helps you to identify and achieve your goals, and supports you in aligning your goals and dreams with your beliefs and values, thus promoting a life of fulfillment, integrity and happiness, may prove to be a better fit.

Coaching promotes deep learning and insight, improved performance and extraordinary results. Coaching enables us to discover our passion in life and to live the life that we really want. Through coaching we can live a more productive, structured and balanced life. Simply put, coaching enables us to get where we want to go… faster.