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What is Coaching?
Coaching is a professional relationship where you work together with your coach
to clarify your options, define objectives, set goals and develop action
plans to achieve and surpass these goals. Coaching is essentially a results
oriented conversation, during which your coach will invite you to challenge
present perceptions and beliefs and create new ways of thinking, enabling
you to stretch yourself and achieve things you would not achieve alone.
How does coaching work?
Your coach will work to develop an environment where you feel safe enough
to stretch yourself and try new things, where you will work together to develop
possible solutions and devise courses of action. Your coach assists you in
this by actively listening to both what is and isn't said and by asking
questions that challenge the beliefs that presently hold you back from
achieving your desired outcome. A good coach will ensure that you maintain
ownership
of the solutions and responsibility for the outcomes such that you also develop
your own independent capability.
Why do I need a coach?
The way people manage themselves with respect to their lives, work and relationships,
is governed primarily by their perspective of reality and the strategies
they have built over time. For most of us, this results in us being good
at some things and less good at others and this limits our possibility to
realise our full potential. Working with your coach you will develop new
strategies regarding the things you want to do that you are presently delaying
or avoiding, hence improving your overall performance. The bottom line is,
if you could do it on your own you would already be doing it.
Are all coaches similarly qualified?
The short answer is no. Presently, anyone can set up as a coach. Professional
coaches are in agreement that all coaches should be properly trained to an
adequate level of proficiency by accredited schools and also adhere to the
codes of ethics and best practice developed by organisations like ICF (International
Coach Federation) and EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) to guide
the developing coaching profession.
How do I know what sort of coach will be best for me?
Many coaches offer their services in niche markets, for example, as corporate,
executive, team, financial, sales, relationship, teens or parent coaches, with
fees to match and the choice can be daunting. There is an argument that, because
the solutions and actions that are determined are those of the client and that
they have been arrived at via the coach's abilities to listen and ask
questions, the coach doesn't require specific knowledge in order to coach
any client. Whilst this is true, specific knowledge can inform the coach's
understanding and appreciation of the client's position and their resultant
questions, though this also poses a challenge to the coach not to jump in and
offer solutions. Coaching is about asking, not telling.
The best coach for someone is the one with whom they feel a certain connection
and the best way to choose a coach is to interview several by taking advantage
of a free consultation.
Here you will get a feel for the coach's style, personality and background and will
be better informed to make your choice
What is the difference between coaching and Therapy, Training, Consulting, Mentoring?
Therapy. Therapy focuses more on the ‘past to present' whereas Coaching focuses more on the ‘present to future'. Therapy has a pathology orientation where Coaching is growth and development oriented. However there are areas of similarity and overlap between coaching and therapy, notably regarding ethics and the skills of questioning and active listening. Coaching has its roots in psychology with modern coaching based on humanistic and transpersonal psychological principles. Coaching, whilst being solution focused like some therapy and counselling, is primarily goal driven and therefore more suitable for people who feel generally healthy and satisfied and are presenting with an issue where they would like to do better. Therapy on the other hand is more suitable for people who do not feel generally healthy and satisfied, where they have deeper issues regarding, for example, low self-esteem, poor self-image, depression etc., and where they are presenting with issues that would not respond well to a goal driven focus. People who would be better served by therapy may enter into a coaching relationship. A good coach will have the knowledge and competence to identify this and refer them on to another suitably qualified professional, as appropriate.
Training. With training, the trainer is the expert and sets the agenda. With coaching the agenda is set by the client with the coach's expertise being in the coaching process. Trainers impart their knowledge on the trainees. Coaches work with their clients to help the find their own answers. Training is presented in the same way to all attending trainees. Coaching is personalised and geared towards the client's requirements. Training tends not to bring about major changes in thinking and action where coaching is about sustained behavioural change. Coaching is an excellent way to improve the transfer of training knowledge into the workplace. A 1997 study found that training increased productivity by 22.4% and coaching increased productivity by 88.0%.
Consulting. Consultants tend to be experts within a specific industry or business and are hired to provide solutions to the client's problems. Coaches are experts in communication and interpersonal skills and help their clients develop their own solutions. Consultants base their services on their knowledge and information. Coaching is based on the coach/client relationship. Coaches may have specific knowledge and experience but a good coach will always try to assist their client develop their own solution rather than give direct advice.
Mentoring. Coaching is not mentoring though there are overlaps and
similarities with the more modern view of mentoring. Traditionally
mentoring was a relationship between an older wiser member of an organisation
and a junior member, with the objective to impart knowledge and wisdom
onto the junior member in order to develop their career. Modern mentoring
relationships are based on a more mutual, collaborative learning alliance,
similar to coaching. Coaching can be viewed as a style of relationship
that can be employed in mentoring. Mentoring, on the other hand, cannot
necessarily be viewed as a style of relationship that can be employed
in coaching.