What is Coaching?

ICF (International Coach Federation) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

To me, coaching provides a safe space where clients are free to have confidential conversations with their coaches to work on the issues that are important to them. Coaches use questions in a skillful manner to help clients better understand their current situations. They can help gain insight from different perspectives, uncover blind spots, and gain clarity into beliefs and values. Beliefs and values can sometimes be limiting or inconsistent with how the client wants to live their life. By examining their beliefs and values, clients can gain better understanding of their true motives and goals for their lives.

Coaching can:

• Help clients achieve their personal goals through its action oriented and future focused purpose.
• Help clients develop new abilities and skills.
• Help clients identify available resources and opportunities and act on them.
• Help clients improve their communication to enable them ask for and receive what they want in life.

Coaching can help you gain:

• More balance, contentedness and happiness
• More confidence, direction and purpose
• More clarity, purpose and balance

Coaching has helped me in my personal life in many ways. I have gained better alignment between my values and my daily activities. It have helped me improve my communication skills, taught me to say “no” when needed, and ask for what I need or want from others. It has helped me “get out of my head” and live my life in a more active manner where I work towards my own goals. I now do what I think is right for me instead of doing what I think I am supposed to be doing or what other people want me to do. I have learned to better follow my own intuition when making decisions. Most importantly, I believe coaching has helped me become better in all the roles I fulfill in my life: husband, father, leader, co-worker and many more.

It is also important to identify what coaching is not and how it differs from other professional services available.

Coaching is not:

Therapy – Therapy is for clients who seek help from mental health issues. The client tends to want relief from past pain or trauma whereas coaching is focused on achieving desired future goals. Therapy tends to focus on working with the clients past experiences. Coaches are not trained to provide therapy and will refer clients to qualified therapists.

Mentoring – Mentoring is when a senior individual provides their knowledge and experience. A mentor has more experience in achieving the clients desired outcomes and will give advise or make professional introductions. Both mentoring and coaching are focused on future results.

Consulting – A consultant provides expertise to help solve specific business problems. Consultants use their skills and expertise to provide a business solution. They tend to provide solutions for business needs and not directly for individuals. Consulting is focused on present solutions.

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