What is coaching?
The former Professional and Personal Coaches Association defined coaching as "an ongoing relationship which focuses on clients taking action toward the realization of their visions, goals or desires. Coaching uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to build the client's level of awareness and responsibility, and provides the client with structure, support, and feedback. The current International Coach Federation defines coaching as "an ongoing partnership that helps clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance and enhance their quality of life. Beginning with the client's desires, coaching uses reporting, exploring, and a consistent commitment to action to move the client forward. Coaching accelerates the client's progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. Coaching concentrates on where clients are today and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be tomorrow."
How is coaching different from psychotherapy?
Coaching is very different from psychotherapy. Psychotherapy deals with healing psychological issues and is generally long term and intensive dealing with inter- and intra- personal issues as well as cognitive and behavioral development. The focus is often on past history and how it relates to that individual's development. Coaching is very proactive and does not deal with psychological issues. Coaching acknowledges personal issues, but focuses on skill development and implementation of new strategies that benefit the client in achieving their goals and becoming more fulfilled and better equipped to meet life's daily challenges. Coaching helps the individual learn new behaviors and habits and even new ways of thinking to overcome areas of difficulties. The agenda is client initiated and uses the process of discovery and inquiry to learn. Coaching may often involve designing your environment to meet your own particular needs in a way that is comfortable and appropriate for you. A coach will help you enhance your skills and will help you build awareness and responsibility toward your endeavors.
How does coaching usually work?
The coach and client design an alliance together that is synergistic in nature. They co-engineer the process as a team, so as to avoid a situation of "nagging". The roles of each are clearly defined in the beginning. Together they decide what to do and how to do it. A system of accountability is set up that is comfortable for both. The process for this is designed so the client will feel pulled toward their goal instead of pushed. They decide where to begin and what to do together.
How is life coaching different from other kinds of coaching?
The process of life coaching is not very different from other kinds of coaching. It is the content and context that varies. Coaches and the concept of coaching are found everywhere. Coaching is common in the theater, sports, music, and business. Coaching is a process we are all involved with naturally on a daily basis as mothers, fathers, spouses, siblings, friends, employers, employees, teachers and students. We often are aware of what changes we would like to make in our daily lives, but don't know how to make those changes or we don't commit to doing it. Often we just don't invest the time or money in the process or we don't know where to start. That is where a life coach can be of help. Coaching provides the focus, support and accountability to make the changes that we are unable to make through other sources of support in our lives. To make steady progress toward a goal means defining the goal into long term and short term components and keeping on track with the process once it has been defined. Assessment of an individual's strengths and weaknesses, and learning how to compensate for the weaknesses, is an important part of the process of coaching and has been done for centuries by those who excel at what they do.
Does coaching work for everyone?
Unfortunately not. A client has to be willing to be accountable for his behavior as well as his intentions. A client has to want to change inside and to follow that through by corrective measures. When the outcome is not as expected, he or she can't point a finger at his/her boss, husband, or school. Coaching requires a commitment to day by day, hour by hour work and sometimes even minute by minute work. It's a lot like body building, if you don't get to the gym, you're not going to see the results in the mirror. It's hard work sometimes, but the payoffs can be big in terms of self-esteem and enjoyment of life.
Presented by Coach Sandy
Please contact me for your free consultation!!!!!
You can find me on a web community called BitWine which allows me the ability to coach people through the “virtual” world. I am also available via e-mail at ckgarrett@operationlifecoach.com or contact me through Skype, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and over the phone at 605.380.2312. I can't wait to hear from you!!
