What Is Coaching?
Coaching is a highly effective way to support people to discover, create, and adopt new behaviors. It is a relationship between an individual (or small group) and a coach, with specific objectives and goals focused on providing insight, uncovering potential, improving relationships, and enhancing life.
Coaching is
customized, taking in to account each person’s needs
offering insights from a different perspective
sharing information to help you consider new options
helping move you to action
assisting you to make specific, actionable changes to improve
coaches are a guide on this side, walking with you on your journey.
What are coaches?
A coach is a guide and a partner – a dedicated professional who specializes in “walking side by side” in support of clients reaching their goals. You and your coach create a safe environment to share insights and information, untangle the tough issues, help increase your self-awareness, and identify effective methods to try new approaches.
What does a coaching session look like?
Each coaching session is tailored to what you are interested in discussing, but it does have some overarching parts that are covered each session. Below is a list of those parts as well as some questions you might hear in your session.
Contract
what is you want to get a clear understanding of during your session?
an agreement of the session parameters (time, location, presence)
what would success look like at the end of the session for you?
Check-in
what’s going on in your world?
what makes that important to you now?
how do you feel about it?
Explore
what are the costs/benefits of your choices?
what are you patterns?
what’s a new way of looking at your problem?
how invested are you in changing?
what might change look and feel like?
Reflect
what’s your main takeaway from the session?
what’s something you are going to try after today’s insight? when?
who might be a support in your change?
how much energy do you have to make a change?
when can you check back in about the outcome?
Coaching is not therapy and coaches are not for “fixing” you. Coaches believe you have all of the answers within and all it takes is someone to help you excavate your wisdom to move you toward the direction and change you are seeking. Coaching is a great way to feel supported in your journey, no matter what stage, when you are in need of a guide on the side. But it does take commitment and work; if you are willing to show up and do the work, then this is a path open to you.