What is Coaching Anyway?
I suspect you have been searching the net to find out more about this thing called "coaching." You saw something in the media, a friend talked about it (heaven forbid suggested coaching - what am I, sick?) or some other clever way. By the way, I did a Google search on "coaching" and came up with nearly 8 MILLION hits! Unfathomable! How do I figure this out, you ask???
Coaching is focused on you. However, we're here to talk about process. So what's the story?
Good question! We have consultants, councilors and coaches - my my! So, what is the difference? I look at it this way:
- Consultants fly in, make some assessments, find "the big problem," construct an appropriate solution(s) and action plan(s), and fly out. Now there is nothing wrong with that - I have been a consultant (sorry). At the end, the solution to the problem may or may not be "owned" by the client. It's the consultant's solution. The client asked the question; the consultant solved the problem and moves to the next issue. (I call this fly-in fly-out method "seagull management" but that's another story.)
- Counselors on the other hand (and therapists, perhaps) are more likely to engage in deep, personal conversations with their clients. In many cases, the issues a client is tripping over in their life are strong ghosts from the past. Some are ugly like abuse and the like. These are serious life events. The past may need to be healed before the client can live in the present. Clinical issues may need urgent attention. These folks are healers and yes, they suggest solutions here and there. Bless them.
- Coaches provide a different service. We are forward-looking, question generators (no rear-view mirrors, please!). Not answers - questions. You do a lot of work - not by yourself - on yourself. Our gift is to guide and challenge our coachees (the word "client" is so cold) to find within them what they need. Not only a trail guide, I also think of myself as an Alchemist - you know, like Merlin (you thought he was just a wizard!). Each of us has all our answers buried somewhere within. Reaching inward for them, embracing them, and putting them into action in our lives is what is hard - or impossible - to do alone. We Alchemists know that if you get the lead out; we know there is gold buried in there!
So, here's the thing: Even if you are a consultant or a councilor or even a coach, you may disagree with my ramblings. But that's the way I look at it and it seems to work....
It's a lot like being a trail guide - holding the maps, tools and compass, and knowing about the demons and ledges, while encouraging my partners in coaching to lead the way.
Next Steps: What Do You Really Want?
Ready For a Change?: Executive Coaching | Personal Life Coaching