What is coaching?

Coaching is an ongoing, collaborative method implemented by highly trained professionals.  The function of the coaching process is to assist the client in achieving an ambition, a goal, or an objective. 

Coaching is NOT therapy.  The fundamental difference between therapy and coaching is that therapy tends to dive into your past to uncover blockages to create a more fulfilling present, whereas coaching focuses on utilizing your personality, talents, and aspirations to empower you in the present and create the life you desire in the present and future. 

Another way to view this is like Ben Dean says, “In therapy, you empathize with a client’s pain; in coaching, you empathize with their excitement.”

Is coaching a fad?

No!  Coaching has been around since the late 1980’s.  The person usually given credit for starting coaching is Thomas Leonard.  He was an accountant who realized that his clients needed more than financial advice; they needed someone to help them sort through the options available to them because of their financial stability.  That is when he began training people to fill this need.

Leonard touched on something powerful when he trained the first life coaches.  In the later half of the last century, people have experienced an increased mobility, which has also (unfortunately) brought with it a dissolution of family ties and near total lack of community.  People are craving something that will ground them and give them a sense that they belong somewhere, that they are important.  Though, as coaches, we all specialize in different areas, our number one common denominator is that we are about our clients.  We make them more secure in their talents.  We help them see how important they are in the situations they find themselves in.  We help them thrive!

Regardless of whether we are talking about careers or personal lives, coaching is an accelerator.  If a client comes in with a defined goal, coaching will help that client achieve that goal faster and more effectively.

Living in a society that demands everything be faster, efficient, smarter, better, you can bet your bottom dollar that coaching is not a fade. 

How long should I receive coaching?

The standard response is that the process is unique for each individual, because each individual is unique.  However, that doesn’t help you answer the question.

While it is true that some people receive benefits from coaching faster than others, it is more than likely that it will take you somewhere between 3 and 6 months to see the results you are looking for. 

That said . . . coaching is also beneficial for short term problems as well as personal or career development.  Sometimes there are projects at work that require you to push through your comfort zone.  Coaching is perfect for those projects, but, by and large, coaching works best when it is an ongoing relationship.

Why should I consider coaching?

Because Coaching provides benefits such as:

• Focus
• Stress reduction
• Strategic Planning
• Advice
• Mentoring
• A sounding board/mirror
• Perspective
• Organization
• Creativity
• Wisdom
• Goal attainment
• Productivity

These are not all of the benefits to coaching, but they are some of the more common ones.