All forms of coaching can be viewed as a relationship between a client and a coach which is formulated and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. This relationship is built on the client’s expressed interests, goals, and objectives. In this relationship, the client is given all the power because it is believed that the client knows all the answers to every question or challenge in his or her life. This applies even when the answers seem to be obscured or hidden to the client.
There are numerous niches for coaching, but in my perspective, there are typically two major categories: personal and professional coaching. Interestingly, I believe that both overlap as it is nearly impossible to separate one's personal life from one's professional life. Below are common coaching niches that my services cover.
Business coaching helps to cut through distractions, increase your performance, find your focus, define the scope of your role, and pinpoint your reason “why” you’re doing what you're doing.
Executive coaching helps the coachee utilize coaching techniques to facilitate the individual growth of team members while improving workplace performance and goal-achievement.
The role of a life coach is in many ways to be that of a cheerleader or an avatar that keeps you encouraged, motivated and with your primary objectives and goals in mind.
Personal development coaching focuses upon improving self-awareness, create an empowering identity, enhancing one’s quality of life, determining one’s primary life purpose, and developing necessary resources.
Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) coaching is focused upon self-awareness enhancement, goal achievement strategies, interpersonal communication, and understanding human behavior through flexible, subjective perspectives.
Leadership coaching is primarily focused on helping organizational leaders to gain a solid sense of identity, purpose, motivation, empowering resources, goal setting strategies, and synergistically using coaching to realize one's full potential.
What is coaching and who can benefit from it? All forms of coaching can be viewed as a relationship between a client and a coach which is formulated and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. This relationship is built on the client’s expressed interests, goals, and objectives. In this relationship, the client is given all the power because it is believed that the client knows all the answers to every question or challenge in his or her life. This applies even when the answers seem to be obscured or hidden to the client.
Although different coaches may use different models of coaching, most of the personal coaches and professional coaches adhere to a variation of the following process. For the reader curious to know what is coaching and how the coach-client relationship works, the following will give you a general idea as to the dynamics of the coaching interactions.
The first step usually is getting a clear picture of what the client wants. Sometimes people skip this step and go straight ahead to what they can achieve. This leads to them to come up with negative mediocre goals rather than inspiring creative goals that motivate them. Personal coaches usually start by calibrating the client’s values using a sort of assessment test. This will help them to know their client’s long-term goals and dreams. This gives them a guideline along the way as they coach their clients.
After identifying the client’s goals, it is important to fact check the client’s reality in an unbiased, detached manner. To achieve this, a personal coach asks questions that require answers that are specific and descriptive as opposed to general and judgmental answers. This stage does not entirely focus on external circumstances. It also sheds light on a client’s inner processes and habits that may hinder his or her process.
Next, the personal coach reviews all resources, options and all the possible courses of action. Here, brainstorming occurs under the stewardship of the personal coach so as to avoid critical judgments that may hinder the process such as “I cannot do this.” Resources include areas from which the clients can draw inspiration from. This may range from personal experiences, books, paintings to people such as mentor and teachers.
After the evaluation, the next step is designing a plan that takes a client from where he or she is at the moment to where he or she wants to be. This is done after a critical look at the options, factoring in the costs and benefits of each possible course of action. Clients often fill out a follow up which solidifies commitment and helps both the client and his or her personal coach keep track.
Throughout the process, the personal coach keeps the client motivated. As motivation comes from within, a personal coach helps the client to channel it. A personal coach helps the client to unearth anything that blocks the client’s path, for example, fears and misleading beliefs. Commitment is instilled through keeping track of the client’s journey during coaching sessions. The personal coach ensures that the client does not lose sight of the goals he or she set.
Throughout the coaching experience, a personal coach a personal coach ensures that you celebrate your victories along the way. As much as it is good to recognize what we are doing wrong and correct them, it is also important to acknowledge the things we are doing well.
As you’ve been reading about what is coaching and how it might help you, you’ve probably determined that personal/professional coaching is for everyone, and not just for business executives and a few others. Anyone who wishes to improve his or her life could use personal coaching as it gives people a clear and unbiased point of view of our lives and how to improve them.These benefits also give reasons as to why one should get a personal coach. They are as follows.
Personal coaching has proven to improve lives of those who engage in it, the more reason for you to get a personal coach. If you have more questions about what is coaching and how coaching might help you get what you want in a specific context, I encourage you to review the different coaching purposes for more information. As always you can contact me to set up a personalized coaching session.
