What is Coaching?

So, what do I mean by "coaching?"

Coaching is a process of discovery within a relationship between two people in the roles of coach and client. The client has one or more goals they wish to achieve. The coach facilitates the client's clarifying the goal, setting a strategy for achieving the goal, taking the steps required, and surmounting the obstacles along the way.

So why does a person need a coach for achieving their goals? Well, lots of us achieve lots of goals without coaching, of course! But sometimes we have a goal that we say we want, but can't seem to get there. (Check your New Years resolution list, and compare it to last year's list; you might find one or more of these.) Or maybe we are in a situation we wish we weren't in, but we can't seem to find our way out. Or perhaps we have a habitual behavior that is no longer serving us, but we find ourselves repeating it again and again--it is a habit after all.

Sounds like counseling or therapy? Counselors and therapists may incorporate coaching into their practices. However, coaching does not include counseling or therapy. Coaches focus on helping people move through the gap between where they are today and where they want to be, in whatever aspect of life they are dissatisfied. If a person's growth is hindered by mental illness or wounding from the past, a coach will not be able to help them heal.

I'll leave it there for now, rather than risk sounding like an infomercial. Just wanted to have a "what is coaching" post so my future posts can be "about coaching."

We're all in this together,
Em