What is Coaching?
Coaching is a process designed to create an environment for individual growth, purposeful action, and sustained improvement. It is designed to focus people on what they need to do more or less of in order to achieve their goals.
Also, coaching is a relationship and one-to-one process between a coach and an individual with specific objectives and goals aimed at developing that persons potential, improving relationships, and enhancing performance. Coaching uses proven techniques for change with behavioral knowledge and hands-on practice. Coaching breaks down barriers to help achieve greater levels of accomplishment. It is a process of self-leadership that enables people to gain clarity about who they are, what they are doing, why they are doing it, and where they want to go within in a secure and confidential structure.
What does a Coach do?
- Creates a safe environment in which people see themselves more clearly; the coach does this by listening, asking focused questions, reflecting back, challenging, and acknowledging the client
- Asks for more intentional thought, action, and behavior changes than the client would have asked of him or herself
- Clarifies goals and agreed-upon results
- Identifies gaps between where the client is and where the client needs or wants to be
- Helps the client develop a strong strategy and action plan to close the gap
- Understands and anticipates potential obstacles
- Guides the building of the structure, accountability, and support necessary to ensure sustained commitment
The benefits of coaching
These are as wide ranging as the individuals involved.
Numerous clients report that coaching positively impacted their careers as well as their lives by helping them to:
- Establish and take action towards achieving goals
- Become more self-reliant
- Gain more job and life satisfaction
- Contribute more effectively to the team and the organization
- Take greater responsibility and accountability for actions and commitments
- Work more easily and productively with others (boss, direct reports, peers)
- Communicate more effectively