What is coaching?
Is coaching right for you?
It is important to understand what coaching is and what coaching isn't.
Coaching is different than therapy, consulting, mentoring, and teaching. ​Coaching is distinct and unique from these roles and relationships.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as,
“partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
The approach and purpose of coaching is distinct and is based on the fundamental premise that the client is the expert on him/her/themself,
and the role of the coach is to increase
self-awareness, generate learning, foster
agency and identify and accomplish meaningful goals in partnership with the client.
Read the below to better understand the
coaching difference.
What does a coach do?
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Listens actively to clients, seeking to understand clients within the context of their lives and to create a safe space for clients to share freely and boldly.
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Asks powerful questions designed to elicit deeper insights and awareness that explores a client’s current assumptions, ideas, and emotions as well as looks toward the future.
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Asks meaningful questions that help clients transform judgement into curiosity and help clarify and define new insights and ideas.
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Addresses and co-creates systems to help clients maintain accountability and follow through on action steps.
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Sets clear outcomes for the overall coaching relationship as well as effective agendas for each coaching session.
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Maintains confidentiality, respects a client’s experience and identity, and knows when to refer clients to other professionals.
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Trusts the client’s resilience and brilliance.
Why is a coach not a therapist? A coach does not diagnose the client and does not focus on resolving issues from the past. Rather, a coach is more focused on the present and future and partners with the client to live with more intention, clarify goals, and make effective decisions on how to spend time, energy, and resources in a way that supports the client’s goals and values.
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Why is a coach not a consultant? A coach does not offer solutions for the client. Rather, a coach helps the client recognize and identify their capabilities and, in partnership with the coach, crafts action steps that leverage the client’s strengths to reach those goals. Together, the coach and client design tools for accountability and resilience in the face of roadblocks and setbacks.
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Why is a coach not a mentor? A coach is not specifically focused on passing on wisdom or knowledge of a specific topic or industry to a client. While a coach may share guidance, the goal of a coach is to draw out meaningful insights that address agency and pathways that can make a measurable and transformative difference in the client’s life.
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Why is a coach not a teacher? A coach’s purpose is not to share information on a specific topic or subject. Coaches see their clients as the expert and, in essence, the client is teaching the coach about what it is like to live their life.