What is Coaching?
Coaching is a unique process developed in 1982 by Thomas J. Leonard, a financial planner who was looking for a more holistic and effective methodology for helping his clients reach their goals and live more fulfilled lives.
Six years later, Leonard founded Coach University.
According to Thomas Leonard, a coach is:
your partner in achieving your personal goals,
your champion during turnaround,
your trainer in communication and life skills,
your sounding board when making choices,
your motivator when strong actions are called for,
your unconditional support when you take a hit,
your mentor in personal development, your co-designer when developing an extraordinary project,
your beacon during stormy times,
your wakeup call if you don’t hear your own,
and, most importantly,
your partner in living the life you know you’re ready for, personally and professionally. 1
Unlike therapy, coaches assume that their clients are not suffering from some form of neurosis or ongoing emotional problems.
Coaching clients are people who are okay; they don’t need to be “fixed”. They want to improve, and they find value and synergy in what coaches refer to as the “co-creative relationship”.
In coaching, the client sets the agenda, not the professional.
Coaching focuses primarily on the present and the future, rather than discovering and redressing past wrongs.
Much like an athletic coach, a life coach’s job is to brainstorm, assist in setting goals, assist in problem solving, inspire, support, and reinforce successful patterns of behavior.
In many ways, a personal coach is simply a trained brain stormer.
Coaching is a professional service providing clients with feedback, insights, and guidance from an outside vantage point. The profession of coaching is similar to the practice of a physician, attorney, or psychologist. The major difference is that coaching is an on-going collaborative partnership built on taking action.
In this powerful alliance, clients find themselves:
doing more than they would on their own.
taking themselves more seriously.
creating momentum and consistency.
taking more effective and focused actions.
becoming more balanced and fulfilled.
People hire a coach when they are:
making a career or life transition (such as loss of a spouse or a divorce);
feeling “lost in the fog” and would like someone to help them develop a clear life plan;
in litigation and want input from an experienced professional who is not benefitting financially from the ongoing process;
in a dilemma about a negotiation, a financial decision, or an important decision; or,
simply wanting to optimize their life experiences by setting and accomplishing new goals, solving problems, and breaking through inertia that has been holding them back.
Coaching is action oriented. It’s also about moving forward, not dwelling on the past. It doesn’t matter how clients got where they are or who is to “blame” for how they turned out. Coaching is about where an individual is right now and where they would like to be.
With a coach as their guide, clients are able to define their dreams, recognize what’s holding them back, and move forward with great momentum and clarity of vision.
Coaching is an ongoing partnership between coach and client designed to improve and enhance the quality of life. Coaches are trained to listen, observe, and adapt their approach to individual client needs. They believe the answers to challenges are found within the client and support that client in discovering and implementing their own solutions.
Coaches serve as a sounding board for solutions to the challenges we face on a daily basis.
Coaches are mentors in some cases, cheerleaders in others. Part consultant, part sage, part colleague, the coaching relationship unleashes the synergy inherent in a co-creative relationship.