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WHAT IS COACHING?
Coaching is an interactive
process that helps individuals and organizations to develop more rapidly
and produce more satisfying results. Coaches work with clients in all
areas including business, career, finances, health and relationships. As
a result of coaching, clients set better goals, take more action, make
better decisions, and more fully use their natural strengths.
Professional coaches are trained to listen and observe, to customize
their approach to the individual client's needs, and to elicit solutions
and strategies from the client. They believe that the client is
naturally creative and resourceful and that the coach's job is to
provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity
that the client already has. While the coach provides feedback and an
objective perspective, the client is responsible for taking the steps to
produce the results he or she desires. People hire a coach when they
are starting a new business, making a career transition, reevaluating
their life choices, or simply feeling ready for a personal or
professional breakthrough.
WHY DO INDIVIDUALS ENGAGE A COACH?
To
become the very best they can; to become "world-class" at what
is important to them. After
all, it is not news when a world-class performer in athletics or the
performing arts engages a coach or teacher.
It is only news when the coach is fired or the performer hires a
new one. Opera stars, concert pianists, professional baseball and
football players, Olympians, writers and artists. All have ways to get
feedback about their performance. All have personal coaches, trainers,
teachers, or editors; many have more than one to focus in on different
aspects of their performance.
So,
why then, would you
want a coach? Because
life is a complex activity. It's
not something you can succeed at by thinking about it.
Life is something you do; it's how you are.
And, lots of experience and research demonstrates that, when it
comes to being and doing, humans thrive from feedback, by assessment
that describes whether or not what they intend to accomplish is actually
happening. We humans are great at creating intentions. But, we need
assistance to find out if our intentions are manifested in ways most
effective to accomplish our goals. This kind of feedback and assessment
is something that most of us just cannot do for ourselves.
It is in this relationship with a skilled, objective, and
compassionate observer, (our coach) that we are most likely to find the
kind of information we need to become world-class at what is important
to us.
WHAT DO PERSONAL COACHES DO?
The
coach is your advocate. They
help you clarify what you want, develop a plan to get there, and then
help you hold to that agenda. They
work with you to identify the blocks that keep you from getting what you
want and to develop the strategies to overcome the blockages. At times, it may feel as if the coach may be more committed
than you are in your achieving what it is you say you want.
That's because your coach is 100 percent committed to your
success. And, once a client
has decided what they want, the coach utilizes all their experience and
training to help you get it, even when this process may bring up
questions and may cause second thoughts about the desirability of the
initial goals. The coach is
important here as well, helping you clarify and hone what it is you
really want and then helping you determine the time and effort you are
willing to commit to achieve this outcome.
It's your agenda; your coach will help you create the conditions
for its accomplishment.
WHO ENGAGES PERSONAL COACHES?
People
in just about every profession; individuals from all walks of life, be
it CEOs and other executives of large corporations, small business
owners, artists, managers, consultants,
entrepreneurs, teachers, parents and students.
Coaches are engaged to help their clients during times of
business and employment transitions, to focus on relationships, or to
address issues or goals related to family, health and wellness, and/or
spirituality. In short, when, an individual discovers they want a lot more
out of life and would like help in getting there, they engage a coach.
WHAT DO CLIENTS SAY THEY GET FROM COACHING?
Recent
polls say that clients have achieved the following from their coaching
experience: higher levels of self-awareness, smarter goal-setting and
greater goal achievement, a more balanced life, lower stress,
self-discovery, more confidence, improved quality of life, enhanced
communication skills, project completion, health or fitness improvement,
better relationship with colleagues and family, increased energy, more
fun and more money.
WHAT’S THE STRUCTURE OF COACHING?
While
each coach works in their own unique way, there are some common
practices: clarification of what you want, why you want a coach; an
initial coaching agreement concerning goals, duration, rules of
behavior, and compensation; periodic (weekly or bi-weekly) in-person,
telephone or other communication; tracking of your progress;
recommendations for speeding progress, including exercises for skill and
behavior enhancement; some
form of periodic assessment of accomplishments; and re-establishment,
modification, and/or termination of the coaching agreement.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO
FIND
AND ENGAGE A COACH?
Utilize
the CT-ICF Coaches Directory,
Find a Coach, to find one or more coaches you would be
interested in working with and then make contact with them in the manner
they suggest. Most of the
coaches will provide an initial consultation without fee
to allow you and the coach to mutually decide if you would be satisfied
with a coaching relationship. From
there, it is up to you to choose the coach you believe will be the right
person to assist you in achieving what you want to accomplish, where you
choose to excel. You are
now on your way to world-class performance.
ABOUT
THE INTERNATIONAL COACH FEDERATION (ICF)
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