All About Coaching
What does a coach do?
To have a coach or not have one: that is the question. More people are thinking about hiring a coach, but many don’t have a clear picture about what to expect so that they can make an informed decision.
A coach helps you discover what is really important to you. Not what you should do, but what you want to do. With a coach you can look at what you value—what really gives you “juice.” Together you create “games worth playing and goals worth playing for.” For example: do you want to write that book you’ve been putting off for five years? Travel around the world with a loved one? Open a business? Bring your current business to the next level? A coach partners with you to design effective strategies to do all this and more. You will be encouraged to go beyond your personal “stopping point.” It’s that all too familiar point at which you’d normally give up on your goal—or yourself. Finally, a coach celebrates your successes with you. In a nutshell: a coach is someone in your corner. His or her only agenda is to support yours.
What does a coach not do?
It is important to be clear about a coach’s scope of practice and role. This is what a coach doesn’t do:
- Give legal counsel, although a coach can help clarify whether or not to seek legal counsel.
- Give medical advice, although a coach may help you see whether or not you need to seek medical advice to meet your goals.
- Give financial advice, although a coach might help you look at whether or not a financial advisor would improve your relationship with money.
- Act as a therapist, although a coach may refer you to a counselor to help deal with emotional or psychological situations.
There are some important differences between coaching and counseling
See how coaching and counseling differ and you can make a clear choice about what you really need. A counselor/therapist helps you deal with current crises, such as a loss, threat of loss, or other major life changes. Examples include grieving for a loved one, resolving difficult family dynamics, or adjusting emotionally to a shift in job status or health. Counseling or therapy also diagnoses and treats depression, anxiety and unresolved issues from the past. Counselors also work with couples to deal with difficulties in communication which, un-examined, could lead to a separation or divorce.
A well-trained coach will not do any of the above. Instead, he or she works with you to achieve future goals and dreams. A coach will encourage you to focus upon what’s important to you now and how to accomplish what you truly desire.
Sometimes we all need some support and healing before we can focus on the future. In that case, counseling is often the best bet. However, once you’ve “healed up” it may be appropriate to get back into your game, and that’s where a coach comes in.
