General Coaching FAQs
What is Coaching?
Coaching is the art of facilitating the development, learning and performance of another. Performance coaching can be described as a series of guided conversations that enable the “coachee” to discover and implement personal solutions to challenging issues or areas of performance. These solutions, because they are intrinsic to the “coachee”, are more likely to succeed and endure than solutions imposed externally. Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
How is Coaching different from Therapy, Counselling, Mentoring or Consulting?
In simple terms we might think about two dimensions for the 1-1 work – whether the focus is more on problems or outcomes and whether the work is more about advice giving/telling or enquiring, probing and supporting.
Consulting typically involves an expert helping an organisation or individual understand what their issues are and making recommendations for how to fix these. The Consultant probably doesn’t do the ‘fixing’ and leaves this to the organisation. It is a ‘Tell’ approach by the consultant with a focus on problems.
Mentoring also involves a ‘Tell’ approach, usually from someone who is very experienced in something and who can give advice. This advice is usually about what to do and how to do it. So Mentoring is typically solution focused.
Therapy/counselling might be considered to have a problem focus, therapy, in particular, is about delving into the past to uncover the roots of an issue. Both are client centred and involve an ‘Ask’ approach using questioning to explore the client’s own feelings and understanding of the problem.
Coaching has an outcome focus and the starting point for any Coaching session will be the question “What is your outcome?”. Coaching may occasionally involve looking at the past but the purpose of this is to discover blocks or barriers which can be released and allow the client to make progress towards their outcome. Coaching has an ‘Ask’ approach, recognising that each person is different and a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not work. By working with each client individually and helping clients to create their own solutions, Coaching is building resourcefulness and solutions that because they are intrinsic to the client are much more likely to succeed.
What can I expect in the sessions?
Coaching provides a context and a confidential environment to talk openly in a way that is not generally possible within our day to day working lives. Coaching is outcome oriented and focused on reaching specific outcomes, be they practical, behavioural or emotional.
You will not be judged – coaching is a safe place to explore ideas, thoughts and feelings. You will not be given solutions or fixes. I work to facilitate your reflections with the aim of supporting and expanding your thinking, or feeling, so that you achieve the action or outcome that you want. It is important to recognize that at times Coaching may not feel comfortable and you can expect to be challenged, offered feedback and questioned.
How does Coaching work?
Coaching can help increase your own insights and self-awareness and your awareness of others. Increased awareness generates a broader range of choices for action which in turn can generate different results. Coaching can help you discover and consider different options for solving issues, dilemmas and problems and, through this process, promote new and innovative thinking. Coaching facilitates this by posing questions and challenging your fundamental beliefs and attitudes.
How will the Coaching relationship begin?
The initial session will include an overall introduction and assessment of the area(s) to be addressed through outcome focused coaching and practical tools to produce results, increase focus and reach goals.
At the end of this initial session we jointly assess progress and agree overall goals/outcomes, and appropriate number of sessions. If it is not appropriate for us to contract together I can suggest an alternative coach, should that be required.