WHAT IS COACHING?
The International Coach Federation defines professional coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential”
HOW IS THIS PERFORMED?
By asking relevant, pertinent questions to identify your goals.
By committing a few precious hours to reflecting on you as an individual, your positive skills and future aspirations.
Why?
Because aspects of your life and personality have been forgotten, buried due to the pressure of delivering in the present.
Because by committing this time, inspiration, new strategies and solutions naturally follow....
and because demonstrably improved performance results.
This involves raising "self awareness".
IS COACHING HARD WORK?
It should be demanding, requiring you to think carefully about work performance and aspirations in order to achieve results.
It is questioning, provocative but encourages change.
This represents the "progress" and is the "challenge".
IS COACHING REWARDING?
Coaching is very rewarding for both parties as goals are achieved. Improvements in work performance are made usually simultaneously with better work life balance.
This is the "step up".
IS COACHING SUPPORTIVE?
By encouraging responsibility and accountability to both parties, self and coach there is inherent, task driven, support.
IS COACHING EMPOWERING?
Yes. The coachee determines the content, direction, pace of contribution and then derives all the benefit of this input, including:
sense of achievement
awareness of choice
realisation of control
sense of freedom
self esteem
reduced anxiety and stress
This is the "realisation".
COACHING TOPICS TEND TO INCLUDE:
Clarifying aspirations and goals and taking action to move towards them
Developing the confidence and courage to make changes or to do something new
Overcoming changes in personal circumstances
Balancing the demands presented by different areas of your life
Reminding yourself who you are and what you really want to do
Confronting difficult situations and finding solutions
Enhancing the quality of relationships at work
Understanding and dealing with obstacles in the way
Becoming more aware of your self-criticism and finding ways to manage this
Improving your self-esteem
CODE OF ETHICS
I subscribe to the International Coach Federation code of ethics www.coachfederation.org