Coaching is a professional relationship that helps people move forward in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations. Coaches partner with their clients to help them bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
According to the International Coach Federation
Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative, resourceful and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach's responsibility is to:
Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve.
Encourage client self-discovery.
Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies.
Hold the client responsible and accountable.
This process helps clients dramatically improve their outlook on work and life, while improving their leadership skills and unlocking their potential.
What is the philosophy behind coaching?
The underlying philosophy behind coaching is that we humans have immeasurable resources of energy, wisdom, ability and genius waiting to be set in motion. We can create the life we want faster and more easily by partnering with a coach who helps us utilize these resources to facilitate change and realize our potential.
Many of the early psychological theories (Adler, Jung, Ellis) and current theories such as Positive Psychology and the “solution focused” therapies are antecedents to modern day coaching. Instead of pathology as the main focus, these theories focus on behavior change through increased awareness and choices for desired future results and solutions to current problems in living, with the individual as the creator and artist of his or her life.
How does coaching differ from therapy and other helping professions?
While coaching and therapy share some similarities, psychotherapy often focuses on the impact the past has on the present, on healing psychological dysfunction, and on relieving emotional pain. The therapist is considered to be the expert, the one with answers about what is right for the client.
Coaching focuses on the present and future, the client's strengths, life purpose and goals, working with clients to create possibilities to enrich their life. Based on the belief that all individuals are whole, capable individuals, coaching assumes the client is expert, able to determine what is best for their lives and the coach works along with them to maximize their personal and professional potentials, to close the gaps to create extraordinary lives.
Why has the industry attained such record growth?
We are in a time when the field and practice of coaching is both growing and evolving. The demand for coaching came into being when stressed out executives started seeking help in coping with their professional and personal lives. In addition, as companies started downsizing and outplacing, and baby boomers started turning 50, coaches were hired to ease traumatic transitions and to help people get back on track. Since then the profession of coaching has continued to grow and expand. Why? Quite simply, because it works!
A 2014 Global Coaching Client Study conducted on behalf of the International Coach Federation found that of those individuals who had received coaching
80% saw improved self-confidence
73% saw improved relationships
72% saw improved communication skills
70% saw improved work performance
61% saw improved business management
57% saw improved time management
51% saw improved team performance
And of those surveyed, 99% indicated that there were “somewhat or fully satisfied with their coaching experience” and 96% said they would do it again.
When you think about it, at any one time, the lives of about 10% of the population are being negatively impacted by mental illness and issues from their past which need to be resolved to move forward. The rest of the population (90%), for whom psychotherapy is not indicated, can benefit from the holistic, strength-based approach of coaching which supports them to create more rewarding, fulfilling lives, to find and achieve their dreams.
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