Coaching Defined

Coaching is fast becoming a leading way for people to lead extraordinary lives. A coach assists the client to set effective goals, and reach them. A goal can be anything; it can be more money, recognition, a more balanced lifestyle, health and fitness, improved relationships, anything at all. Coaching is focused on the way forward.

Why have a coach?

Professional athletes have a coach because it is near impossible to compete without one.

In the complex modern world many people are realising that firstly they can actually have the things they want in their life, and secondly techniques exist to speed that process up. I would hazard a guess that a non-coached executive would struggle against a coached executive in the workplace on average.

Where did coaching come from?

What if the business world implemented strategies found in the sports world to their executives, what would happen? Well, that's what did happen in the late 1960s and now life coaching has brought the latest technologies right to you.

What isn't coaching?

Coaching is not counseling. Coaching deals with people who are basically doing okay, they simply want to improve an area of their lives, increase their success or feeling of fulfillment overall, or increase their performance.

Coaching does not deal with mental illness, high levels of anxiety or depression. It is recommended that treatment is obtained from a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist in those cases.

Coaching is not therapy and is primarily focused on the future, not the past.

Currently the coaching industry is unregulated and anybody can call themselves a "coach". The difference between a properly trained, qualified and experienced coach is massive because someone lacking those qualities will not have the techniques to bring maximum gain to you, the client.

Some questions you could ask of a potential, coach:

1. What experience do you have in your specialist field?
2. What formal training have you had in coaching and in your chosen field of expertise? What did the training involve?
3. Can I talk to some previous and existing clients?

Is the coach exhibiting warning signs? such as:

1. Be careful of coaches who make ridiculous claims of being able to bring you anything you desire
2. It just doesn't feel right
3. Coaches who rely on mystical techniques rather than credible methods