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A Little About
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What is Coaching?
One of the blessings of life is our ability to make choices. It is also one of the challenges. If we want help, where do we find it? We can begin by understanding the options available to us when we believe outside intervention might be helpful in achieving our goals. Coaching is an option, but it is important to understand how it differs from other professions and whether or not it is the best choice for you. How do consulting and counseling differ from coaching?
The consulting profession brings us together with the talents and skills of someone with expertise we need and who provides us with information and/or services we require. The consultant is clearly the expert in this exchange who tells us what we need to do or who may actually do the work for us. A doctor, a lawyer, a marketing specialist, a business manager, an architect, a builder, a teacher are all examples of the consulting professions.
A counselor/psychologist is also a professional with special training in the mental health field. These individuals provide a safe environment for the exploration of deep emotional issues, for the healing of wounds from the past, and/or for coping with relationship issues. There is frequently an emphasis on recognizing the similarities between past and present behaviors and on learning new skills in relating to others. Similar to the consultant the counselor/psychologist is the expert and the individual hiring them looks to them for the answers to their problems.
Unlike the consultant or the counselor, coaching begins with the basic assumption that clients/coachees are the experts in their own lives, already possessing skills to make life more enjoyable and fulfilling. It is not the job of coaches to change or fix their clients. Rather it is their job to act as co-creators/deep listeners/virtual mirrors/cheerleaders for their clients’ hopes and dreams. Coaching is based on accentuating the positive skills and strengths already inherent in individuals and challenging clients/coachees to be accountable for their commitments to their own goals and dreams.
The consulting profession brings us together with the talents and skills of someone with expertise we need and who provides us with information and/or services we require. The consultant is clearly the expert in this exchange who tells us what we need to do or who may actually do the work for us. A doctor, a lawyer, a marketing specialist, a business manager, an architect, a builder, a teacher are all examples of the consulting professions.
A counselor/psychologist is also a professional with special training in the mental health field. These individuals provide a safe environment for the exploration of deep emotional issues, for the healing of wounds from the past, and/or for coping with relationship issues. There is frequently an emphasis on recognizing the similarities between past and present behaviors and on learning new skills in relating to others. Similar to the consultant the counselor/psychologist is the expert and the individual hiring them looks to them for the answers to their problems.
Unlike the consultant or the counselor, coaching begins with the basic assumption that clients/coachees are the experts in their own lives, already possessing skills to make life more enjoyable and fulfilling. It is not the job of coaches to change or fix their clients. Rather it is their job to act as co-creators/deep listeners/virtual mirrors/cheerleaders for their clients’ hopes and dreams. Coaching is based on accentuating the positive skills and strengths already inherent in individuals and challenging clients/coachees to be accountable for their commitments to their own goals and dreams.
