As a coach, the three questions that I am asked the most are:
What kind of people would benefit from coaching?
Who would look for a coach / coaching and what’s in it for them?
Who is your coaching aimed at?
I will answer the last question first. For lots of reasons, many people perceive that coaching and personal development is the domain of the Corporate world. It is true that the corporate world heavily invest in the development of it’s people and were the first to adopt the coaching philosophy as a practice. Later, providing a formal platform for personal development for employees was a pre-requisite for the achievement of the Investors In People (IIP) accreditation by businesses, which made them a more attractive proposition for employees, partners and investors. It also helped those businesses to build high performing cultures in order to align and deliver against their objectives.
Since the 90’s, intervention solutions (Coaching, Counselling and Mentoring), have steadily grown in the UK and are standard across the US and Europe, with many specialist gaining certification from high ranking organisations who facilitate the learning for the three interventions, including the ICF for coaching, NCVO for mentoring and the CPCAB and BACP for counselling. They are no longer solely associated with the corporate world.
What kind of people would benefit from coaching?
I don’t speak for other coaches when I say that coaching isn’t a thing. It’s a method. A vehicle used by the coach to facilitate change and personal growth. I work with clients to achieve the end result that they are looking to achieve. I do this by coaching. Therefore, if you are an individual or a group with a goal that you truly want to achieve, then engaging with a good coach will absolutely help you. Many successful personalities that you see in the media, be they an athlete, sportsman, businessman or entrepreneur, they will have retained the services of a coach. It is how they build their goals, how they put plans into action to achieve them and are kept accountable. Most good coaches will have a coach. I have two!
Who would look for a coach and what’s in it for them?
This is as hard a question to answer as it is easy. The reality is, anyone. In any walk of life. When a person has an aspiration that they want to turn into reality, then it needs an action plan. No plan = No action. This why most plans fail, New Years’ resolutions, for instance. Any action plan that is decided needs to be SMART, with the coachee possessing an unswerving commitment to achieving it. The coach will help them to achieve greater awareness of what they are capable of and will help them to become unstuck; will empower them and allow them to see the possibilities, providing them with the tools to help them to achieve by themselves later.
It’s not for everyone though. A lot of people want perceived success but are unwilling to put in the work to achieve it and may get frustrated. Any good coach will demonstrate from the outset that the success comes when a person steps outside of their comfort zone. I use the line that ‘outside of your comfort zone is where the good stuff lies!’ Other people will insist that they can achieve what they want to achieve by themselves, and this is probably the case. Either way, the decision to work together can be made by either or both parties.
Achieving our goals isn’t just about making positive changes to our careers. It could be anything that we feel that we are struggling with – raising funding for a major purchase like buying a house, car, setting up business, getting fit, learning to play an instrument. Whatever it is, you can use a coach to help you.
It’s your story. Only you get to write the ending.
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