FAQ

What is coaching?

Coaching is a specific process of interaction, a partnership that encourages a shift in who you are, what you do, and how you do it. This respectful, inquiring form of conversation and listening expands your ability to make significant changes, move forward in new areas and have more of what you want in your life. This is a thought-provoking and creative process. I am not the expert. My goal is to facilitate and support your ability to achieve your chosen goals.

Coaches opens up a space inside the coachee in which there is room to look around, see what is no longer required, what might be rearranged and where there are gaps that might be filled. A good coach will support, listen, and direct the coachee’s focus forward to the future. The results for coaches is that they make decisions with conviction and are more likely to stick to plans which they have come up with themselves.
--Carol Wilson (Performance Coaching)

What is different about coaching from other helping professions?

Coaching is not Therapy

While both therapists and coaches belong to the helping professions, coaching is not therapy. Coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth based upon individual-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. Coaching is forward moving and future focused. Therapy on the other hand deals with healing pain, dysfunction or conflict within an individual or a relationship between two or more people. It usually involves some sort of judgment, diagnosis, prescription or advice on the part of the practitioner. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past which hamper an individual’s emotional functioning in the present or improving overall psychological functioning. Therapy outcomes often include improved emotional/feeling states. While positive feelings/emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one’s work or personal life. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on change, action, accountability, and follow through.

Coaching is not Mentoring

Mentoring can be thought of as receiving guidance from someone with expertise or needed knowledge in a similar role, or someone with expertise in a role that you aspire to. While there are times coaches provide a small amount of mentoring to other coaches, a coaching relationship is not considered mentoring.

Coaching is not Consulting

Consultants may be retained by individuals or organizations for accessing specialized expertise. While consulting approaches vary widely, typically a consultant analyzes business or process problems, recommends solutions, and sometimes assists with their implementations. In general coaching assumes that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.

Coaching is not Training

Training programs provide content or subject knowledge tied to certain learning or performance objectives related to business needs. Though objectives might be clarified in the coaching process, the point of training is to learn new skills and capabilities. Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is less linear without a set curriculum plan.
 

What are the coach's responsibilities?

As your coach I commit to providing an open, honest and safe environment in which we can work together. I will provide input, honest feedback and operate as a guide and sounding board. We will work together to expand your view of what is possible and promote the discovery of new insights.
 

What are my responsibilities?

As my client I ask you to commit yourself to goals that are truly significant to you, that you cultivate real honesty with yourself, be open to hearing my feedback, explore new approaches, and practice new behaviors. I expect you to honestly tell me what is working about the coaching relationship and what is not working for you. If I ever say or do something that upsets you or does not feel right, please bring it up. It is important to me to know this. Honesty and trust are critical for a successful coaching relationship.
 

Why do I want to coach?

I am passionate about helping people find their joy and their best self in their job.