COACHING in general …

….is a creative process that allows an individual or group of people to reflect and gain awareness of who they are, what is important to them, their strengths, challenges, options open to them and what action to take in order to make the changes they want in their work or life.

However, Coaching has not been precisely defined until today, because of the complexity created by variable factors, which may vary regarding the ultimate goal, the type of customers or even the process itself.

At this point it is important to emphasize on…

…What is NOT coaching

Coaching is not a ready guide, it is not focused on the past, it does not heal injuries and it is not psychotherapy. The coach does not undertake to find the solution to the problem and he does not perform the coachee’s action.

Coaching focuses on…

…helping the coachee to take responsibility for identifying their own goals, assessing their own strengths and areas for development and identifying their own solutions for moving forwards.

This is achieved by the coach providing a safe, creative and non-judgmental space, asking thought-provoking questions and listening to help the coachee explore, reflect and make decisions.

Here are some famous definitions of coaching.

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them learn rather than teaching them” (Whitmore, J, 2004).

“Coaching is ‘a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be successful, a coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills, and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which coaching takes place”. (Parsloe, Eric 1999).

The ICF defines coaching as “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential”.

Comparing Coaching with other personal development methods

Training: “That’s the way to do it.”

Management: “Do This”

Mentoring: ” In my experience this is the way to do it…”

Counseling: ” How do you feel about this? My advice would be to…”

Coaching: “How could you proceed?”

What does a coach do… 

…is to facilitate the coachee through questions, feedback and reflection, to encourage him to find his own solutions to the issues she/he faces.

The coach approach is based on the following triptych

Self-awareness –   Taking personal responsibility –   Action.

And tries to support the coachee to:

improve his self-awareness.

realize his strengths and weaknesses.

realize his individual emotional responsibility.

recognize any dysfunctional behaviors in dealing with issues.

be activated and take action.