frequently asked questions
What is Coaching?
Coaching is a technology of personal and professional development based on concepts from sports, business, spirituality, psychology and organizational development. It's for passionate people who want more from their personal and business lives. A coach helps them set larger, more rewarding goals, develop a strategy to achieve them and provide support throughout the process. It's not unlike having a personal trainer or an athletic coach... transformational, but in a business and personal sense. The achievement of goals is something that comes more quickly as a result of the coaching partnership.
Why Does Coaching Work?
Coaching works when there are two factors present: 1. The client is willing to grow, and 2. There is a gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
Successful clients know the value of sharing ideas with someone who understands them and is objective enough not to be biased or self-serving. Talking about options with someone who can listen, is often enough to have it all become very clear.
Coaching works because of three unique features:
SYNERGY: Client and coach become a team, focusing on the client's goals and needs and accomplishing more than the client would alone.
STRUCTURE: With a coach, the client takes more actions, thinks bigger and gets the job done, thanks to the accountability the coach provides.
EXPERTISE: The coach knows how to help business people make better decisions, set the best goals, develop new skills for communicating and restructure their professional and personal lives for maximum productivity.
Where Do You Start With a Coach?
Most coaches begin with a special client meeting or call to get to know each other. The coach wants to hear about the client's goals, needs, and problems. The client wants to get comfortable with the coach. During this meeting, both parties design a list of goals and a game plan to reach these goals.
How Do Coaching Sessions Work?
Coaching is usually done over the phone. In addition to allowing frequent, regular contact, it makes it easy to stay in the "coaching relationship", since the client can call from their office, home, car or hotel. The person coached completes a coaching call strategy form prior to each call, describing the current challenges and the progress they've made since the last call. Most people are coached two hours a month, in either four 30-minute sessions, three 40-minute sessions or two 1-hour sessions.
The focus of the call is determined by the client. The coach helps them to solve the problems and make the most of the opportunities. When they are missing a principle or distinction, we draw one so they can see a whole lot better. When they are taking on a large goal, we help them design and project and provide the support and structure needed to make sure it gets done. We bring out the client's best by offering advice, expecting a lot, helping them strategize and celebrating the wins. There is often "fieldwork", where the client is given a formula, new perspective or a challenge to try something in a new way. That forms the basis for the next call.
How Can a Manager/Executive Use a Coach?
Coaching creates an environment where there is freedom from judgment and freedom from expectations that the executive behave according to typical corporate mandates. In this environment it is safe to question, to appear vulnerable, to observe, to explore, experiment, to learn and change. This allows the executive to use the coach.
- To reach high targets and quotas. Accomplishing this consistently requires a manager who also coaches a team to work together to reach extraordinary goals.
- For business planning, budgeting and goal-setting.
- To integrate business and personal life for balance.
- To prioritize actions and projects.
- For training, developing and managing staff.
- To turn around a difficult situation.
- To handle business or personal problems.
