Coaching
The Need In this highly competitive world, people face several challenges in their lives – be it career, or in office, or in your business, or in your personal lives. They face issues of not getting the recognition that they deserve, the expectations are high – from management, family and socially amongst friends, relatives and colleagues, and they are constantly under stress trying to prove to themselves and others. For some people, there are issues related to health and wellness that pull them back, for instance, dealing with high anxiety, managing anger, losing weight, etc. It may be observed that, most of these issues are psychological in nature, which means that they have roots that are linked to some past experiences and beliefs, deep down at the sub-conscious level. These beliefs are firmly entrenched over time, and block their progress. Each time they want to perform on a larger stage, there is a voice in them that says, “You can’t because you failed in the past”, or “You never have done anything like this before”. Infact, even the goals that they set for themselves, are generally the ones that are in their comfort levels. This is also the reason for resistance to any Change, and most people continue to dwell in their comfort zones. The same is true even for health issues as most of them have a past belief linked to it. When one is not able to realise one’s goals, there is the obvious frustration and anxiety which lead to anger, depression, and even ailments. There is the need for the person to speak and discuss their issues with someone whom they trust, someone who will listen to them, and someone who can look at their issues from an independent perspective without judging them. This is where Coaching becomes an important aspect which people can use effectively. What is Coaching? Coaching is a collaborative process of learning between a qualified Coach and the Client designed to tap into your full potential. Simply put, a Coach understands your goals, identifies the obstacles and removes the mental and emotional blocks that get you into a ‘stuck’ state, probes and pushes you towards where you want to go. This could be related to, building / expanding your business, raising your performance bar, improving relationships, transitioning to a new role or a different career, dealing with high anxiety, or any other issues that are holding you back. The big advantage of having a Coach is that, he/she is an independent entity that holds a mirror for you to reflect what’s going on in your life so that you can take the necessary decisions and make changes in your life to achieve your goals. The entire Coaching process and the Coaching conversations are kept confidential so that you are free to discuss your innermost feelings and thoughts which otherwise, you would have kept to yourself. This helps you vent them out, and get better clarity and clearance for fresh ideas to permeate. The power of coaching lies in the fact that, instead of the coach providing you the solutions, the coach asks you probing and powerful questions that make you think out the solutions best suited to you. The Coach supports you, motivates you, and holds you accountable to achieving your vision for yourself, and stays with you through the journey till you achieve your goal. This is where Coaching differs from counselling, consulting, mentoring and therapy. How does Coaching differ from Counselling, Therapy & Consulting ? Counselling – Counselling Focuses on problems, gives advice, information, strategy and structure Therapy – Therapy look at the past trauma, and seeks healing. Issues here are related to drug abuse, alcoholics, depression, etc. Consulting – Consultants study and analyse the needs of an organisation or an individual, and offer their solutions based on their specialised expertise to ‘fix’ the problem. This means that the consultant is an expert and high experienced person in the area that his/her help is sort. Mentoring - Usually done by a person who has traversed that path, the mentor speaks from experience, advices and suggests the way forward. Coaching – Coaching looks at the present and the future, i.e. what does the client wants, and how they can plan to get what they want, and finally achieve it. The Coach need not be an expert in the area that the client is looking for. Instead, a qualified Coach is best equipped to ask powerful questions and use various tools and techniques to help clients to generate their own solutions, and then hold them accountable for it. The coaching process ensures that the Coach hand-holds the client all the way till the goal is achieved. What are the Benefits?
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ICF Definition of Coaching
Coaching Benefits
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