01 Jun About Coaching

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) www.coachfederation.org defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity, and leadership.

ICF is the world’s largest and most recognized organization of professionally trained coaches. Representing executive coaches, life coaches, leadership coaches, relationship coaches, career coaches and more, ICF’s mission is to advance coaching so that it becomes an integral part of a thriving society.

 

Coaching is an efficient, high-impact process of dialogue that helps highly performing people improve results in ways that are sustained over time.

Because of coaching, people from around the world have been able to surpass their limitations and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Get ready to be inspired by these true stories of profound change!

 

We all have goals to reach, challenges we are striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfillment.

 

Coaching is not therapy; you are not fixing anybody, not delving into traumatic pasts.

Good coaching gets underneath the surface to look at perceptions, but the emphasis is on helping a healthy individual overcome challenges and be more effective.

 

Coaching is not the same thing as management. Coaching is one tool that a manager can use, but it is not the only tool. Sometimes a manager needs to direct, tell, mentor and/or teach. Coaching is a powerful skill but not the only thing that a good manager does.

 

Coaching is not consulting. Your primary focus is not to analyze and make recommendations. Coaching is more having the other person develop their own insights and then take new actions to improve results.

 

Coaching is not training or teaching, which focus on sharing knowledge and best practices also helping people develop and hone skills- trainer or teacher leads the session. The primary activities in each discipline are different.

 

Coaching is not mentoring. The mentor is an experienced professional who shares what he knows with those who want it and helps them to be inspired and to choose the direction and actions to follow.

 

Coaching is not a progressive discipline.

Progressive discipline or probation is a process of working with employees who are not performing with the intent of documenting their poor performance and termination their employment if they do not improve. Coaching should be separated from anything related to progressive discipline or probation.

In his book “Quiet Leadership” David Rock is talking about these quadrans below, which are resuming all the above.

Situation / Problem & Ask     ->   Counseling

Situation / Problem & Tell     ->   Consulting/ Managing

Forward / Solution  & Ask     ->   Coaching

Forward / Solution  & Tell     ->   Teaching/Training/Mentoring

To remember !