Personal and professional coaching has shifted the paradigm of how people who seek help with life transitions find a “helper” to partner with them in designing their desired future.
The International Coach Federation answers the question of exactly what coaching is.
“ Professional Coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses, or organizations. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life.
In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions. This interaction creates clarity and moves the client into action. Coaching accelerates the client’s progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice.
Coaching concentrates on where clients are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future, recognizing that results are a matter of the client’s intentions, choices and actions, supported by the coach’s efforts and application of the coaching process.
The International Coach Federation adheres to a form of coaching that honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work and believes that every client is creative, resourceful, and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach’s responsibility is to:
… Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve.
… Encourage client self-discovery
… Elicit client-generated soluntions and strategies
… Hold the client responsible and accountable.
You might seek business coaching, leadership development, or a more balanced life, but all coaching is life coaching.
