What Is Coaching, And What Coaching Is Not?

Coaching is about asking the right questions thus drawing from the inside wells of the Coachee. It is not about helping people or giving them the answers. Why? We do not follow the same path to life and happiness. Everyone wants different things from life. So there is no one right path to fulfillment and happiness in life.

Now let us look at what coaching is not

Now that we have defined what coaching is, let’s look at what coaching is not:

1) Consultants

Consultants give you advice about things you have to do and how you should do them. On the other hand, Coaches support, challenge and encourage you, while you work out the best thing to do and the most effective way for you to do it.

2) Trainers

Trainers teach you to attain a degree of proficiency in an activity or skill, in a short time frame. But Coaches are entrusted to support your development consistently over a period of time.

3) Mentors

A Mentor invites you to learn from his own experiences, knowledge, and skills. Mentors can also be coaches, working with you as a trustworthy sounding board. But unlike coaches, they may also offer opinions or personal insights to support your development.

Counselors

Counselors look at the ‘why’ of a problem or issue starting from the past and present and want to solve it. They may give advice along the way. Counseling provides the client with the opportunity to discuss what the client thinks about their problem. At times there is a fine line between coaching and counseling as there are several skills that are similar, however the role of the coach is different.

The coach will focus on creating measurable outcomes, and is action based. You come up with the things you want to accomplish as well as the plan you will follow with the guidance of the Coach. It is advisable for anyone to have a Life Coach regardless of age.