How to Explain What Coaching is (and what it isn’t)
Coaching isn’t therapy. It’s product development - with you as the product.
-FAST COMPANY
What is coaching?
How is coaching viewed in your organization or community?
In my conversations with leaders in various contexts, it is clear that coaching is used as a buzz word to describe many behaviors:
continuous checking in on someone’s progress
giving recommendations and advice
sharing wisdom from experience
Depending on the situation, these types of guidance can be very valuable. Managers in an informal coaching role are likely to vary their techniques as needed, and some coaches prefer to practice a “coachsulting” approach (a blend of coaching and advice-giving). But coaching, as practiced in the professional field, is intended to be more facilitative than directive.
The exact definitions and specific types of professional coaching are vast. However, most definitions share a common focus on 1) the facilitative nature of coaching, and 2) the developmental goals of the person being coached. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires a person to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
Coaching conversations that align with this definition are:
listening-centric
question-driven
future-focused
There are many reasons you might seek coaching, including:
pursuing a specific goal
navigating a personal or professional transition
clarifying life purpose or increasing self-awareness
developing stronger work / life balance
improving a relationship
refining your leadership skills
When coaching provides the space you need to work on meaningful development, you can experience many benefits, such as increased clarity and confidence, decreased stress, as well as an increased likelihood of meeting your specific goals.
What makes coaching unique?
I find that the definition of coaching is pretty fuzzy for most people until there is opportunity to experience it firsthand. And as a relatively new profession, coaching has not been widely experienced. If you have not been formally coached, it is hard to understand where the boundary lines lie between coaching and other similar supports.
If you have experienced mentoring, therapy, or consulting, you might consider these activities as synonymous with coaching. Or if you have strong interpersonal skills and support others with intentionality and enthusiasm, you might consider yourself a coach.
Here are some distinct features of coaching:
The coach and coachee are collaborative partners in the growth process.
When being coached, the coachee’s goals, as well as their ideas and solutions, play a central role in the coaching experience. Clarifying goals at the beginning of each coaching conversation is important to ensure outcomes are achieved.
Tip: If you are the coachee, you should thoughtfully prepare your coaching goal to get the most out of your experience. Your coach may spend time clarifying your goal(s) to make sure your most important priorities are being addressed.
The coach facilitates growth through questions, not advice-giving.
Although many communication techniques are used in coaching (observing, reflecting, and reframing, for example), open-ended questions are essential to coaching. Questioning provides a powerful opportunity for the coachee to generate ideas and solutions that they believe in.
Tip: If you looking to get advice through coaching, you may need to ask for it directly. (And even if you do, your coach may not provide it - make sure to clarify this point about a coach’s style early in the process).
Growth is maximized through implementation of a customized action plan.
In coaching, growth occurs through a dynamic combination of increasing awareness and taking action. The new insights you gain in coaching conversations will be most productive when applied to a concrete action plan which aligns with your goals.
Tip: Your coach will likely provide opportunities to discuss action planning, and as the coachee, you should be prepared to implement this plan between coaching sessions. Your actions could include reflection exercises or experimenting with specific strategies.
A Comprehensive Guide for Coaching Managers
The desire and intention to coach employees is often present, but the confidence in how to effectively apply coaching skills for managers can be a hurdle. Many leaders find themselves wondering about the most effective ways to initiate coaching conversations, how to navigate specific performance challenges through a coaching lens, or simply what questions will truly unlock insight and drive ownership within their team members.
To directly address these practical needs, I've created a comprehensive Manager’s Coaching Toolkit.
This resource is designed as a comprehensive guide to not only deepen your understanding of coaching principles and frameworks but also to provide you with immediately applicable tools. Inside, you'll find actionable templates to structure your coaching sessions, a coachability assessment to tailor your approach, and a carefully curated collection of 100 targeted coaching questions organized across ten essential leadership categories.
Consider it your practical companion for moving beyond the theory of coaching and confidently implementing impactful coaching conversations that lead to tangible results for both yourself and your team.
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