A coaching session is a client talking with a coach about a situation the client wants to gain additional clarity around or momentum on. Coaching is what the coach does during the session. As a client is speaking, the coach is listening and then asking some questions. Seems pretty straight forward.
However, the way the coach is listening is very different from what one experiences when they talk with a friend or significant other or even a therapist.
In conversations with loved ones, one is often given solutions or maybe even told a story about how their loved one had a similar experience and while this can build rapport, it rarely gets to the root of the issue at hand.
And in the rare case, the solution does actually fix the problem being discussed, it doesn’t create the same effect as when the individual discovers how to fix their own problem. The solution given only solves that specific problem at that specific time.
Coaching differs in that the intent is self-discovery. Coaching sessions are work. A client comes to the coaching session with the topic to discuss. A coach listens to you. And when you are done speaking. They will ask you a question.
What follows is the space and time for the client to reflect. Some clients reflect in silence, some reflect verbally. Regardless, the coach listens. The coach then may ask another question.
The purpose of being asked questions from the intention to hear what is being said is the invitation for the client to dig deeper, to create, to sense into what is the next best thing for them to do or for them to be. This discovery process is about personal development. An intense desire to be better, to cultivate ownership, to accomplish a specific goal, these are some of the reasons individuals seek out a coach.
And for some, this sort of personal development is key to their continued success in their industry.
So, does everyone need a coach? No. And at the same time, we know the best, have them.
