Why Coaching Works

Why coaching works by Michael Beale

If you're a coach or being coached it's useful idea to develop your own ideas as to why coaching works. As a coach it will both help you sell your services with more confidence and be a more effective coach. As the person being coached it will help you choose and work with a coach better.

For this article I'm defining a coach as someone who will help you clarify something you want and help you achieve it more quickly and with less effort.

This is not a comprehensive list; the idea is to trigger your own thoughts.

The client wants it to:

Most clients will only take on a coach when they have already decided to make a change; however they are missing something to take the action needed. They may only need the space, frame and structure to put their own ideas in order. They may only need the space to get their feelings together.

Different perspective

Another person gives a different perspective. Like we need two eyes to perceive depth another person who we trust and communicate with well can enable see a wider picture and behind some of the objects that may be temporarily blocking our vision.

Dare to Dream

A coach can challenge and empower us to develop and achieve empowering dreams. They can stop us giving up to easily. They can help us keep our dreams alive and healthy.

Rehearsal

A coach can help us rehearse a course of action. This can increase confidence, identify blocks and find answers and significantly shorten the time needed to complete the action.

Add resource

A coach can give us additional resource. This can range from a model or technique to address an issue, a new attitude or emotional response, a new perspective, a case study or simply a piece of information.

Act as a role model

A coach may have started a successful company, entered a new market, handled a job loss, managed a plant closure, stopped smoking etc. In these cases the coach may act as a role model for their client. It's often easier if you know someone else has gone before.

Give feedback

A coach can give honest and straight feedback on performance giving the client the opportunity to act or not. Often feedback without interpretation is the most useful feedback.

Reveal hidden self

A stronger version of giving feedback; gaining insight of areas of ourselves that we are unaware off can lead to tremendous personal growth. - However it's normally only appropriate (and commercially wise) to give such feedback when specifically asked.

Human connection

People communicate in many ways; some of which we are not conscious of. Two people who communicate in an honest way will learn more from each other than either realise.

A good coach will normally be significantly better at these activities than anyone else in the company structure in that they are fully focused on the client's interests and ( although aware of ) not part of the politics.

Michael Beale is Director of the 'Executive and Business Coaching Network'