Coach L'Shawn
Coaching is a fairly new profession, and the nature and benefits of coaching are not as clearly defined or understood as those of psychology or counseling. Anyone can call themselves a coach, and as such there are many different types of coaches and coaching styles out there; and for every coach you find, you can find as many definitions of coaching some of which contradict each other. This makes it difficult to effectively characterize coaching.
International Coach Federation (ICF) the nonprofit organization that has a membership of over 20,000 professional coaches from around the world has a thorough definition that characterizes the type of coaching I offer.
According to the ICF website, coaching is defined as:
“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential...Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her own life and work and believe 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 solutions and strategies, and hold the client responsible and accountable.”
Now that you know what coaching is. Let’s take a look at what coaching is not.
Although coaching can be therapeutic, it is not therapy and should not be used as a substitute for psychiatric treatment. If you are suffering from a diagnosed psychiatric condition such as clinical depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or struggling with addiction then it is best to seek qualified professionals who dedicate their lives to helping sufferers of such conditions. I am not qualified to diagnose or to treat any psychiatric conditions or to help people struggling with addiction. In addition, coaching focuses mostly on the present and sometimes considers the future. Therapy deals mostly with the past and delving deep into an individual’s psyche. The main aim of coaching is to help clients move forward and create new situations and experiences that will help them build the life they’ve always wanted.
Coaching is not consulting. Consulting usually involves an expert in a certain area who gives the client advice on how to be successful in that given area. When it comes to the client’s life and the best way to live it, the client is the expert. Because coaching is about an individual’s personal and professional life, the client has the most effective blueprint for how to build the best life or career. Therefore, it would not be productive for the coach to tell the client what’s best for them and what kind of life they should have and how to live it. In coaching, the client is responsible for discovering and creating solutions and strategies that will allow them to reach their fullest potential. Responsibility for the desired or undesired outcome rests solely on the client’s shoulders, which is arguably the most empowering position in which to be.
For more information on coaching and how it can improve your life, visit the ICF website. Maechelle's Sage Place is not affiliated with the ICF. https://www.coachfederation.org