What is coaching?

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is coaching? Is it counseling, mentoring, or consulting? These are questions I get often when I tell people that I am a leadership coach.

There are two different kinds of coaching I would like to define. Life coaching and executive coaching.

Executive coaching is an effective business tool used in the workplace to clarify roles, increase effectiveness, and build unity of mission and productivity among teams. Executive coaching can offer powerful keys to unlocking potential and innovation for individuals and teams whether a coach is contracted for a short or long period of time.

“Life coaching helps people discover their purpose and align their lives to it.”

This is my favorite definition by coach and author Tony Stoltzfus. If you are interested in coaching as a profession I highly suggest his books and resources.

There is nothing that excites me more than to see people realize their destiny. Every person is born with a spark that burns deep in their soul just waiting to be ignited. Coaching provides the opportunity to ignite that fire through empowering questions, new self-awareness, goal-setting, encouragement, and accountability.

Have you heard of the Gap Theory? The “gap” is the space between where you are now and where you want to be. A life coach is a professional that can help you set goals that will move you out of the place you are in and into the future you desire.

Here are some ways that coaching has personally affected my life:

1)      Coaching has validated my calling.

2)      Coaching saves me time by aligning my to-do list with my goals – eliminating irrelevant tasks.

3)      Coaching has helped bring personal self-awareness of changes I need to make.

4)      Coaching has helped me get unstuck and make tough decisions.

5)      Coaching has taught me to honor my strengths and quit trying to fix my weaknesses.

6)      Coaching has taught me how to build strong teams, honoring and respecting each individual for the unique gifts they contribute.

7)      Coaching has given me an accountability system to achieve my goals and live out my purpose in life.

8)      Coaching has taught me to dream.

In the book the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho wrote: “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation.”

A professional coach is a person who can help you visualize the future and achieve the goals that will lead you to your destiny!