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What is Coaching?
By Roger Ellerton Phd, ISP, CMC, Renewal Technologies Inc. www.renewal.ca
These days we hear a great deal about coaching. And what is it really?
We are certainly familiar with the idea of a sports or an acting coach - prepares/encourages an athlete or actor to perform at the top of his/her game/profession. This is the basic premise of other forms of coaching as well. Today there are coaches for all sorts of activities - career, business, relationships, communication, health, life, etc. These coaches encourage a person to set and achieve desired outcomes while identifying and seeing beyond their perceived limitations.
A critical on-going activity for the coach is creating a safe and supportive environment within which the client can identify and achieve a desired outcome. Once a desired outcome is identified, the coach assists the client to:
- Identify limiting beliefs, conflicting values or thought processes that hold him/her back.
- Explore ways and means to address these obstacles and to see and experience the world differently.
- Align his/her internal resources (power of the mind) with his/her external resources (finances, networks, communication skills, etc.) to reach this desired outcome. It is when we align our internal and external resources that we have the greatest potential to achieve our desires in life.
- Prepare a strategy or workplan to achieve the desired outcome.
- Stay the course. The coach reviews progress and serves as a sounding board as the client makes progress towards or modifies his/her desired outcome.
Distinguishing Between Coaching and Other Activities
To distinguish between coaching and other activities, consider the following generalizations - realize there are overlaps between all of them:
- Coaching is the process of assisting clients to identify and align their inner and outer resources by creating a safe and supportive environment, precision questioning and appropriately contexted feedback.
- Mentoring is the process of providing guidance and sharing of expertise/experiences. A mentor may or may not have received training in how to transfer his/her knowledge.
- Training is the process of informing and transferring information, knowledge and skills.
- Counseling/Therapy is the process of healing and addressing issues from the past that are having an impact in the present and potentially the future.
- Consulting is the process of providing advice and solutions based on expertise in the area.
Everyone of Us is a Coach
Whether you are a friend, son, daughter, parent, manager, co-worker, professional in the helping professions, …, you are coaching others on a regular basis. Sometimes your coaching is well-received, other times not. What’s missing? Could you be a better coach?
NLP - The Difference That Makes the Difference
NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) is a critical component for anyone who assists others. NLP gives you the skills, techniques, strategies and knowledge to assist those in your life. And most importantly, to assist you in feeling good about yourself and in becoming all you can be as you work on achieving your desires - becoming more effective in your career, improving your relationships, taking charge of your health, assisting others and enjoying yourself for who you are.
NLP techniques are fast and effective and do not rely on "telling your story". Indeed, telling your story only entrenches it more. Sometimes, we get bored with our own stories and we may embellish them, which only makes moving forward more difficult. Since NLP works with how the mind structures and stores information, the story holds little value and an NLP coach can quickly assist you to move beyond your story and move forward in your life.
Author: Roger Ellerton is a certified NLP trainer, coach, certified management consultant and the founder and managing partner of Renewal Technologies. The above article is based on his book Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up: NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You.
Copyright © 2007, Renewal Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up: NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You by Roger Ellerton is rapidly becoming the standard for introducing NLP and is a valuable resource of proven techniques and concepts for managers and coaches. Parents and those in the helping professions, indeed anyone looking for personal improvement or assisting others with personal change, are also finding great value in this book. Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up is available from
Amazon.com
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