What is Coaching

What is Coaching

With the increasing popularity of coaching, more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of becoming a coach. However, not many people conceptually understand the true meaning and fundamentals of what is coaching. Therefore, this article is intently written to help you understand the meaning and significance of what is coaching, what is Life Coaching, or any other form of the term  (Executive/Leadership/Organizational Development/Team). Further, to ensure the veracity of this article, the details about the topic are taken from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) definition. ICF is widely regarded as the Gold standard of Coaching.  If you are searching about the profession, then an ICF definition is one that you must consider to understand this fully.

What is coaching? (ICF definition of coaching)

The ICF defines coaching as a creative and thought-provoking partnership between a coach and client(s), created with the intent to inspire client(s) to maximize their personal as well as professional potential.

Having said that, it is not about giving advice, answers, or recommendations on what the client should do. As per the ICF definition of coaching, it differs significantly from counseling, therapy as well as mentoring.

Please read the purpose of coaching to understand how specifically it differs from mentoring, counselling, consultancy, therapy, and training.  The definition is an important part of being a professional in the field.  It has been seen lately that many people are loosely using the terms of other professions, and are creating confusion for someone who wants to learn.  This is a significant challenge that is happening in different countries, and the Social Media and presence of information that at times is half-baked can create a lot of confusion with the definitions, terms, professional usage of what is something, and what it is not.  Hence, standardization of competencies, definition, scope, and other terms of a professional field is very important.  Keeping that in mind, the information below is being presented to ensure that some clarity is being provided.  As a professional, you must ensure that you have understood the definition, the distinctions, and what makes the profession credible.

Salient features of a client-coach relationship

Below mentioned are some salient features of a successful client-coach relationship, as highlighted by the International Coaching Federation.  This applies to all forms of the term.  (Leadership/Executive/Life/Team/Group/Organizational Development). Different titles that coaches use to brand themselves in different niches and to create a relatability with their ideal clients. All coach relationships are the same, and operate under the same definition of what is coaching, and what is Life Coaching will have the same answer.

• It involves asking powerful questions to help the client explore beyond current thinking and uncover the information needed for maximum benefit.

Below mentioned are the questioning guidelines as highlighted by ICF:

• The questions asked during the session must be open-ended. When open-ended questions are asked, they open the doors to create greater clarity, possibility, or new learnings for the client.
• The aim of questions must not be to lead to affirmation or validation in yes or no answers.
• The questions asked must be thought-provoking in nature.
• The intent behind asking questions must not be to drive the client to look backward or justify any past occurrence.
• The questions must evoke discovery, insight, commitment, or action by challenging the client’s assumptions. The questions must not approve of or substantiate the client’s assumptions in any way.
• Being a coach involves active listening and evolved understanding of the client’s perspectives, concerns, goals, values, and beliefs about what is and what is not.
• Being a coach involves acknowledging and supporting the client’s expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, and suggestions.
• It promotes the client’s self-discipline. Successful coaches hold the clients accountable for what they say they are going to do. They follow through with clients on the specific plan with related time frames as well as the results of an intended action.
• A coach provides a safe and supportive environment for client’s reflections. It allows the client to share freely. Trust and intimacy are always present at all times in successful client-coaching relationships.

What is the process?

It is a process of helping clients move closer to their desired outcomes.

Coaching starts with getting clarity about the client’s chosen outcomes. Then an overall plan is established around it.

Coaches often initiate the expedition by understanding the desired outcomes of the client as well as the relevant stakeholders, as applicable. What is Life Coaching is also covered as part of the scope of the work, and how the engagement will proceed. Next, they consolidate the collected information and establish development goals and an effective action plan with the client to address concerns and major areas for learning and development. In days to come, they would follow through on the actions that the client committed to. They keep the client on track between sessions by holding attention to the coaching plan and agreed-upon courses of action. They often challenge the client’s assumptions and perspectives to provoke new ideas and find new possibilities for action, and they celebrate the client’s successes and capabilities for future growth.  All these elements of what is coaching / what is life coaching, and how each niche is different is part of an ICF certification training program.  The beauty of the process is that once it is established it will ensure that the magic happens automatically.

What are the benefits of coaching?

Below mentioned are the positive effects of effective coaching-

• It deepens the awareness and broadens the perspectives of clients to find new possibilities for action. It helps the client identify factors that influence current and future patterns of thinking, behaving, or emoting.
• Coaching moves the client towards desired goals and results. It helps the client to focus on and systematically explore specific concerns and opportunities that are pivotal to agreed-upon goals.
• It develops and strengthens the client’s ability to determine priorities, make decisions, address key concerns, develop self, take action, and learn from experiences to achieve all that is important.
• It facilitates the client’s growth. It promotes active experimentation and self-discovery, where the client applies what has been discussed and learned during sessions.

Afterthought,

Coaching is an amazing way to create positive changes in the lives of people. As such, anyone can call themselves a coach, but it is important to understand what it is, and how it is different from therapy, counselling, consulting, etc.  ICF Credentialed professionals are those select few professional coaches who have met rigorous education and stringent experience requirements and have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the ICF core competencies.  ICF certified professionals provide a client (mostly corporates looking for Leadership/Executive/OD Coach), an assurance that the professional is certified, has undergone an approved program by a prestigious global body like ICF, and the coach has a minimum of 100 hours of experience if the person is ICF ACC.

For a certified coach, it provides a tremendous boost to their brand as ICF certified professionals have a better reputation in the market where there are a lot of people who are just using a ‘Coach’ tag without an awareness of what is coaching or more importantly not having skills to do justice to the profession.

If you have understood what is Coaching, and what is Life Coaching and want to start working professionally as a Life coach in India or anywhere else in the world, then as an ICF training provider we would like you to consider the ICF approved certification training programs, which are under the full ICF ACSTH or ACTP path, towards ICF ACC level or ICF PCC level.  The ICF programs are available online these days, and the best part is that you as a professional do not lose out on anything.  In fact, learning online has its benefits as you can learn the concepts with participants from different cities, different countries, get to meet people, network, and during peer practice sessions that enhance the learning process.

The full program ensures that you are attending a course that has gone through a full review process, and this is a trust factor for you to feel that you as a learner are in safe hands, and are learning something that is authentic, and internationally approved.