Who is Coaching For?
“You don’t have to be the Dalai Lama to tell people that life is about change”
- John Cleese
Change is inevitable. But in the face of change, we have a choice: do we want to be drivers or passengers?
If you’re content with being a passenger, coaching may not be for you. But if you want to get in the driver’s seat, capitalize on change, make real progress, and create the life you truly want, coaching is a powerful tool to keep you moving in the right direction.
Coaching offers different things to different people, but above all, people work with coaches to help them get from where they are, to where they want to be. Having worked with a coach for several years, I know first-hand that through deep introspection, spending time with your fears, leaning into your strengths and gifts, and challenging yourself to stretch into new actions, coaching empowers you to take charge and break through your status quo to create a radically different vision for your life.
At its core, coaching is a partnership designed to help clients maximize their professional and personal potential. I became a coach because I believe it’s my calling to help people thrive in their careers and lives. I help people navigate change, capitalize on their ambition, and conquer obstacles that threaten their ability to operate from their strengths.
This post is written to give you a sense of who coaching is for, both in general and more specifically for my practice.
Addressing Misconceptions About Coaching
There are some common misconceptions about coaching, which are worthwhile to explore as a jumping-off point for our exploration around who coaching is for:
Misconception 1: Coaching is only for executives
While it’s true that many executives work with coaches, they are not the only ones who stand to benefit from this work. Whether you’re an entry-level employee or a CEO, if you’re committed to self-improvement and creating the life you want for yourself, you’ll be able to take advantage of working with a coach.
Misconception 2: Coaching is for people who are lost
People seek coaching for different reasons. Some clients feel they need help discovering direction in their careers or lives, while others have direction, but want help in maximizing their effectiveness (or in mitigating their weaknesses). While coaching can be useful for those who feel “lost,” they are far from the only ones who stand to benefit from coaching.
Misconception 3: Coaching means getting advice from an expert
While this is true in some contexts (e.g., nutrition coaching), for Life & Professional Coaching (what I practice), this is not the case. I operate from the belief that you are the expert in your own life, and my expertise is in the practice of coaching: asking thought-provoking questions that prompt deep reflection within you. My goal is to help you clarify what you want, and how you want to achieve it.
Who Benefits from Coaching?
I earnestly believe that coaching is useful for anyone who is willing to do the work. If you find a coach with whom you’re comfortable, the only limit on what you can achieve together is your willingness to be vulnerable, reflect deeply, and committing to challenging old habits/ways of thinking.
My coaching practice is most valuable to:
High achievers who feel they have untapped potential
You’re successful, you’re ambitious, but you have a sense that you have yet to reach your ceiling
Career-changers, and those navigating uncertainty more generally
You’re at a big inflection point, and are seeking guidance to find answers to “big questions” that can create conviction and catalyze change
Emerging leaders/professionals seeking to refine their leadership skills
You’re stepping into a bigger role, and feel that improving your confidence, resilience, and decision-making could make you even more successful
Professionals who want to align work with deeper values/priorities
You’re questioning whether you’re on the right path, seeking to renegotiate work-life balance, or striving to increase personal fulfillment (in work and/or life)
When is Coaching NOT the Right Fit?
Coaching can help you create serious change, but it is not a silver bullet that solves all of your problems. It’s critical to have a realistic understanding of what’s needed to make the most out of working with a coach.
Clients should not expect to receive direct solutions that solve their problems. If guided exploration that invites introspection isn’t what you’re looking for, then coaching may not be for you.
On that note, if you’re unwilling to engage in deep reflection, take ownership of old habits, and be accountable for committing to new ones, it will be difficult to make the most out of coaching.
Lastly, if you’re dealing with genuine mental health issues that impact your ability to function, therapy may be a better venue to work through those obstacles before it makes sense to engage with a coach.
What Coaching Is/Is Not
Coaching, therapy, consulting, and mentorship are all “helping modalities” and are therefore similar - but not the same. Coaching has some key distinctions that differentiate it from these other disciplines.
Coaching vs Therapy
Coaching and therapy tend to be conflated with one another more frequently than other helping modalities. However, coaching and therapy differ on a few important dimensions:
Subject Matter
Coaching focuses on the present, working towards creating an ideal future
Therapy tends to look backward, working through emotions or events of the past to understand the present
Objective
Coaching is used to improve performance, learning, or development in an area/areas of one’s life
Therapy is used to heal past trauma, and work through deep-rooted emotional issues. Sometimes, this includes treating mental illness
Client Population
Coaching clients are well-functioning individuals
Therapy clients tend to have some degree of dysfunction or disorder
Coaching vs Mentorship
People seek mentors when they feel that the mentor’s lived experience will provide insight around their current situation and/or future direction. Unlike mentors, Coaches do not leverage their lived experience as a model for their clients’ success. Coaches help their clients by being experts in the coaching process, and can serve their clients even without direct, relevant experience around what the client is looking to achieve.
Coaching vs Consulting
When a consultant is hired, they tend to arrive with a specific agenda, and are expected to deliver explicit answers/recommendations to their clients. If coaches have an agenda, it’s to help their clients get what they want. While coaches will occasionally offer up new ideas (like consultants), the coach and client partner together to create a plan for progress, and the coach maintains an active role in the partnership as their client implements the plan.
How Do You Know You’re Ready for Coaching?
Some people have a ‘light bulb’ moment that leaves them certain that it’s time to work with a coach. Others, however, may need to assess their specific situation and determine whether it makes sense to explore coaching.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself - as you formulate your answers, consider whether coaching may be a useful tool for you:
Do you feel like you’re plateauing, but you’re not sure why?
Are you up against a big decision, feeling like it’s difficult to navigate alone?
How might you benefit from a space where you’re challenged proactively?
If you found yourself answering in the affirmative to any of these questions, you’ll likely get considerable value out of working with a coach.
Are YOU Ready for a Coaching Conversation?
However you answered the questions above, the best way to find out if coaching is for you is to have a conversation. I offer a complimentary discovery session for you to share more about your challenges and what you’re looking to achieve, and for me to share more about my coaching process. The goal if the session is to determine whether there’s a fit between us, and to hopefully leave you confident that working together will help you create the life you want for yourself.
If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to book a FREE call!
