ABOUT COACHING
Having a coach is like having extra wind under our wings to take us soaring.
What is coaching?
Coaching is "a partnership that maximizes human potential." Capitalizing on existing strengths, coaches help clients articulate their vision, identify their values, deepen awareness, set goals they are passionate about, and create dynamic action plans.
Coaching provides a structure to deepen awareness and move directly into action. The coach is an ally for the client to build capacity, expand possibilities, and achieve greater fulfillment and success.
Coaching is part of the cultural shift from a pathology world view to a resourceful world view. In the pathology world view, problems are identified and evaluated, usually by outside experts. In contrast, coaches and clients work together from a resourceful point of view—collaborating as partners to explore opportunities and identify resources to create an exciting future based on awareness and action.
- Leadership that Works
How does it work?
The client and coach have conversations about the focus area with the objective of shining light on what is most important to the client, and what is coming in the way of their progress - external circumstances and/or limiting beliefs and assumptions around what is possible. Then they make decisions about how they want to move forward and take actual actions to do so.
The role of the coach is to create a safe space for inquiry and do what is necessary to support the client's growth - challenge, support, encourage, appreciate, celebrate and hold accountability. The client's role is to stay committed to their goal, clarify values and desires, plan, examine what is coming in the way, shift internally and take actions to progress.
How does it add value?
Coaching is incredibly useful in a broad range of situations (some examples are at the bottom of the page).
Life is something we are not trained for formally. There are no manuals with ‘best protocols’ and ‘perfect responses’ for the kind of stuff that happens in life. We have to keep figuring it out as we go.
As children, we learn to respond to situations and adapt to our environment by watching our parents, teachers, and friends do the same. But sometimes, they themselves have been deeply conditioned by their experiences and form a limited view of what is possible or what is ok. Inadvertently, we inherit their limited perspective and continue to live it in our lives. In a similar manner, we are also conditioned by the negative experiences we have in our own lives and unconsciously start protecting and limiting ourselves. And yet, we all long for greater freedom!
Having a coach really supports our growth when when we are in touch with this longing for greater freedom in any area of our life. A coach creates an environment and engages with us in a way that allows for a mindful examining of our thinking and acting patterns. Through this we get to question our current limits and create new possibilities.
To give you an idea, here are some of agendas people bring into coaching
- Resolving conflicts in an important relationship.
- Choosing to step out of a unhappy/abusive/unhealthy relationship.
- Making important decisions in life like getting married, having a baby, taking/leaving a job.
- Taking on a new role at work or working towards a promotion.
- Coping with losing a job.
- Wanting to re-prioritize life and change focus areas.
- Coping with an illness that is making one lose freedom/independence, temporarily/permanently.
- Coping with caring for a loved one who is really sick or losing a loved one.
- Integrating into a new city or country.
- Setting up ones own enterprise/ running an start-up.
If you have other questions about coaching, feel free to shoot me an email at innerfreedomcoaching@gmail.com