Coaching
What is a coach?
We hear the word “coach” and likely identify with a few main types. For example, the one who helps to lead a sports team, the executive coach, and the life coach. The International Coaching Federation (ICF), defines coaching as “as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.”
What is the difference between Coaching, Therapy, Mentoring and Consulting?
Coaching is about visioning, success, the present, and moving into the future. The purpose is for performance improvement, learning or development in an area of life. Coaching helps a client move forward by focusing on the “How”. Generally, coaching works best for someone who is well functioning and wants to explore optimizing themselves.
Therapy is exploring the past to understand the present. It usually focuses on helping someone figure out the “why”. It often dives into deep-seated emotional work, focused on personal healing or trauma recovery.
Mentoring usually involves a person who has been there and done that, who can be a role model. In Coaching, a coach doesn’t use personal experience as a model for success for the client. The client is the expert in their own life.
In Consulting, the consultant will have an agenda and present themselves as the expert. Although coaches can have expertise in certain fields, their true expertise is in the coaching process. Consultants promote themselves as experts, and coaches accept that clients are the experts and have the answers to any situation they may face.
My initial thoughts on coaching...
Years ago, if someone had asked me what a coach was, I probably would have said, “Someone who helps you move forward toward your goals.” And I would have quietly wondered why I would need anyone to help me do that.
I believed I had enough emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and life experience to figure things out on my own. In truth, that belief had been with me for much longer. From a young age, I rarely asked for help. I was independent, capable, and much more comfortable working things out for myself.
A coach? No thanks. I was doing just fine on my own.
Or so I thought.
A change in perspective...
Over time, something shifted.
I started seeing coaching everywhere. It wasn’t the first time I had come across the word coaching or the work of coaches. Looking back, it had been there in front of me for years. But my belief that I could, and should, figure things out on my own had always stopped me from exploring it any further.
This time, I paid attention. And that curiosity nudged me to learn as much as I could.
What I discovered was that coaching was much more than I had imagined. It wasn’t simply about helping someone move toward a goal. It was about creating space to think, reflect, become more aware, challenge what we believe, and discover possibilities we may not see on our own.
The more I learned, the more curious I became, not only about experiencing coaching for myself, but also learning how to coach others.
So I did both. I became a coach, and I got a coach.
What’s in it for you?
Seeing your life through a different lens
If you are feeling stuck, sensing a tug toward something different, questioning what you believe, or simply wanting to show up differently in your relationships, work, or life, coaching can be a place to start. So much of the time, we’re busy moving, doing what we’ve always done, responding in familiar ways, and trying to get somewhere without really stopping to notice what might be getting in the way. Coaching creates space to notice what’s happening within you, get curious, and see your situation through a different lens. Sometimes, that shift in perspective is enough to uncover choices and possibilities you couldn’t see before.
Making time for you
Being coached by an experienced, certified coach gives you dedicated space to slow down, reflect, and become more aware of yourself; how you think, what you believe, what you want, and what might be getting in your way. Imagine having time with someone whose role is simply to listen, ask questions, encourage your thinking, and help you explore what you might not see on your own. There’s no expectation that you arrive with the answers, or even know exactly what you need. Sometimes, having that kind of space can feel like a breath of fresh air. You leave seeing yourself, your situation, and what might be possible – a little differently.
A partnership led by you
Coaching is a partnership. You work alongside someone who sees you as capable, resourceful, and whole. A coach isn’t there to give you the answers, but to help draw out what you already know, explore what you don’t yet know, and notice what may be getting in the way. It’s like when we go for a walk. We often follow the same familiar paths because they’re the ones we know. Coaching gives you an opportunity to take a different path – to notice things you may have walked past before, see yourself and your situation from a new perspective, and discover where else you might go. That new path can lead to greater awareness and clarity, but also to something more: new possibilities, greater freedom, and perhaps even a little more joy.
Top 3 Results Reported by Coaching Clients (International Coaching Federation)
Improved communication skills
Increased self-esteem/self-confidence
Increased productivity
What am I like to work with?
As a certified coach I work within the Ethics and Competencies outlined by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Anyone who has completed a program approved by the ICF has specific competencies they need to demonstrate as a coach. They are also required to fulfill the ethical requirements as a coach.
I work best with people who are open to learning, change and growth. As your coach, I don’t do the work for you. That is your opportunity and privilege. I see my job as opening a new door for you. I do that through activities and questioning that open up your awareness, give you insights into what is working for you and what is not, and empower you to think about and see things in a different way. Throughout the process, we work together to make sure you’re on track and accountable to your goals and progress.
My clients are willing to explore outdated paradigms, belief structures, and assumptions, and believe that the path to the greatest personal growth, change and success begins with enhancing their own inner awareness and consciousness, and understanding the energy they bring into the world.
What I offer you is a calm, open, reflective, inspiring, and collaborative approach that invites you to freely explore your present and future self with a new lens.
Coaching Offers - Coming Soon!
I’m currently in the process of developing my coaching packages, which will be available soon. In the meantime, if anything here resonates with you, please reach out to me!
I’m also happy to provide a free 45-minute session where you can experience the coaching process and ask any questions.