Coaching Explained From The Perspective of The Participant

Anyone can use a coach, but does everyone need one? It may surprise most people to know they have probably already been working with some coaches without realising it. A coach is someone who provides advice, supports and clarifies, helps you to set goals and then assists you to achieve them. A coach is also someone who helps you make changes for the better in your life. Most of us rely on others for at least part of this. Your parents, friends, relatives, boss, colleagues, team mates and even your children have probably played a coaching role at least some time in your life, but they (and you) just didn’t know it! It was not formal, focused, directed and agreed to; but it did happen, and it probably helped, though there is also a risk that it might not have and that things didn’t improve because it lacked the structure that can be achieved in an agreed coaching relationship.

We all go through times, whether in business or our personal lives, where we are just not doing too well. Maybe we feel stuck, things are a little boring, life has lost its meaning and we have lost direction. It is hard to stay continually focused on success, and frankly we all need a little down time to rest and relax. However what usually happens when people are feeling low, out of sorts, bored and aimless is that they lose direction in many aspects of life – malaise is contagious! In fact some people spend their whole lives in a state of malaise and they don’t even know it!

Often people will recognise when things are not going too well and they seek out the coaches they have used before in their life, the ones mentioned above. It is great to have the support of these people and if you are very lucky there will be a few among them who are natural coaches, people who just have a knack and know what needs to be said to motivate you, get you back on track and they also have the time and commitment to stand by you and support you to take action. There is no doubt in my mind that some people are natural coaches and without training are able to provide great support. Unfortunately these people are few and if we are really lucky we probably only get to meet one or two over a lifetime. Many of your supports are genuinely interested in you, they want to support you and they also have their own lives and worries, with limited time and expertise to be able to spend on you. Often they don’t know what you need from them and therefore they fall short on providing the support and assistance you really require. This is not a poor reflection on your natural and selected supports. It is just the reality of people living their lives.

With a personal coach, whether for life or business, the focus is on you. A skilled person with all the tools and strategies you will need walks beside you, guiding, supporting and preparing you to take on life’s challenges with a positive, proactive approach. You agree a plan with them, set goals that are important to you, discuss obstacles that get in the way and how to conquer them. You do not need to reciprocate as you would with your informal coaching relationships, because you pay for a service. It is totally for your benefit and is targeted at your goals. Even if your employer is paying for this service as a way to boost the company’s outcomes, in doing so the employer is actually investing money in your personal and professional development. You are the one who emerges from the coaching process with a different set of values, attitude and approach that serves you very well.

There is no more perfect time to engage a coach than the present! If you are on the top of your game a coach can take you to higher excellence; if you are at mid stride and know where you are going and what you want in life a coach will speed up the process; if you are just starting out and want to explore the options for future development it is a great time to establish a coaching relationship  AND if you are at the stage where you feel bogged down, stuck in a rut and going nowhere there is no time like the present to set about fixing it!

More articles by this author:

What is coaching and why we use it in business and personal life

Executive coaching enhances the ability of star performers.

Advantage Management