COACHING

What is Coaching?

Coaching focuses on where you are presently and where you are headed, with a goal of helping you gain clarity about your vision, eliminate obstacles to your success, accelerate the pace of personal growth and achieve results that empower you to live your best life – professionally and personally.

It is important to me that you have clarity about the difference between coaching and other types of professional services such as therapy or counseling, consulting and mentoring.

  • While coaching is forward-focused, counseling tends to deal more with past issues in which you may find yourself stuck and struggling. We may occasionally discuss something that has occurred in the past, for the purpose of clarifying the present, but your coaching will not focus on resolving the past. A simple rule of thumb to know whether you should be coaching or counseling: If your past is an issue, counseling is your best option. If your past is simply a fact (regardless of whether the circumstances were difficult or negative), you are probably ready for coaching. If it appears that there is an issue for which you may need counseling, I will suggest it. With the support of a counselor or therapist, some individuals choose to engage in coaching and counseling simultaneously, but with a focus on different areas of life for each service.

  • A coach focuses on helping you walk your unique path to success. As the client, you are responsible for the results you receive as a result of coaching. I help you discover how to become more of who you need to be to achieve those results and identify what you may need to do differently. A consultant takes responsibility for a specific project, acting as a specialist*, providing specific deliverables and knowledge. I believe in your ability to fully experience your potential and will provide a safe, consistent space for you to develop your potential.

    * If my professional experience (in the areas of finance, operations, talent development, leadership, etc) is of benefit to you personally and professionally, I will gladly share what I know.

  • As a coach, I focus on the development of people in general, and the development of your unique path in particular. A mentor guides you towards a specific path of development. I am more interested in helping you onto the unique and rich path that is meant for you – which may be quite different than the path I have taken, even though the purpose of our paths may be very similar.

    My job as your coach is not to tell you what to do, but rather to help you uncover the answers that lie within you. Consider me a catalyst for your success.

ICF defines coaching 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.

  • International Coaching Federation