I am often asked what is it that I do. When I worked full time as a senior leader and a midwife my answer was always straightforward. Everyone has some idea of what a leader is and thankfully midwives are very well recognised health professionals. 

Now that I have gone on to take up a new career as a coach, I sometimes find that the question needs a more detailed answer. In addition, I am often surprised as to how little people know about coaching. This can be apparent when I am approached by a prospective client, who might have been offered an opportunity for coaching by a manager or been recommended to take it up by a friend or colleague. 

However, they may not be quite sure about what to expect and what benefits they will get out of the process. This is understandable. I am always keen to promote coaching and to give people as much information as possible about what it is, and what it isn’t. But I am also conscious that I need to pitch my explanation to suit the listener so that they are clear about what to expect and what they are signing up for. 

So, let’s start by focusing on a simple explanation of coaching? Denise and I say that:

Coaching is a recognised process that is probably best known in the world of sport where it is used to enhance performance. However, it is also used to aid people’s development and to assist them to be the best that they can be.

That is a clear explanation. I really like the fact that it talks about coaching being a process which can aid someone’s development and assist them to be the best that they can be. This can be in their personal or professional lives. Coaching can be about gaining confidence, progressing in their careers, or looking after their health and wellbeing. It is a process that can be adapted to many aspects of our lives. Even if someone decides they want coaching to be the best that they can in work, they will find that it also enables them to think about other things in their lives. 

Good coaching takes a holistic approach, looking beyond a single aspect to explore other impacts. For example, someone who wants to be more organised and focused while in work will find that they bring those changes into their home life. This in turn can bring a better sense of balance in all parts of their lives so that they can be the best that they can be whatever life role they are in.Clients are often surprised by this transferrable impact and by the positive results that they see at the end of a coaching relationship.

Unlike therapy or counselling, coaching is a forward focused process. Of course, there will be times when previous experiences are referenced but they are not there to be interrogated. They help to make us who we are, but coaching is not about dwelling on them. The role of the coach is to assist the client in looking to the future, in setting goals and, by being useful, get them to the point where they achieve them. This is done, not by telling the client what they should and shouldn’t do, as perhaps a mentor would, but rather by creating a safe supportive environment where the coach listens, and the client can think about what it is they want to achieve. For me this is a key aspect of coaching, and I am always reminded by it when I think of Nancy Kline, who in her book Time to Think, describes how powerful, incisive listening can give people time and space to think. And by doing this, that thinking will be transformational. 

When discussing the coaching process, the first thing that I want to do is assure the client that all our sessions are confidential. This is imperative if that safe supportive space is to be created and maintained. Of course, if coaching is commissioned the manager will want to see that goals have been met and it is important to set ground rules with them and the client around this and any other disclosure issues before coaching commences. 

There are many definitions of coaching, and all are useful, but there is something sensible about keeping things simple so that prospective clients are clear as to what they can expect and how a coach can be useful to them in achieving their goals.