Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a coach, supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a coachee. Occasionally, coaching may mean an informal relationship between two people, of whom one has more experience and expertise than the other and offers advice and guidance as the latter learns; but coaching differs from mentoring by focusing on specific tasks or objectives, as opposed to more general goals or overall development.
Many ‘coaches’ will recognise significant overlap between their role and that of a teacher. This may be particularly true of sports coaches, who are often highly skilled in their particular sport and looking to hone the technique and skills of their athletes.
It may therefore be useful to look at both coaching and teaching as on a spectrum.
As a coach, there will be times that you are very much led by the person being coached. These times are likely to be in the majority, especially for coaching at work.
However, there may also be times when you are the expert, and imparting information. Examples might include on the meaning of a psychometric test, or best practice in a particular area where you have some knowledge. For sports coaches, it might also include making a decision about when a particular activity is safe and why.
You can think of this as a bit like the nine levels of delegation (and for more about this, see our page on our coaching services offer). It does not actually matter to anyone else what level of delegation of coach leadership you use—as long as it works for you and the person being coached.
Coaching has been defined in many ways. The essence of coaching is:
- To help a person change in the way they wish and helping them go in the direction they want to go.
- Coaching supports a person at every level in becoming who they want to be.
- Coaching builds awareness empowers choice and leads to change.
It unlocks a person’s potential to maximise their performance. Coaching helps them to learn rather than teaching them.
Coaching has traditionally been associated with sports. Every top athlete has a coach. In the last few years, coaching has become applicable in every area, in business and in every aspect of life as well as sport.
Now, it is quite normal for someone to see a coach to help them achieve their goals in their life and work.
Coaching is a partnership between coach and client.
The coach helps the client to achieve their personal best and to produce the results they want in their personal and professional lives. Coaching ensures the client can give their best, learn and develop in the way they wish.
The coach need not be an expert in their clients’ field of work.
It is useful to distinguish coaching from similar activities.
Mentoring
Mentoring is when a senior colleague, seen as more knowledgeable and worldly wise gives advice and provides a role model. Mentoring involves wide ranging discussions that may not be limited to the work context. A mentor is a sponsor with great professional experience in their client’s field of work. Both mentoring and coaching are concerned mainly with achievements in the present and the future.
Counselling
Counselling is working with a client who feels uncomfortable, or dissatisfied with their life. They are seeking guidance and advice. A counsellor works remedially on a client’s problem.
Therapy
Therapy is working with the client who seeks relief from psychological or physical symptoms. The client wants emotional healing and relief from mental pain. Therapy deals with the client’s mental health. Coaching deals with the client’s mental growth. The client’s motive for entering therapy or counselling is usually to get away from pain or discomfort, rather than moving towards desired goals. Coaching is not remedial, it is generative. Both therapy and counselling are more likely to involve understanding and working with experience than coaching.
Training
Training is the process of getting knowledge skills or abilities by study, experience or teaching. The trainer by definition is the expert, and the training course is likely to be targeted on specific skills for immediate results. Training is also likely to be one to many rather than one to one.
Consultancy
A consultant provides expertise and solves business problems, or develops a business as a whole. A consultant deals with the overall organization or specific parts of it and not individuals within it. Consultants only indirectly affect individuals.
Teaching
Teaching passes knowledge from teacher to student. The teacher knows something the student does not. The opposite is true in coaching. The client is the expert and the client has the answers, not the coach.
Conclusion
The term ‘coaching’ means many different things to different people, but is generally about helping individuals to solve their own problems and improve their own performance.
It doesn’t matter whether coaching is used in sport, life or business, the good coach believes that individuals always have the answer to their own problems. They just need help to unlock them.