What is coaching?

There are many misconceptions about what coaching is. 

Coaching is not a class or a course

Coaching is a partnership with you in a thought-provoking process that inspires you to reach your professional and personal potential.

Coaching is not counseling or therapy

Coaching assumes that you have the abilities and resources to move forward. The coach will help you discover what they are. We’re not looking in the past to solve problems, but looking forward to finding solutions.

However, if I sense that there are problems that are preventing you from moving forward and counseling seems appropriate, I will tell you that.

Coaching is not consulting or mentoring

You hire a consultant when you want someone to tell you what to do. You meet with a mentor when you want to know how they would act. In both cases, you are receiving direction. 

Coaching is different.

It’s much more you-centered. A coach will not impose a direction, nor rush you to action. Although coaching is action-oriented, the journey of exploration comes before the action. 

The exploration and self-discovery are what set coaching apart, because the direction comes from you. The coach accompanies you and helps you discover and clarify your values, strengths, dreams, and resources.

Only then—when we know where we’re going—do we shift our focus to concrete action steps to bring your goals to reality.