What a coach does and why it matters

 When is the last time someone completely listened to you so perfectly that you felt fully heard? When a coach listens, they hear you, not just your current situation. And when you feel heard, you can hear yourself. That’s invaluable.

 Does an Olympic hopeful attempt to win the gold medal by himself? No he or she is smart enough to find the right coach who will bring our their personal best. Recently people have become willing to reach out and find support while they make changes, solve problems, and evaluate challenges. This is no longer a sign of weakness or vulnerability, but a sign of intelligence and self-confidence.

 If you look back at your life, you may find a few people who challenged you to take a chance invest in yourself or make a big change. You may have felt stressed then, but now are grateful for the courage and care it took these people to challenge you. Every day coaches do this for their clients, a coach know how when and where to challenge you for the maximum long-term benefit. You will always be empowered to accept, decline or make a counter offer to the challenge.

 Humans being human and life being life, we all need help in staying focused and motivated. A coach will provide the occasional pep talk, encouragement or inspiration as necessary. Remember people who hire a coach are up to great things and encouragement is an important ingredient in their success.

 Life used to be pretty simple. Most people chose a career and lifestyle and simply followed it – or fought it. But over the past 30 years we’ve realized that there is no single correct path and that we can follow whatever path we choose. Yet, we were never taught how to create a path that’s joyful, prosperous and balanced.

 That’s where the coach can help by discovering what clients most value and want, and offering the perspective, wisdom and reference points that help make their lives more fulfilling, successful and rewarding.

 Synergy is what occurs when two people collaborate, and that’s exactly what coaches do. Coaches are active co-creators with their clients, not just passive listeners. Most individuals or companies hire a coach because they see the value in having a third eye, sounding board or creative partner to help them achieve what they most want in the easiest, most enjoyable manner.

 Humans are evolving, just like every other form of life. We may call it professional development, personal growth or transformation, but these are all part of our personal evolution. Although most clients don’t ask for personal evolution, they know they want to develop themselves in new ways, and invest in a coach to collaborate with. 

 One of the best ways to provide value to a client is to ask the right question at the right time in the right manner. They can be called laser questions – fundamental questions that cut to the core of the matter and get the client thinking bigger and better. A single question, if it’s the right one, can be worth tens of thousands of dollars to a client.

 The coach is expected to be understanding – patient, caring and respectful of the client – and also be a professional who understands the dynamic of virtually any situation, problem or choice that a client is facing. Both individuals and teams in organizations want to work with a coach who can help them make sense of what’s going on, so they can start working on a solution.

 One of the roles of a good coach is to help the client identify the best and easiest way to accomplish something or solve a problem. In other words, the coach helps the client to answer the question, “How will I achieve that?”. The coach assists the client to develop effective and practical means to the goals they set for themselves.  Dr. Louise Y Driscoll  Executive and Life Coaching  Coaching4Results, LLC Adapted from Becoming a Coach Guidebook, CoachInc.com