International Coaching Federation (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.
Coaching essentially is a partnership in which a coach helps the client to achieve their goals and maximise their personal and professional potential.
We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck.
Coaching can help bring awareness to the situation, bring clarity in terms of goals, blocker and actions to make progress.
What does a coach do?
Creates a safe space that enables the client to think effectively
Asks open, incisive and powerful questions
Helps the client clarify their goals, understand their drivers, and come up with their own actions and accountability mechanisms
The basic premise is that the mind with the problem also has the solution to that problem. The role of the coach role is to partner with client to help define that solution.
Confidentiality is key in a coaching relationship.
Everything that's discussed in a coaching session is confidential so clients can rest assured that details of their conversations won't be shared with anyone.