What is Coaching?
Coaching is a profession aimed toward helping clients achieve their highest potential. Along the way, clients make choices and take actions that are authentic to themselves and gain confidence in their ability to solve their own problems. Coaching is different from other similar professions, such as mentoring, advising, and counseling/therapy. Each of these can be useful in different situations
Mentors – teach their mentees how to follow in their path. This is beneficial when you’ve identified a person who has reached where you want to be. They can help you take the steps to your goal because they’ve been there. An example would be learning the ropes from a business owner that you look up to.
Advisors – have an area of specialization and give their clients a list of actions to take. These professionals can be useful in a situation where you’ve made a decision to take a path, and you need an expert in a technical aspect. For instance, if you’ve decided to open a business, but you don’t know how to create a marketing strategy, you might hire someone to give you recommendations or make a plan.
Counselors/Therapists – help individuals who cannot move forward on their own. These professionals can help you work through strong emotions or events that have a hold on you and are preventing forward progress. It may be useful to seek the aide of a therapist if you feel helpless/hopeless about moving forward in your life or find that you are fixated on past events.
Life Coaches – work with individuals to help them identify and work toward their life goals. These professionals can help you identify your goals, ensure you are moving in a direction that will lead to personal satisfaction, and keep you accountable to the actions you commit to taking. For instance, you might seek a life coach if you were climbing the corporate ladder and realized your career success wasn’t leading to happiness.