What Is Coaching?

There are many definitions of exactly what is coaching and it is worth spending a bit of time understanding what coaching means if you are going to invest your time and money.

Coaching is a powerful tool that can help you to make changes in your business or career, improve your performance, enhance your relationships with others or develop specific skills. To further clarify exactly what is coaching, here are a couple of definitions from two well-known coaching experts:

"Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them learn rather than teaching them" (Whitmore, J, 2005)

Coaching is "a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be successful, a coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which coaching takes place" (Parsloe, Eric, 1999)

So, how does coaching differ from other interventions such as teaching and instruction? With training and instruction the emphasis is on the trainer imparting knowledge to you, the ‘coachee’ whilst with coaching the emphasis is on the coach asking you questions to allow you to explore your own resources and solutions for moving forward.

Directive versus non-directive coaching

There are also different approaches to coaching and this is where the definitions of coaching become blurred.

Non-directive coaching is coaching in the true sense of the word where the coach simply asks you questions to allow you to find their own solutions. A non-directive coach will certainly not offer you advice and rarely even give you suggestions, although through skillful questioning they will help you to see your situation from a different perspective, gain clarity, uncover options, challenge inconsistencies and hold you accountable to your actions.

The great benefit of non-directive coaching is that you, as the client take full ownership of your own solutions rather than ‘doing what you have been told to do.’ Through this approach you will feel a sense of empowerment to make changes in your life and your confidence bolstered.

Directive coaching on the other hand is where the coach offers you solutions, tools and techniques for moving forward. You may like to be offered solutions however the danger is that the solution may not be appropriate for your situation and consequently may not feel fully committed to the solution provided.

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