WHAT COACHING IS…
Thomas Leonard, founder of CoachVille, once said, A professional coach is, “Your partner in achieving business and personal goals; your champion during a turnaround; your trainer in communication and life skills; your sounding board when making choices; your motivation when strong actions are called for; your unconditional support when you take a hit; your mentor in personal development; your co-designer when creating an extraordinary project; your beckon during stormy times; your wakeup call when you don’t hear your own; your partner in helping you in all that matters to you.”
What we have the opportunity to do as a coach or as an aspiring professional coach, is to help others reach their goals faster than they could possibly do it on their own. It’s like having a competitive advantage towards your road to success. Think about it, as a professional coach you are 100% invested in those that you are called to service. Whether in 1:1 or group sessions or speaking engagement, you are really helping people figure out their priorities, their value and their goals from within. You are helping them see their strengths and to focus on their area of genius. As a coach you help create those moments that allow people to see themselves as who they truly are.
This is such an important message for all of us as we continue in our coaching journey. Knowing that you have the opportunity to form a collaborative partnership where someone sets their goal and you can help them reach it faster, more effectively, more efficiently and with alignment to their purpose. This is valuable.
So, know the importance of what a “coach is”. Whether you are a coach, thinking about coaching, or currently being coached; knowing what coaching is and being able to articulate this message will provide you with an essential key to the door of your own success as a coach and as a player. You can’t succeed if you are not clear of the value you will provide or attain; so here is your call to action:
- Sit down and write – What do you do that adds value to your clients ie. players? And remember do not be modest, you’ll have time for that later.
- Drill down deep – How deep can you go? When you think you have drilled down enough on the value you add to your clients, drill down further. Be very specific and succinct. There should be no doubt as to exactly what you provide.
- Make it one sentence – Take what you provide and make a one sentence statement. If you recall at the beginning I quoted Thomas Leonard with his one, thou very long, almost poetic sentence explaining what coaching is. Now, write down your own poetic sentence. One that you can say in your sleep, regurgitate with confidence and excitement, because you know it’s who you are and what you do for others.
- Tell everyone – Tell others what you do. In actuality, tell everyone. The more you say it the more practice you will obtain and the more constructive feedback you will receive from others as to their understanding and clarity of what “you do”, the value you add and what coaching is to do for them, when they partner with you.
I hope you take the time to carry out these few steps as they will help you continue to bring clarity to what you do. And if you are truly advanced in your coaching practice, it doesn’t hurt to reevaluate yourself and your coaching practice because you also continue to evolve. You might find out that you are now ready for a bigger role in the world. You might find your next purpose!
Final thought: In CoachVille, in the words of Coach Dave Buck, what coaching is…”Life is a canvas. Coaching is art. Paint!”