The Power of Coaching

I believe in the power of coaching to change lives — not in an aspirational, blindly-optimistic manner, but because of firsthand experience as both a coach and a client. I’ve seen meaningful transformation happen on numerous occasions because of something that occurs during a coaching session.

At the same time, I understand that coaching is an ambiguous idea. After all, what is coaching anyways? I see so many people calling themselves a coach and offering coaching services. I also know that if you ask ten different people what coaching is, you’ll probably hear ten different answers.

When I’m asked to describe coaching, I often fall back onto the ICF’s definition of coaching: “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” There’s a lot packed into one sentence here, and I want to break down this definition in a way that emphasizes the power and potential of effective coaching. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the individual words here and consider what they say about what happens during a coaching session:

One: Partnering

Coaching is a partnership. The power doesn’t come from only the coach. Instead, both the coach and the client must come to the session ready and willing to work if the client is going to reach their goals.

I often set up a coaching relationship by explaining to clients the role that we both play in the process. I tell them that my job is to listen well, ask powerful questions, and structure the process in a way that helps them reach their goals. I tell them that their job is to be ready to think in new ways about old problems and put their learning into action through the steps they design in our coaching session. If a client comes to coaching expecting the coach to do all the work for them, the coaching relationship won’t be effective.

Let’s think about this through the lens of a real-world example. Imagine that you come into coaching wanting to talk about time management. One of the first things I would ask is about your desired goal or outcome. I would use a question such as, “What do you want to accomplish by the end of this session?” Or, “What would you like to take away from our coaching relationship?” Each question gives you a chance to guide the process and think critically about what value coaching could have for you.

There’s another important element here that I want to touch on before we move forward. By starting the coaching relationship in this way, you’re making your goal more tangible. It’s easy to say something like, “I want to work on time management,” but this objective is abstract and hard to quantify. On the other hand, if you create a goal to schedule your week in advance or write out your primary responsibilities and how long each task takes, you increase your chances of receiving value from the coaching because you know what you’re working on.

Two: Process

Coaching isn’t random or accidental (or it shouldn’t be). Coaching is based on a structured approach that the coach brings into the coaching relationship. One of the coach’s primary responsibilities is to manage the allotted time and guide the client through an effective coaching conversation that includes these four elements:

• Agreement. The coach and the coachee decide what to discuss and determine what the client would like to take away from the conversation.

• Awareness. The coach helps the client think differently about the topic by asking open-ended explorative questions.

• Action. The coach helps the client design action steps based on the new learnings from earlier in the conversation.

• Accountability. The coach helps the client lock in their new learning and their designed action steps to increase the chances of the client making their desired progress.

The exact amount of time spent in each area (as well as the coach’s approach to each section of the conversation) will vary. However, each step is an important component of the coaching process.

Three: Inspires

The word “inspire” comes from the Latin word inspirare, meaning “to breathe into” or “to infuse.” Although historical studies are inconclusive, there’s reason to believe that the etymology of this word drew from the Greek words pneuo (breathe or blow) or pneuma (wind or spirit).

In the traditional Christian Bible, of which Greek was a primary written language, wind and breath are often used as metaphors for the inspiration of God. For example, 2 Timothy teaches that scripture is God-breathed (the original Greek word used was theopneustos, and some versions translate the word as “inspired.”)

With this in mind, it’s interesting to think about how the concept of inspiration plays a role in coaching. What does this say about what happens in a coaching relationship?

To me, it’s a reminder of how coaching breathes new life into clients. It helps them move forward by finding clarity, overcoming obstacles, and developing new ideas and possibilities.

In other words, through the coaching relationship, the coachee is inspired to see the world differently, take new actions, and progress toward their desired outcome or goals.

Four: Potential

David Goggins is a Retired Navy SEAL, an accomplished ultra-distance runner, and the best-selling author of “Can’t Hurt Me” and “Never Finished.” When speaking and writing, Goggins often talks about the 40% rule. Essentially, the 40% rule states that your body and mind will only allow you to tap into 40% of your potential under normal circumstances.

This means that most people have a massive amount of untapped potential underneath the surface. Coaching is about helping draw out that potential so clients can make meaningful improvements in each area of their life. This growth isn’t about making you fit a certain style or mold, but it’s about helping you maximize your unique passions, gifts, and skills to provide greater fulfillment and more opportunities to make an impact.

This is what I love most about coaching. Coaching is not about putting the same steps or processes into place that work for most other people. It’s about considering your unique identity, values, passions, skills, and situation to find a solution that best suits you.

As we wrap up this article, I want you to imagine what your life would look like if you could access 10% of your untapped potential. What would that mean for your personal development? For your family? For your career or your business? For your hobbies? For your physical health? What would be different, and what would it be worth for you to experience that reality?

If this picture of the future peaks your interest, I’d love to connect with you. Visit my Calendly to schedule your free 30-minute coaching session. We’ll dive into a real issue and create impactful action steps as you gain an authentic experience of being coached.