What is Life Coaching?
Updated: Jun 10, 2019
The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking, creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential
The concept of coaching was begun by Thomas Leonard in the 1980s. Quicikly, coaching became a lifeline for those that look for changes to deliver a quality of life.
Initially, life coaching focused upon personal development, such as identifying a better life balance, or helping a client to be better at relationships. But, over time and with improved credibility, it was adopted by business.
Business coaching has been around a long time; it is characterized in various forms such as one-to-one executive and team coaching, and it is increasingly adopted by small-medium enterprises (SMEs)
New business ethos calls on companies to encourage, through coaching, employee loyalty by developing the talents of their staff, especially true today of the upper levels of executive staff.
Team coaching is increasingly in demand. Here companies are looking to bring a team together with a common goal, to help the team to perform better as a unit, or to enable the team to increase its synergetic energy.
Coaching can also be appled to relationships, couples, careers and conflict resloution.
A coaching session typically offers clients an open and trusting setting, where they can access and freely express any blocked issues. An effective session is one where the coach creates an environment that is guileless, genuine and non-judgmental.
Coaches need to remain focused on the present, and not allow ego or the mind’s thoughts to retrace into the past – instead coaches need to look forward as the session progresses.
The desired outcome from any session is an action plan, which is forward looking, allowing the client to make small steps toward his/her stated, overall goal.
