Systemic coaching

Coaching, with a professional coach, is the practice of supporting an individual, referred to as a coachee, through the process of achieving a specific personal or professional result. The term 'client' may be used in life-coaching but in commercial settings the term 'client' is usedto describe the organization that 'pays' and not the person receiving coaching.

Description of coaching process The structure and methodologies of coaching are very numerous with one unifying feature, coaching approaches are predominantly facilitating in style, see facilitation; that is to say that the coach is mainly asking questions and challenging the coachee. Coaching is differentiated from therapeutic and counselling disciplines.

There are a variety of approaches within the coaching methodology.

Coaching is performed with individuals and groups, in person, over the phone and online.

The facilititive approach to coaching in sport was pioneered by Timothy Gallwey, hithertoo, sports coaching was (and often remains solely a skills-based learning experience from a master in the sport). Other contexts for coaching are numerous and include executive coaching, life-coaching, emotional intelligence coaching and wealth coaching.

Today, coaching is widespread. For example, Newcastle College registered 15,000 students on its Performance Coaching Diploma Course from launch and within its first four years. The UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel Management reports Taking the Temperature of Coaching, 2009. </ref> that 51% of companies (sample of 500) 'consider coaching as a key part of learning development' and 'crucial to their strategy', with 90% reporting that they 'use coaching'. The basic skills of coaching are often being developed in managers within organizations specifically to upskill their managing and leadership abilities, rather than to apply in formal one-to-one coaching sessions. These skills can also be applied within team meetings and are akin then to the more traditional skills of group facilitation.

Certification and Accreditation In the United States, there is no official accreditation for professional coaches. Certification can be obtained through a privately owned organization.

According to coach credentialing expert, Dr. Rey Carr, in European countries "accreditation" can mean either organizations or individuals.

Origins

The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam. The first use of the term in relation to sports came in 1831.

Historically the evolution of coaching has been influenced by and enhanced through by many other fields of study including those of personal development, adult education, psychology (sports, clinical, developmental, organizational, social and industrial) and other organizational or leadership theories and practices. Since the mid-1990s, coaching has developed into a more independent discipline and professional associations such as the International Coach Federation have helped develop a set of training standardsTemplate:Dubious (Davidson & Gasiorowski, 2006).

Applications

Instructing, coaching and mentoring differ. Instructors disseminate knowledge. Coaches help coachees to build skills. Mentors shape mental attitudes. Alternately, instructors train to immediate tasks, coaches accompany achievements, and mentors provide whole-life shaping.

There are many definitions of coaching, mentoring and various styles of line management and training. Greif defines coaching 'It aims at improving the attainment of self-congruent goals or cconscious self-change and self-development'. McLeod defines coaching as 'the use of silence, questions and chellenge to assist a coachee towards a defined target. These are often present issues or ones that relate to the future'.

The position is complicated by the perceived overlapping between many of these activities. A more succinct definition positions coaching as follows:
Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do.
Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do.
Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it.
Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability – and by that increasing the independence within the individual, and reducing reliance. McLeod however, asserts that this definition of coaching completely ignores the changes in thinking that create the behavioural changes in skills in capabilities subesequently.
Coaching rests on the professional use of a specific range of linguistic skills such as targeted restatements and the limited and judicious use of powerful questions with the aim to help clients shift their perspectives on an issue or ambition, and thereby discover different solutions and options, in order to achieve their goals. These linguistic skills are indifferently used when coaching clients in any field. In this sense, coaching is a form of meta-profession that can apply to accompanying clients in any human endeavor, ranging from their concerns in sports and personal, professional, social, family, political, spiritual dimensions, etc.

Life coaching

Life coaching is a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. Life coaches help clients set and reach goals using a variety of tools and techniques. Coaches are not therapists nor consultants; psychological intervention and business analysis are outside the scope of their work. Life coaching has its roots in executive coaching, which itself drew on techniques developed in management consulting and leadership training. Life coaching also draws inspiration from disciplines including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling, mentoring and other types of counseling. Contemporary life coaching can also be traced to teachings of Benjamin Karter, a college football coach turned motivational speaker of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The coach may apply mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting and other techniques in helping their clients.

Multiple coach-training schools and programs are available, providing many options for the individual who wants to gain "certification" or a "credential" in the field of life-coaching. Multiple certificates and credential designations are available within the industry.

Critics assert that life coaching is akin to psychotherapy without restrictions, oversight or regulation. The State legislature of Colorado disagreed, after holding a hearing on such concerns, asserting that coaching is unlike therapy because it does not focus on examining nor diagnosing the past. Instead coaching focuses on effecting change in a person's current and future behavior. Additionally, life coaching does not delve into diagnosing mental illness or dysfunction.

Business coaching

In organizations today, coaching refers to a method of personal development or human resource development (HRD). This field of coaching is becoming a distinct area of practice for individuals and in organizations. Although the role of coach has changed over time, some examples of research papers on business coaching show that between the late 1930s and the late 1960s, some forms of internal coaching in organizations were already informally present; i.e. managers (or supervisors) also acted as coaches to their staff (cf. Zeus & Skiffington, 2002; Grant, 2003a; 2006). Gorby (1937) specified how older employees were trained to coach new employees regarding methods of waste reduction. A casual business practice of coaching is the act of providing positive support and positive feedback while offering occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Coaching is an excellent way to attain a certain work behavior that will improve leadership, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one, group coaching sessions and large scale organizational work. Not to be confused with seminars. Many corporations are instilling the practice of 360 degree consulting before providing coaching, which permits employees to utilize their own life or professional experiences in a positive way to create team participation attitudes even with superiors. Professional Business Coaches are too often called in when a business is perceived to be performing badly when many healthier businesses recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is successful. Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

At least three organizations, the International Coach Federation (ICF), the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provide a membership-based association for professionals involved in business coaching. The ICF, ICC and WABC also provide accrediting systems for business coach training programs. The ICF currently has over 15 000 members worldwide, ICC currently has over 1,500 members from over 50 countries.

Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. A good business coach need not have specific business expertise and experience in the same field as the person receiving the coaching in order to provide quality business coaching services. Business coaching needs to be more structured and formal than mentoring.

Business coaches often help businesses grow by creating and following a structured, strategic plan to achieve agreed upon goals. Multiple organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners who may not be able to afford large coaching firm prices.

According to a MarketData Report in 2007, it is estimated that 40,000 people in the U.S. work as business or life coaches, and the $2.4 billion business coaching market is growing at about 18% per year. Business coaching was also reported as being one of the fastest growing industries in the world, following the IT industry, by the National Post.

Coaching is not a practice restricted to external experts or providers. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Those that do back up their expectations with training in coaching skills, access to feedback tools, and/or specific coaching behaviors described in their leadership competency models. Few link coaching activities to compensation, however, resulting in less coaching by managers.

Executive coaching

Executive coaching can be grouped separately from business coaching, as there is a common understanding that business coaching can be the equivalent of business planning, or consulting, but the coach takes the lead in running the business process. Executive coaching is the one-to-one relationship between a coach and a client, based around the intrapersonal goals of the client within the organisational context.

Expat and Global Executive coaching

Expat and Global Executive coaching deals specifically with the unique set of challenges created from crossing cultures following an international or domestic relocation. This niche of coaching tends to center around adapting to a new culture, identity issues created within relocating families, difficulties attaining professional goals amidst a changing political and social structure, and other social and personal hurdles unique to each individual. This method of coaching is either individual, or group-based and helps the client gain fulfillment, success and a sense of identity in the areas that are coached.

Personal coaching

Personal coaching is a process which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client's expressed interests, Objective (goal)|goals and objectives.

A professional coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, develop strategies, relationships and action plans intended to achieve those goals. A coach provides a place for clients to be held accountable to themselves by monitoring the clients' progress towards implementation of their action plans. Together they evolve and modify the plan to best suit the client's needs and environmental relationships. Coaches often act as human mirrors for clients by sharing outside and unbiased perspectives. Coaches may teach specific insights and skills to empower the client toward their goals.

Clients are responsible for their own achievements and success. The client takes action, and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Therefore, a coach cannot and does not promise that a client will take any specific action or attain specific goals. Professional coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting. These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions.

Health coaching

In the world of health and wellness, a health coach is an emerging new role. Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals "manage" their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature. In both sports and health, a "coach" is a person who observes, gives objective feedback, teaches, helps to develop a plan of action and holds another responsible for their actions and commitments. The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing his/her behavioral changes about.

Sports coaching

In sports, a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. This type of coach gets involved in all the aspects of the sport, including physical and mental player development. Sports coaches train, develop and mentor their athletes to become better at the physical components of the game. The coach is assumed to know more about the sport, and have more previous experience and knowledge. The coach’s job is to transfer as much of this knowledge and experience to the players to develop the most skilled athletes. Combining these aspects of the sport, the coach is accountable for the overall performance and results of the team or player.

Dating coaching

Dating coaches are coaches whose job is to direct and train people to improve their success in dating and relationships.A dating coach directs and trains his/her clients on various aspects of meeting and attracting long-term partners and meeting more compatible prospects. The focus of most programs is on confident and congruent communication. Dating coaches may focus on topics important to the art of dating: interpersonal skills, flirting, psychology, sociology, compatibility, fashion and recreational activities. Neil Strauss in The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists also focuses on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), theories of persuasion, history and evolutionary biology, body language, humor and street smarts.

Conflict coaching

Conflict coaching may be used in an organizational context, for matrimonial and other relationship matters and is one of many conflict management tools for helping people improve their conflict management skills and abilities. Like many other techniques of this nature, it is premised on the view that conflict provides an opportunity to improve relationships, to create mutually satisfactory solutions and attain other positive outcomes when differences arise between and among people.

Transformational coaching

A transformational life coach incorporates many modalities available in meeting the needs of the client, from business best practices or better household financial management to personal growth and spiritual matters. This help may increase awareness and success in transforming one's life. The new millennium has brought massive economic shifts for many people, creating a need for redefining their lives. People in transition often want to address deeper convictions about what they want out of life; they want more self-awareness and self-improvement. A transformational coach aims to bring together and highlight all the possibilities that will help mold and shape the visioneering process for clients as they create a plan and execute the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly details.

ADHD coaching

ADHD coaching is a specialized type of life coaching that uses specific techniques geared toward working with the unique brain wiring of individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Coaches work with clients to help them better manage time, organize, set goals and complete projects. In addition to helping clients understand the impact ADHD has had on their lives, coaches can help clients develop "work-arounds" strategies to deal with specific challenges, and determine and use individual strengths. Coaches also help clients get a better grasp of what reasonable expectations are for them as individuals, since people with ADHD "brain wiring" often seem to need external mirrors for accurate self-awareness about their potential despite their impairment.

Victimisation coaching

Victimisation Coaching is a type of life coaching that educates people who consider themselves as victims of crime or those who fear victimisation. Coaches work with groups of people to assist them on how to identify and approach potentially hazardous situations.

Career coaching

Career coaching focuses on work and career or issues around careers. It is similar in nature to career counseling and traditional counseling. Career coaching is not to be confused with life coaching, which concentrates on personal development (see 'personal coaching' and 'life coaching', above). Another common term for Career Coach is 'Career Guide', although career guides typically use techniques drawn not only from coaching, but also mentoring, advising and consulting. For instance, skills coaching and holistic counseling are increasingly of equal importance to careers guidance in the UK.

Coaching ethics and standards

One of the challenges in the field of coaching is upholding levels of professionalism, standards and ethics. To this end, many of the coaching bodies and organizations have codes of ethics and member standards and criteria according to which they hold their members accountable in order to protect coaching clients' interests.

Viability as a Career

While coaching as a career has become increasing popular over the past 15 years, fueled by the work of Thomas J. Leonard, there are differing viewpoints concerning how viable a career in coaching is given the competitive marketplace. Suzanne Falter-Barnes and David Wood demonstrated, in a 2007 Survey of 3,000 coaches, that more than 50% of coaches are earning under $10,000 a year. However, the survey canvassed a mixture of full-time and part-time coaches.

References

• McLeod, Angus (2003), Performance coaching - the handbook for managers, H.R. professionals and coaches, Crown House (Carmathen & NY) 
• McLeod, Angus (2007), Self-coaching leadership - simple steps from manager to leader, John Wiley & Sons (Chichester) 
• Gallwey, Timothy (1986), The inner game of tennis, Pan Macmillan (London) 
• Whitmore, John (2009), Coaching for performance: growing people, performance and purpose, Nicholas Brealey (3rd edition: London) 
• McGurk, John (2009), Taking the temperature of coaching report, CIPD & People Management Magazine (London), http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E27F313C-FFBC-466F-84D8-A240893A2A22/0/Taking_temperature_coaching.pdf