What is life coaching?
Is coaching like counselling?
What advice can I expect?
So what does the coach do?
What does the client do?
What do people get coached on?
How, when and where do coaching sessions take place?
What do I do if I want to start coaching with you?
What about confidentiality?
Any other questions?
What is life coaching?Life coaching is a powerful and positive form of personal development. It is a way of working with people that enables them to set goals and keep motivated while they are on the road to achieving those goals. In this way it is tailored to each individual, no two people are the same so there can be no ‘one size fits all’ service. Particularly with one to one coaching, coach and client will develop a positive relationship which supports the client’s goals. Key to this relationship is the coach’s skill building rapport with a client and in empowering, challenging and championing them. Is coaching like counselling?They are not the same, although similar skills, like listening and questioning, are used by coaches, counsellors and other professionals. Coaching is extremely proactive and practical so it is a form of personal development that focuses on what is happening now and in the future. There is no lingering on past events. In coaching measurable goals are set during every session so clients can know where they are going. What advice can I expect?Coaches do not give advice. Ideas and actions are so much more powerful if they come from the client. Equally a coach’s advice wouldn’t necessarily be right for the client.So what does the coach do?The coach is essentially a facilitator. Through listening to, questioning and challenging clients the coach will empower clients to use their own strengths and values to make decisions. Coaches should remain non-judgmental because trust is an essential part of coaching (see confidentiality, below). A good coach will be able to work with the client to help them achieve their potential. After all, we all have potential we just don’t always know how to tap into it.What does the client do?Clients set the topic for discussion. Ideally they will already have a goal for their coaching sessions, but this isn’t always the case. They should also be committed to the coaching process and to moving their life forward. They need to be honest with themselves and the coach when discussing issues in order to get the most out of the sessions. They should also be prepared to set and achieve their goals within a specific timeframe. It’s essential for clients to have a notebook and pen handy during coaching sessions so that they can write things down, it’s a really powerful way to focus. Clients do have the answers. Coaches just help them access those answers.What do people get coached on?Coaching is often defined as ‘a dream with a date’.Anything from dreams and ambitions to personal or career choices are all hot topics for clients. Career changes, starting businesses, parenting, confidence, time management, de-cluttering, weight loss, novel writing and problem solving are all subject where coaching can help. How, when and where do coaching sessions take place?Ideally coaching needs between four and eight sessions to be really effective. Each session lasts between forty-five minutes and an hour and they would take place between one and two weeks apart, although this is flexible. The timing of the sessions would be mutually agreed between coach and client.
Most of the sessions would take place over the telephone so the client will call the coach at a prearranged time. A coach will generally keep track of the time during a coaching session.
During the initial coaching discussion or the first coaching session an overall goal will be set, although it might change slightly over the course of the coaching sessions. Clients will also set ‘session goals’ to outline what they want to achieve by the end of each session.
There are terms and conditions relating to the running of coaching sessions which would be agreed upon before coaching begins.What do I do if I want to start coaching with you?It’s really straightforward.
| - | | Contact me to book your initial chat. | | - | | I will then send you a welcome pack with, amongst other things, a contract and a personal questionnaire for you to complete. Complete your forms and return them to me and we can book an intake session – our first coaching session together. | |
What about confidentiality?Any information that you share with a Coach will be treated with the strictest confidence. Confidentiality is key to coaching and it is treated very seriously. I am a member of The Coaching Academy and they have a strict Code of Ethics to which I subscribe. A copy of the Code of Ethics is available on request.Any other questions?Please email me at info@majab.co.uk if you have any other questions.
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