I had been doing professional facilitation and coaching for a number of years before I pursued coaching from a program aligned with the International Coach Federation. When I interviewed a possible training institute, I would ask, “Is this life coaching? Because I don’t want that. I don’t want businesses to think of Oprah Winfrey or something like that when they consider hiring me.”
The group that I ended up selecting said something that I have seen proven true again and again:
No, you aren’t getting training for life coaching. But you should know: All coaching is eventually life coaching.
It’s true.
Coaching is 100-percent about the client moving forward, taking action, getting results.
And to get there, it is 100-percent about the client gaining awareness, thinking through an insight.
In other words, to grow, you must wrestle. It’s why Hip Socket focuses on the ancients’ methods for culture-building.
- Learning the stories
- Asking more questions
- Thinking clearly
- Embracing feedback
- … and knowing and denying yourself
- Thinking through our identity
You’ll hear it in a real coaching session we recorded for the podcast. We think through Mike’s feelings, and who he sees himself to be, to get to where he wants to take action.
And you’ll notice in this post about coaching sales professionals that you’ll help the client–in this case, probably a manager’s direct report–go through the “stages of grief!” (And yes, the classical approach helps you sell, too.)
If you are a manager attempting to coach your employees, make space in your schedule and your head for your employees to slow down and think through their feelings on an issue.
It’s uncomfortable. That’s kind of the point. Wrestle and grow.