5 Reasons Why The Most Successful People Use Coaching As Their Secret Weapon
What Is Coaching, Really?
When people ask me what I do in life and I tell them that I am a Life and Business Coach, I often see blank faces. At this point, I assume that they are either pretty clueless about what that means or are too afraid that I am some voodoo healer.
But seriously, while everyone has heard of this modern profession, very few will have a clear idea of what exactly coaching involves. In my experience even coaches struggle to explain what coaching is in simple language.
To put things straight, I want to explain coaching in such a way that everyone gets what it is and why it is the secret weapon of high performers for a happier and more successful life.
Here is my definition:
Essentially coaching is a process in which a coach supports the client in reaching her/his desired outcomes — through powerful, focused conversations.
Perhaps it doesn’t sound like much when you have not experienced it, but the results are seriously impressive.
Coaching aims to unlock the client’s inner power and motivation to find and realize new possibilities in life and work. Coaching is a partnership between a coach and the client, dedicated entirely to the wellbeing and development of the coachee.
A coach is like a personal trainer for your mind. Your coach helps you in breaking down big goals into manageable steps and in getting from A (your current state) to B (your desired outcome) quickly and confidently.
While coaching has its origins in sports, it is now also successfully applied in the professional and more recently in the personal life context. Whether you want to get to the next level in your career, lose 20 pounds or start your own venture, coaching can get you there — faster and supercharged.
The Key Benefits of Coaching
The results you can get with coaching obviously depend on what you would like to achieve. However here are some common reasons why many of the most successful people invest in coaching.
1. Improved Self-Awareness & Self-Management Skills
We all have filters through which we see the world. These filters create our reality. This is so important because our thoughts drive our emotions and our emotions drive our actions and (you guessed it) our actions ultimately drive our results. So to change our results, we first need to change the way we THINK. Most of the time we don’t even realize that we have limiting beliefs that hold us back from realizing our full potential. It’s like driving through life with the hand brake on. Coaching at a transformational level shifts your mindset, beliefs and thought patterns to create changes that may have seemed impossible before. I call this developing mind mastery.
2. Bridging the Gap Between Goals and Action
We all know how it feels to set new year’s resolutions at the beginning of the year only to drop them a few weeks down the line with no results. A staggering 92% of people fail at achieving the goals that they set for themselves. Why? Because change is hard and uncomfortable and takes discipline on a day-to-day basis. If we don’t have a super strong internal “why” and someone who holds us accountable, we naturally struggle with the completion of our goals. Not only does the coaching process make you accountable, but it will also give you strategies and tools to build habits that will stick. As Will Durant nicely puts it…
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Will Durant
3. Exploring Possibilities and Taking Important Life Decisions
Should I get married? Have kids? Change my career? Start my own business? These kinds of decisions have a huge impact on our lives and can be incredibly difficult and overwhelming to take when you are stuck in your own head. Coaching can provide you the space to explore all of your options, see new possibilities and ultimately evaluate which option feels right for you. It will help you to structure your thoughts and stop feeling stuck. Coaching moves you forward with confidence in your decision. It helps you move from analysis paralysis into action mode.
4. Pushing Through Fear
We all once had big dreams and sadly so many of us have given up on pursuing them. On a superficial level, we rationalize this inaction with excuses (no money, no time, not ready, not enough experience, not smart enough, you name it…). But at the core, we are really just afraid. It comes down to this: we are afraid of failure, of things not working out, of other peoples’ judgments and perhaps even of success. Taking a leap of faith is tough when you are on your own. Coaching is extremely effective in allowing you to push through fear in a safe space with a companion that walks with you side-by-side. Your Coach will be there as your sparring partner when you move out of your comfort zone and embark on uncharted territory.
5. Tapping Into Your Purpose
Millennials (Generation Y) are all about finding meaning and purpose in their lives. The days when high-paying stable jobs in corporations were cool… are obviously long over. Nowadays you want to seek out your purpose and design your life and schedule on your own terms. But what if you have no idea what you are passionate about and what your purpose could be? Coaching is an ideal space to explore your core values, tap into your “why” and experiment with new ideas. When you connect to your why it propels you to take action almost effortlessly.
How Coaching Differs From Therapy
Lastly, I want to also clarify what makes coaching very different from therapy. Therapy and coaching are complimentary and serve different needs. In a nutshell, therapy helps you heal while coaching helps you thrive. Both of them have their place depending on our mental condition.
Unlike therapy, coaching involves…
- NO FIXING: The coaching client is seen as complete and does not need any “fixing”. The coach supports the client in tapping into (hidden or forgotten) inner resources.
- AN OUTCOME FOCUS: We focus on specific outcomes (the more tangible the better). The client is accountable to move towards that outcome and the coach will track progress consistently.
- A TIME LIMIT: Typically coaching does not last for more than a year because an intense burst of sessions keeps up the momentum and ensures that the client is not procrastinating. Most coaches work with clients for 3 to 6 months at a time.
- A PRESENT-FUTURE FOCUS: We focus on the present moment as well as the future. We do not spend much time on analyzing the past and rather try to focus our energy on developing actionable strategies to improve upon the client’s situation.
- A CLIENT-LED AGENDA: The coaching client will lead the agenda with topics that are most relevant. The client will also apply what has been discussed in her/his day-to-day life.
