Coaching FAQ

Q. HOW IS COACHING DIFFERENT FROM CONSULTING? THERAPY? SPORTS COACHING OR A BEST FRIEND?

•CONSULTING: Consultants use their own skills to improve a given situation as opposed to developing the client's skills to a level that can effectively manage a situation. The Coach stays with the client to assist in implementing new skills, changes and goals - and makes sure they really happen!

•THERAPY: Coaching is not traditional therapy. We don't "get into the past" or "assume a problem" with our clients. We leave it up to the client to obtain any therapy they desire (which we may recommend, if necessary), while we figure out how to help them move forward and set personal and professional goals that result in the life they really want!

•SPORTS COACHING: Coaching includes several principles from sports coaching, like teamwork, going for the goal, and being your best. But unlike sports coaching, most professional coaching is not about being in competition with others. We focus on strengthening the client's skills instead of helping them to "beat" some other individual or team. A win/win game is the kind we like to play!

•BEST FRIEND: A best friend is truly wonderful to have. But is your best friend a trained professional whom you can trust to advise you on the most important aspects of your life and/or business? Do you really want to place that kind of burden on a good friendship? Instead, have a best friend and a coach!

Q. WHO HIRES A COACH AND WHY?

A. People just like you hire Coaches every day because -

• They want to grow faster!

•· They want to grow easier!

• They want to grow with a sense of balance and direction in life and in work!

It's really as simple as that! Coaches assist clients to get all three - Quickly! A Coach will help to get your life in shape!

Q. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HIRE A COACH?

A. A lot! Some of the most important things include:

• You will take yourself more seriously.

• You will take more effective and focused actions immediately.

• You will stop putting up with whatever is dragging you down.

• You will create momentum making it easier to get results.

•You will set better goals with a coach in your life!

Q. DOES A COACH ADDRESS MY PERSONAL OR MY BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

A. Both, actually. With the line between a personal and a business life being blurred today, a Coach is one of the only professionals trained to work with virtually all aspects of your life!

Q. WHERE DOES THE COACH FOCUS WITH AN AVERAGE CLIENT?

A. We focus wherever the client needs us most. Along the way, we also weave in the following dimensions:

• Strengthening the client's Personal Foundation.

• Helping the client to beef-up their reserve levels of health, time, money, love, etc.

• Encourage the client to set goals based on their personal values.

By including these areas with what the client wants from us, we assist clients to experience fewer problems and focus on what's truly going to make them the most successful. We've found that most clients really enjoy this approach!

Q. WHY DOES COACHING WORK?

A. Coaching works for several reasons:

• The synergy between coach and client creates real momentum.

• Better goals and agendas are set -- ones that naturally pull the client toward the goal rather than goals that require the client to push him or herself to the goal (internal rather than external).

• The client develops new skills that translate into greater success!

Q.WHY IS COACHING BECOMING SO POPULAR?

A. Beyond the obvious fact that the print and television media really began to "discover" the coaching profession in 1996, there are several basic reasons:

• THE ELIMINATION OF "SHOULDS"! Many people are tired of doing what they "should" do and are ready to do something special and meaningful for the rest of their lives. The problem is, many can't see it - or if they can, they can't see a way to reorient their life around it. A coach can support and encourage them to do both!

• GROWTH. It's amazing to realize that most people spend more time and money on the maintenance of their cars or trucks than on their own personal and/or professional growth each year! But increasingly, some people are realizing how simple it can be to accomplish something that several years ago might have felt out of reach or even like a pipe dream.

• A Coach is not a miracle worker (well, they are, sometimes), but a Coach does have a large tool kit to help many of those "Big Ideas" to become a reality. Fortunately, many people now have interest, time and resources to invest in themselves in order to achieve this kind of growth.

• SPIRITUALITY. If you've tracked the phenomenal success of James Redfield's Celestine Prophecy on the NY Times bestseller list during 1994, you get a sense of just how many people are willing to look at, and consider, the notion of spirituality. Wow! Many Coaches are spiritually based -even the ones who coach people at IBM and AT&T! Much of North America is getting spiritual quickly. (NOTE: A coach's working definition of spirituality is how connected you are with yourself and others) The Coach helps clients to "tune in better" to themselves and others. If you have a "traditional" approach to spirituality and religion, we're also equipped to handle those aspects of faith as they become present in your life and work. You may be interested to know that we are not attempting to "convert" our clients to any particular type of spiritual/religious experience they may not desire.

SOME CONTEXT ABOUT COACHING:

A professional Coach does just what an athletic coach or music teacher does, only in a more complete and bigger way. A Coach challenges you and takes the time to find out exactly what winning in life really means to you. A Coach is your partner in living the life you know you were born to accomplish -- both personally and professionally. A Coach is someone who holds you accountable for your life and your work, to make sure you really do live up to your potential - and then celebrates with you whenever you do!

No matter where you are along Life's journey, there is always a desire for more. More love, more time, more success, more money, closer relationships, a deeper feeling of meaning in life, etc. It is the nature of human beings to want to attain more, become more, and be more - and we all struggle with how to obtain whatever "more" we're looking for!

Most people believe that "hard work and doing it on your own" are the keys to finding the life, money, success, or happiness that they seek. They believe that a price must be paid to attain what they want, and often that price is poor health, not having enough time to enjoy life, strained family relationships or lessened productivity. The saddest part is that, even though this effort may result in more of something, it is often not the "something more" you had in mind, and you are soon back to where you started -- or worse, even further away from your real intentions, aspirations and goals!

Athletes and performers know about this trap. They know they need someone else - a trained someone else - to help them set goals, discover real needs and work effectively toward their ultimate goals of excellence. So, they are willing to hire a coach or a teacher. Do you know where TIGER WOODS was the night before he won THE MASTER'S TOURNAMENT in 1997 for the very first time? He was on the phone with his Coach!

The truth is - no one is "required" to have a Coach. Yet those who have the right Coach often wonder how they did without one!

No serious athlete or performing musician would expect to progress very far without a Coach! If you want to "perform Life" or "perform Business" to the optimum levels, you'll have a Coach, too! Just like a professional athletic or musical coach, the professional Coach never forgets that the client is "the team" whose job it is to "perform at optimal levels" on the playing fields and/or the concert stages of life while the coach stays on the sidelines encouraging and strategizing! Our job is, simply put, to help make our clients look good and perform well in life and in work!