You may be drawn to coaching because you
have always wanted to help people, or have experience of supporting
others either in your personal life or at work. You may even be trained
in a helping or therapeutic profession and see coaching as a natural
extension of your existing skills set and knowledge base. Or, you may
be drawn to coaching as you see it as offering a useful set of tools to
work with others in your existing work or leadership role.
Coaching uses an advanced set of communication skills to facilitate
client self-awareness and growth - so you need to be open to develop
your own communication skills in order to assist clients.
You may feel that coaching is for you because many of your acquaintances, colleagues, family or friends approach you for advice.
However, coaching is about assisting
clients to find their own solutions rather than giving advice and
information - and you need to be willing and able to let go of a
consultancy approach in order to apply coaching skills.
So, do you have what it takes to be a coach?
People from all walks of life enter the coaching profession but effective coaches:
actively enjoy working with other people
respect others and other ways of thinking
are open to learning and supporting others in their learning
can handle complexity
recognise and work on their own limitations and areas for growth
value empowering others and assisting them in achieving their goals
So, if you feel you have these characteristics - coaching may be a great fit for you.
You may feel that coaching is for you because many of your acquaintances, colleagues, family or friends approach you for advice. But do you have what it takes to become a coach?
