"I have ceased to question stars and books. I have begun to listen to the teachings my blood whispers to me." - Herman Hesse (prologue to Demian) Without a doubt, one of the most powerful tools to maximize your potential to produce better results is coaching.
The coaching profession is growing. Fortune 500 companies and small businesses hire coaches to improve leadership development and their bottom line. Men and women who are reinventing themselves invest in coaching to get on the right track to their new direction. These investments create more certainty and help relieve stress.
There are differences of opinions about whether a coach should be experienced in the field of the client. As a coach, it is my job to raise your awareness to your potential. To do that I do not need to be familiar with your expertise. The coach coaches to the client's potential - not their performance. The client is responsible for their performance.
There is a distinction between coaching and consulting. Consultants are experienced in a specialized area and offer expertise by teaching. Coaching helps the client in their awareness of their potential. When you learn rather than being taught, sustainability is higher.
In working with clients, the client and I design a "coaching relationship" to create the conditions that will give the client the best results. A coaching relationship is separate from the client and coach. It is where the client experiences their power and a recharging place for them to tap into when the journey gets bumpy. The coaching relationship drives the momentum to produce the desired outcome.
Coaching questions compel the client to look deeper than the usual reference point. It activates your brain to find new pathways. Most of the time life occurs from what the brain already knows, returning to the familiar. Experiments have shown that learning maximizes brain power and one's effectiveness. The brain has plasticity and has the ability to stay younger determined by drive and willingness to leave your comfort zones.
Coaching doesn't start with "there is something wrong" or about fixing. It starts from a place of potential awareness, wherein inner knowledge is awakened. Deeper inquiries compel the client to go further down the rabbit hole, to examine, to look, to feel and to be engaged. This is fascinating when a client makes a breakthrough with alternative choices followed by taking responsibility in taking action.
With a tangible result most often there is a measure that has been met or not met personally or professionally. Maybe it's reaching a certain performance in sports or a specific result in business/lifestyle. Either way it is measurable. Coaching works in maximizing one's potential. What I love about coaching is that these results are bonuses. The real joy is the shift in intangible breakthroughs.
Intangible results seem to live in the shadows, but they are the ones that motivate, inspire and speak loudly of who you are. They are character builders. In growing awareness the client's values get stronger. Outwardly you walk with better posture and more vitality. You have less stress and better relationships, because you are choosing, taking responsibility for yourself, and taking action in being who you are called to be.
Coaching is an investment, but aren't you worth it? Nature evolves and so do you. You get to choose and be responsible for awakening and living your potential. Numerous books and studies verify that going deeper down the rabbit hole is healthier and living life fully. Oh, and by the way, coaching is not for the faint of heart!
"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free." - Nikos Kazantzakis
Copyright 2008 - Theresa-Maria Napa, CPCC
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