Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a coach, supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance.The learner is sometimes called a coachee. Occasionally, coaching may mean an informal relationship between two people, of whom one has more experience and expertise than the other and offers advice and guidance as the latter learns; but coaching differs from mentoring by focusing on specific tasks or objectives, as opposed to more general goals or overall development.

Source: Wikipedia

The Coaching platform provides opportunities to improve performance, enhance the Client’s knowledge, skill understanding and commitment, through planned activities, agreed actions, through continuous feedback where in the Coach transfers their knowledge, skill and experience to the Coachee.

It takes the form of a 1:1 partnership where the Coach is a facilitator and the Client helps themselves to become more self- reliant, self -confident and motivated through experiencing self-development. 

In practical terms, the 4-stage process involves assessing current levels of performance, setting outcomes for learning, agreeing action plans and giving feedback i.e.to confirm the learning.

On the review date the Coach explores how the Client feels about progress, improvements achieved, and challenges faced. Good performance, capabilities and achievements are acknowledged and any changes for further support, agreed.

The Coach makes the Client aware of the presence and effect of negative thinking patterns emanating from potential core conditioned beliefs, often as a result of severely repeated, difficult past experiences.

Within the process of life coaching, the Coach delves into the Client’s past, garners personal information through interviews, identifies problems, causes and contexts and applies the best possible approach to resolve challanges.

Mindfulness is a mental state of focussed awareness in the present moment, whilst calmly acknowledging and accepting unpleasant thoughts in the present moment and replacing negative thinking with positive and affirmative thoughts. The Client is encouraged to have an open and honest awareness of the present moment without judging any thoughts and sensations. Each thought, feeling and experience is accepted with self-regulated attention and conscious awareness, without entanglement of any dysfunctional beliefs and memory of earlier distressful experiences.

Value neutral and non -directive, the Coach’s approach is goal oriented rather than change oriented. The Coach will not prescribe changes but will instead facilitate the Client’s self -reflection and discovery through presenting facts and options. Implied preferences and personal opinions are not shared. Instead of advising, suggesting, preaching, affirming or negating, the Coach helps the Coachee to resolve ambivalence.

The Client understands and learns to cope with the situations they are struggling with. Through consciousness awareness of their thoughts, feelings and experiences by practicing mindfulness techniques, the Client becomes ready, willing and able to replace dysfunctional core beliefs with functional alternate beliefs that improve inner wellbeing.

As JK Rowling said… It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.

Life Performance Coaching includes providing the necessary skills which support the Client during and outside the Coaching sessions. These are usually social skills personal interaction and communication that help making the changes to resolve their issues, improve functioning and personal growth. This motivates the Coachee to come up with the best preferred and practical options that will bring about positive changes and meaningful achievement of their life’s goals.

Signing off, I leave you to reflect on another famous quote – “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change” …Carl Rogers. This will be the start of your journey to unlock potentials and possibilities that you could’ve thus far imagined and dreamt to achieve.