Since the beginning of this coaching journey, I have incorporated different perspectives about the meaning of coaching that have paved my understanding of this field.
I would like to start addressing what coaching is not about.
Coaching is not advising nor consulting. The key point here is that coaching considers the coachee resourceful. This means, a person capable of reflecting on their own thinking, understanding the impact of their actions, creating new alternative routes, and taking action toward the desired outcome. What I just described is the coachee’s learning path. Suggesting a possible solution to the client overlooks all this learning process.
Coaching is about exploring and challenging the coachee’s reasoning, attitude, and behavior to provoke change. Coaching is about facilitating a learning process that is tailored to the coachee’s reality and capability. Coaching is about helping the coachee to become more resourceful in order to overcome their challenges. Coaching is about supporting and challenging the coachee’s thinking and feeling to close the gap between their current state and their desired future.