Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Coaching

1. What Is Coaching?

Professional Coaching is a professional partnership between a qualified coach and an individual or team that supports the achievement of extraordinary results, based on goals set by the individual or team. Coaching accelerates progress by providing greater focus and awareness of possibilities leading to more effective choices.

2. What are the benefits of coaching?

• Fresh perspectives on personal challenges and opportunities
• Enhanced thinking and decision making skills
• Enhanced interpersonal effectiveness
• Increased confidence in carrying out their chosen work and life roles

3. Things to consider if coaching is right for you?

• What would I expect to accomplish in coaching?
• Would I find it valuable to collaborate?
• How could I benefit from other viewpoints and new perspectives?
• Am I ready to devote the time and the energy to making real changes in my work and/or life?

4. What are some typical reasons someone might work with a coach?

• Something is at stake
• There is a gap in knowledge, skills, confidence, or resources
• A big stretch is being asked or required
• There is a desire to accelerate results
• There is a need for a course correction in work or life due to a setback
• An individual has a style of relating that is ineffective
• There is a lack of clarity, and there are choices to be made
• The individual is extremely successful, and success has started to become problematic
• Work and life are out of balance, complicated or complex
• The need to identify core strengths and how best to leverage them
• The need and a desire to be better organized and more self-managing

5. How is coaching delivered? What does the process look like?

The Coaching Process typically begins with a personal interview (either face-to-face or by teleconference/Skype call, etc.) to assess the individual’s current opportunities and challenges, define the scope of the relationship, identify priorities for action, and establish specific desired outcomes. Subsequent coaching sessions may be conducted in person, through email, or over the telephone or internet. The coach may provide additional resources to support the individual’s thinking and actions. The duration of the coaching relationship varies depending on the individual’s personal needs and preferences.

6. How do you ensure a compatible partnership?

Here are a few additional tips:

• Have a personal interview with one or more coaches to determine “what feels right” in terms of the chemistry
• Look for stylistic similarities and differences between the coach and you and how these might support your growth as an individual or the growth of your team
• Discuss your goals for coaching within the context of the coach’s specialty

7. What are the roles of the coach?

• Provide objective assessment and observations that foster enhanced self-awareness and awareness of others
• Practice astute listening
• Be a sounding board in support of possibility thinking and thoughtful planning and decision making
• Champion opportunities and potential
• Encourage stretch and challenge
• Foster the shifts in thinking that reveal fresh perspectives
• Challenge blind spots in order to illuminate new possibilities
• Support the creation of alternative scenarios
• Maintain professional boundaries in the coaching relationship and adhere to the coaching profession’s code of ethics

8. What does coaching ask of an individual?

• Focus on oneself, the tough questions, the hard truths – and one’s success
• Listen to one’s intuition, assumptions, and judgments
• Challenge existing attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and to develop new ones which serve one’s goals in a superior way
• Leverage personal strengths and overcome limitations in order to develop a winning style
• Decisive actions
• Compassion for oneself as he or she experiments with new behaviors or experiences setbacks
• Commitment to not take oneself so seriously

9. What are factors that should be considered when looking at the financial investment in coaching?

Fees charged vary by specialty and by the level of experience of the coach. Concerns or questions about any financial considerations should be voiced in initial conversations before an agreement is made.