Is right for me?
..coaching partnership
To determine if you could benefit from coaching, start by summarizing what you would expect to accomplish in coaching. When someone has a fairly clear idea of the desired outcome, a coaching partnership can be a useful tool for developing a strategy for how to achieve that outcome with greater ease.
Since coaching is a partnership, also ask yourself if you find it valuable to collaborate, to have another viewpoint and to be asked to consider new perspectives. Also, ask yourself if you are ready to devote the time and the energy to making real changes in your work or life. If the answer to these questions is yes, then coaching may be a beneficial way for you to grow and develop.

Subsequent coaching sessions may be conducted in person or over the telephone, with each session lasting a previously established length of time.

Between scheduled coaching sessions, the individual may be asked to complete specific actions that support the achievement of one's personally prioritized goals.

The coach may provide additional resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments, or models, to support the individual's thinking and actions. The duration of the coaching relationship varies depending on the individual's personal needs and preferences.

Concepts, models and principles-
A variety of concepts, models and principles drawn from the behavioural sciences, personal development literature, spiritual traditions and/or the arts and humanities, may be incorporated into the coaching conversation in order to increase the individual's self-awareness and awareness of others, foster shifts in perspective, promote fresh insights, provide new frameworks for looking at opportunities and challenges, and energize and inspire the individual's forward actions.

Within the partnership, what does the coach do?
..listen ..challenge..support..
The role of the coach is to provide objective assessment and observations that foster the individual's  enhanced self-awareness and awareness of others, practice astute listening in order to garner a full understanding of the individual's circumstances, be a sounding board in support of possibility thinking and thoughtful planning and decision making, champion opportunities and potential, encourage stretch and challenge commensurate with personal strengths and aspirations, foster the shifts in thinking that reveal fresh perspectives, challenge blind spots in order to illuminate new possibilities, and support the creation of alternative scenarios.

Finally, the coach maintains professional boundaries in the coaching relationship, including confidentiality, and adheres to the coaching profession's code of ethics.

How is coaching distinct from other service professions?
..much overlap..
Professional coaching is a distinct service which focuses on an individual's life as it relates to goal setting, outcome creation and personal change management. In an effort to understand what a coach is, it can be helpful to distinguish coaching from other professions that provide personal or organizational support

Therapy. Coaching can be distinguished from therapy in a number of ways. Coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth and development based on individual-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is forward moving and future focused. Therapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or a relationship between two or more individuals. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past which hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with present life and work circumstances in more emotionally healthy ways. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability and follow through.

Athletic Development. Though sports metaphors are often used, professional coaching is different from the traditional sports coach. The athletic coach is often seen as an expert who guides and directs the behaviour of individuals or teams based on his or her greater experience and knowledge. Professional coaches possess these qualities, but it is the experience and knowledge of the individual that determines the direction. Additionally, professional coaching, unlike athletic development, does not focus on behaviours that are being executed poorly or incorrectly. Instead, the focus is on identifying opportunity for development based on individual strengths and capabilities.

What are some typical reasons you might work with a coach?

There is something at stake (a challenge, stretch, goal or opportunity), and it is urgent, compelling or exciting

There is a gap in knowledge, skills, confidence, or resources.

A big stretch is being asked or required, and it is time sensitive.

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 or is not supporting the achievement of one's personally relevant goals.

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, and this is creating unwanted consequences.

They have not identified core strengths and how best to leverage them.

The individual desires work and life to be simpler, less complicated.

What clients say

"For once in my life I really know what I want to do and Coaching showed me how to do it"

"It really helped me to stand back and have a good look at my relationship and where I wanted to take it"

"I have got so much more energy to do the things I really want to do"

"I've lost 2 stone in weight without really trying; it was a delight to learn techniques that changed my life style for the better - forever"

"He helped me set priorities and get things done - at last"

"My office is clear, my head is clear and the way forward is clear.