“In the seventeenth century, the French statesman Cardinal Richelieu relied heavily on the advice of Father François Leclerc du Tremblay, known as France’s éminence grise for his gray monk’s habit. Like the famous cardinal, today’s business leaders have their gray eminences. But these advisers aren’t monks bound by a vow of poverty. They’re usually called executive coaches, and they can earn up to $3,500 an hour. One of the most well-known coaches is Tony Robbins whose are in five figures.” – Quote from Harvard Business Review.

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Coaches help clients to define and achieve their goals and objectives. The ultimate aim of coaching is to help people develop and improve performance.

• The key principles of being a coach or a mentor can be summarised as follows:

• Coaching is akin to a structured dialogue where reflection is facilitated by the mentor.

• The mentoring relationship is based on trust, confidentiality, mutual respect and sensitivity.

• The relationship is based on agreed boundaries and ground rules that address the power differentials between the mentor and mentee.

• Mentors should seek advice or assistance regarding sustaining and developing the mentoring interaction if needed.

• The mentor should allow the mentee to drive the relationship and encourage them to take increasing responsibility for their own self-reflection and development. There should be no coercion or mentor agenda.

• A mentor should help the mentee identify goals and challenges and set priorities for relevant personal growth.

• Mentors should acknowledge the benefits they gain from the process of mentoring.

• Mentors should seek to use supporting resources that facilitate and sustain the engagement of the mentee.

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To see positive results, a person will usually need to understand the need for change and be willing to follow the treatment plan as the coach advises. They will also need to find a suitable coach whom they can trust and can communicate with honestly. See blog about Survival guide to working from home as sample.

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How does coaching work?

Although there are almost as many models of coaching as there are coaches, there are four stages that easily communicate the process:

1. Awareness. Coaching challenges the way we think about our thinking so that we can question our conscious and unconscious ways of being and interact with the world from an egoless place.

2. Clarity. Through coaching, we are able to name and define a real issue by focusing on one piece at a time and separating fact from feelings.

3. Choice. Fearlessly, and without boundaries, coaching allows us to limit our beliefs and explore possibilities for change. Here, we create new neural connections that promote new ways of thinking and behaving.

4. Action. We can commit to an energizing plan or practice to rewire our way of thinking and behaving that supports our desired way of being.

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The pitfall many people fall into when setting goals is jumping right into the "Action" stage. Without spending some time gaining awareness, clarity, and exploring choices, actions are often dead in the water before we even start, because we haven't rewired our brains to support us in our goals.

Now, there is one component of the coaching process that we can’t leave out, and that is the coach. Having the right coach in your corner allows you to see another perspective, consider questions you would never normally consider, be challenged in a powerful way, and ensure that the growth that comes from feeling safe (not just comfortable) occurs. A good coach doesn’t let you off the hook; they hold you accountable to be the best version of yourself and believe in your potential.

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What are the drawbacks of coaching?

Before hiring a coach, ask yourself:

Are your values aligned?

What kind of experience and credentials do they have?

Do you work well together?

Ask for a sample session to get a feel for their style and process.

Most importantly, make sure you are completely on board before diving in.

Also be aware that today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers. As a result of this broader mission, there’s a lot more fuzziness around such issues as how coaches define the scope of engagements, how they measure and report on progress, and the credentials a company or individual should use to select a coach.

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What happens during coaching?

Coaching typically consists of a series of one-on-one sessions between you and your life coach and usually last 45 to 60 minutes each.

Some clients meet with their life coach once a week, although some clients meet every two weeks or even just once a month - depending on their needs. You and the coach will agree on what works best for you prior to starting the coaching engagement and will often be flexible if the schedule needs to be adjusted.

In the first one or two sessions, your coach will usually go over your goals, establishing what you hope to achieve through life coaching. If you aren't clear on your goals yet, that is okay! Life coaches are trained to ask you the right questions and actively listen to what you are saying (and not saying) to help you decipher what truly matters to you. When life coaches use their active listening skills along with assessments, they are often able to uncover your deepest desires and the right goals will come to light.

Oftentimes, coaches will ask you to fill out the wheel of life, a great assessment for prioritizing what areas of your life need work. You may be asked to fill out other assessments to identify your strengths, values and the things that give you meaning and purpose. The primary goal of these initial sessions is to give you absolute clarity about what you want to achieve, and then help you develop a personalized plan to achieve it.

Once you have established your main goals for coaching, the life coach will assess where you are now, and the steps needed to get you to where you want to be. The coaching process will close the gap between your current state and your desired state.

At the end of each session, your coach will ask you to commit to completing certain tasks before the next session, which is often referred to as homework. These will generally consist of specific actions which you and your coach have identified as being the most important things you can possibly do to move closer to your big goals. By making a commitment to your coach, you’re not only focused on the most important tasks to achieve to your goals, but you’ll also have someone holding you accountable to make sure you’re constantly following through. Commitment, accountability and follow-through are some of the most valuable components of the life coaching process and they are a big reason why people who work with a life coach make so much more progress than they do when working alone. 

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How to Get the Most Out of Coaching?

The efficacy of coaching can vary depending on a wide range of factors.

The nature and severity of your problem will play a role, but there are also things you can do to get the most out of your sessions, including:

Being honest with your coach: Don't try to hide problems or feelings. Your goal is to show up as your true self without trying to hide aspects of your personality that you might be afraid to reveal.

Feeling your feelings: Don't try to hide negative or distressing emotions such as grief, anger, fear, or jealousy. Talking about these feelings within the context of therapy can help you understand them better.

Being open to the process: Work on forming an open and genuine therapeutic alliance with your coach. Some research suggests that coaching is most effective when you feel a connection with the coach.

Attending your sessions: Life gets busy but try to stick to your treatment plan and scheduled appointments as best you can. 

Doing the work: If your coach assigns homework to work on outside of your sessions, make an effort to finish it before the next session.

Does Coaching Work?

The growth of the coaching industry and the amount of money that companies and individuals are willing to spend for the service indicates that the service is providing a value to the companies and individuals. Companies and individuals often believe that coaching can help them improve their performances and skills, well-being, coping mechanism, work attitude and goal-directed self-regulation.