Generally speaking, coaching is the process of helping people and teams perform at the peak of their abilities. It involves bringing out people’s strengths and helping them to overcome perceived barriers in order to achieve their personal best and operate effectively within the context of a team or family. Therefore, effective coaching requires an emphasis on both task and relationship.

Coaching emphasizes generative change, concentrating on defining and achieving specific goals. Coaching methodologies are outcome-orientated rather than problem orientated. They are solution focused, promoting the development of new strategies for thinking and action, as opposed to trying to resolve present problems and conflicts of the past. Problem solving, or minor change, is more associated with counseling and therapy.

The term “coach” comes from the Middle English word coche, which refers to a carriage or wagon. A “coach” is a vehicle which carries a person or group of people from some starting location to a desired location. In its simplest form, coaching is the process of helping people get from where they are to where they want to be.

Coaching is a professional service that provides clients with feedback, insights, and guidance from an outside vantage point. The profession of coaching is similar to the practice of a physician, attorney, or psychologist. The major difference is that coaching is an on-going collaborative partnership built on taking action. In this powerful alliance, clients find themselves:

• Doing more than they would on their own
• Taking themselves more seriously
• Creating momentum and consistency
• Taking more effective and focused actions
• Becoming more balanced and fulfilled
• Coaching can help people balance work, family and social demands as well as leisure and spiritual activities