Coaching is a one-to-one activity with the purposes of increasing skills competency, augmenting cognitive understanding, and enriching spirituality of the person being coached.
Coaching begins with assessment of the person being coached to determine his or her current levels of competency, understanding of the task(s) at hand, and spiritual well-being. This assessment includes the coach's observations as well as the answers the person being coached provides to questions. It may also include the use of surveys, questionnaires, or other assessment instruments with interpretation by the coach.
The coach helps the person being coached by helping them set goals and strategic plans, examine the current reality of the situation, brainstorm new options, and select and define measureable actions to undertake in order to achieve the goals.
The coach's main skills are asking good questions and listening well. The coach's main resource is his or her own experience coupled with staying current on academic and practice developments in the areas being coached. The coach's main discipline is holding the person being coached accountable to their (the person being coached) stated goals and selected actions. The goal of the coach is not to impose his or her goals or course of action upon the person being coached, but rather to help that person clearly state their goals and select appropriate actions to which they can then commit.
Summary
- One-to-one interaction
- Spiritual friendship
- Assessments
- Task-focused activities:
- S.M.A.R.T. goal setting*
- Strategic planning
- Reality checks
- Option expansion
- Accountability for progress
- Co-active coaching - we establish your goals, not mine
- Values identification and clarfification
- Probing questions and active listening
- Bringing experience and new practice modalities to address situations
* S.M.A.R.T goals are goals that are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific
ICF Definition of Coaching
As a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), Dr. Ed Cook supports the ICF's definition of coaching:
Professional Coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life.
In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions. This interaction creates clarity and moves the client into action. Coaching accelerates the client's progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. Coaching concentrates on where clients are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future. ICF member coaches and ICF credentialed coaches recognize that results are a matter of the client's intentions, choices and actions, supported by the coach's efforts and application of the coaching process
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