Myths
and FAQs of Coaching
Myth:
A coach is just another name for a counselor.
Fact:
Professional counseling serves an important function in helping
you deal with and move on from the past. A coach only addresses
the moving on part. The job of a coach is to help you see
where you are, determine your desired future destination, and get
there. Part of your strategy for getting there may include going
to a counselor, but that will simply be one of several strategies.
Myth:
A coach is the same as a consultant.
Fact: A consultant assesses a situation and makes
recommendations as to what you should do. A coach helps you assess
the situation, design an action plan, and follow through all the while
helping you maximize strengths and develop your own unique abilities
to problem-solve. It may be that one of your action plans is to bring
in a consultant. In this case, a coach helps you implement
what the consultant suggests.
Myth:
A coach is a mentor.
Fact:
A mentor is someone “older and wiser” who helps
you do what he or she did. A coach collaborates with you
to be successful in your own unique way and situations.
Myth:
Coaching is just another quick fix fad that only offers short-term
solutions.
Fact: While one of the most visibly attractive
features of coaching is the promised action that will take place,
the real underlying aspect that makes a difference is learning.
Learning about what you do that blocks you from accomplishing what
you want to accomplish. And learning what and how to do what you
need to to accomplish what you want to accomplish. Learning is
what creates sustained positive change. “Coaching is not
a patch job. It is a course change for life” (Co-Active Coaching,
Whitworth et al., 1998, p. 158).
Myth:
Having a coach is like having a nagging wife, husband, mother
or boss.
Fact:
A coach only “nags” you about what you ask to be “nagged”
about and in the way you ask to be nagged. We like to call
it accountability. A wife, husband, mother or boss nags you about
things you don’t really want to do. A coach holds you accountable
to what you ask to be held accountable for.
Myth:
A coach has to be an expert in my field to do me any good.
Fact:
An expert is someone who can tell you what you should do based
on their past experiences. A coach helps you implement what you
already know how to do and/or helps you figure out what to do.
An expert assumes that if you do what they did or what has been
proven over time to work, you will be successful. A coach assumes
that your situation is different from most everyone else’s and that
with some structure you can figure out and implement the best plan
based on your own experiences, knowledge, and any research you and
the coach may decide you should do. In fact, successful people
are tempted to provide input too soon in the process and thereby
undermine the responsibility of the client.
(P.S. When did expert football coach Vince Lombardi
ever play professional football?)
Click
here if you’re ready to find out if you need a coach!
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