FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is your coaching like therapy?

Psychotherapy and/or counseling usually focus on significant emotional issues from the past which have an adverse impact on how an individual copes with the demands of life in the present.  Some examples of experiences that could create serious emotional adjustment problems might be trauma (i.e. abuse/ violence/an experience of extreme fear/etc.) or systematic negation of one’s value as a person (i.e. on-going put-downs such as “You’ll never amount to anything.”).  The emotional scars from these types of experiences are very real and need to be dealt with, and assistance from a qualified professional can be very helpful.  Therapy deals with the effects of such past experiences and assists the individual in coming to terms with them, and so thus could be considered to a large extent past-oriented.

These types of issues are not the focus of coaching.  Most coaches make a distinction between coaching and therapy issues and will not deal with the latter, as they are not trained to do so.  This is not a value judgment about a client’s issues but rather an assessment of what the coach is qualified to deal with—an ethical practitioner will not attempt to deal with issues that he/she is not qualified or trained to work with.  Here’s an example:  a woman requests coaching because she wants to have a better social life but is shy around men (this would be a coachable issue)—however, during the intake session she wonders if her problem is because she was sexually molested as a child (this is definitely a therapy issue!).

Coaching in general focuses on what actions a person needs to take in the present to accomplish some desired goal or personal change, and thus is more present and future-oriented.  Many coaches are what are known as “life coaches” and coach general issues such personal fulfillment, living a balanced life, or achieving a goal.  Because of my background, I consider myself a specialty or niche coach, concerned with the area of learning and how to assist people in maximizing their learning potential.  I would address the effects of past experiences insofar as they are issues specifically related to learning:  an example might be a high school or middle school student who was humiliated by a teacher’s negative remarks in third grade and still thinks he’s dumb and can’t learn. In this case I would suggest some strategies to change the student’s limiting belief about himself.

Your coaching focuses on learning--is your coaching like tutoring?

Tutoring is individual teaching in a particular topic by a subject-matter expert, and is thus content-oriented.  Tutoring can be very helpful if someone is having difficulty grasping a particular aspect of a subject as the tutor can spot where the misunderstanding occurs and teach specifically to that need.

Coaching focuses on how an individual uses his/her mind to learn, and thus is process-oriented.  Once an individual learns how to learn effectively, they can apply these skills to any subject area. 

What is the nature of the Coach-Client Relationship?

In the doctor/patient or therapist/client relationship there is an assumption that the individual has a problem which requires treatment by an expert—if the treatment is followed, the expectation is that the individual will get better and the problem will be cured.  The relationship is unequal:  the doctor/ therapist is in a dominant position (gives help) and the patient/client in a subordinate position (receives help)—this is not by itself bad (if you’re sick you’re glad to turn the problem to your doctor so you can get well!) but it does not describe the coach-client relationship.

In the coach/client relationship there is an assumption that the client is basically capable and resourceful and knows what he/she wants to accomplish.  The coach’s job is to assist the client in achieving desired goal by acting as an advisor or mentor--the coach is not an expert who has all the answers (although he/she may possess some specialized knowledge or expertise) but more like a consultant who makes informed suggestions and recommendations. 

The coach/client relationship is more co-equal and collegial than the doctor/patient or therapist/client relationship and is often referred to as a “designed alliance” where the client has considerable say in how and about what he/she will be coached.  The type of coaching that I do is considered “specialized coaching” as it involves utilizing a broad knowledge base about how people learn and so I may make fairly direct, specific suggestions as to what strategies one can use to address a given learning concern.  As the client, you may choose which, if any, suggestions you will follow.

What about privacy issues?

 Like a doctor or therapist, a coach has an ethical obligation to keep whatever is shared private.  Most coaches observe the ethical practice standard in the mental health field, in that the only reason for breaking confidentiality would be if an individual is believed to be a danger to self or others. This situation is unlikely to arise in a coaching context.

What does a coach do in a coaching session?

You hire a coach to help you achieve something, to reach some goal or to accomplish some important personal change.  The coach’s primary responsibility is to hold you to your stated agenda and to help you “forward the action” and make progress.  Consequently, coaching sessions are different from polite, social conversation.  The coach may display behaviors which could be considered impolite in a purely social context.  Some specific coaching behaviors and examples of each may include:

>interrupting/intruding—when the client wanders off on a tangent, the coach will get them back on track

     “Bottom line—what’s the real issue here?”

>intuition—the coach may have a hunch and check it out with the client,

     “My intuition tells me that         --is there anything to that?”

>challenge—the coach may ask the client to move beyond self-imposed limits

     “I challenge you to do X twice this week.”

>requesting—the coach may ask the client to perform some specific action

     “I request that you do Y this week—will you do that?”  The client may:

      1) accept the request  2) refuse the request or 3) make a counteroffer ("I won’t 

          do Y but I’ll do Z”)

What is your coaching style?

I see my job as helping a learner to organize their internal resources and capabilities so that they can learn more easily and effectively, and achieve better results with less effort.   The first thing that I do is to ask lots of questions to understand the individual’s strengths/weaknesses and to pinpoint the issue or concern to deal with—this is accomplished during the Intake session. 

Once I have defined a specific concern, then I draw on my knowledge base to provide ways to address that concern.  For example, a learner might have difficulty remembering material for tests—I would probe into what type of material he is studying (facts, concepts, or procedures?), how it will be used (recall, recognition, or application?), as well as his particular learning style.  Based on that information, I would suggest learning strategies for getting the material into memory as well as review strategies to achieve mastery and easy access to it when needed.

With respect to the task or knowledge aspect of coaching, I am fairly specific and direct as to what needs to be done.  For the relationship or emotional aspect of coaching I tailor my approach to the client’s needs and style (for example, some people need to be pushed and challenged  while others need lots of support).