Qualities required for good coaching Listening In coaching, listening is more important than talking. By listening, people can be helped to overcome their fears, be offered complete objectivity and given undivided attention and unparalleled support. This leads to the intuitive questioning that allows the client to explore what is going on for themselves. Communication skills Coaching is a two-way process. While listening is crucial, so is being able to interpret and reflect back, in ways that remove barriers, pre-conceptions, bias, and negativity. Communicating well enables trust and meaningful understanding on both sides. Coaches are able to communicate feeling and meaning, as well as content - there is a huge difference. Communicating with no personal agenda, and without judging or influencing, are essential aspects of the communicating process, especially when dealing with peoples personal anxieties, hopes and dreams. Good coaching uses communication not to give the client the answers, but to help the clients find their answers for themselves. Rapport-building A coachs ability to build rapport with people is vital. Normally such an ability stems from a desire to help people, which all coaches tend to possess. Rapport-building is made far easier in coaching compared to other services because the coachs only focus is the client. When a coach supports a person in this way it quite naturally accelerates the rapport-building process. Motivating and inspiring Coaches motivate and inspire people. The ability to do this lies within us all. People who feel ready to help others are normally able to motivate and inspire. When someone receives attention and personal investment from a coach towards their well-being and development, such as happens in the coaching relationship, this is in itself very motivational and inspirational. Curiosity, flexibility and courage Coaching patterns vary; peoples needs are different, circumstances and timings are unpredictable, so coaching relationships do not follow a single set formula. Remembering that everyone is different and has different needs is an essential part of being a coach. Ultimately, everyone is human - so coaches take human emotions and feelings into account. And coaching is client-led - which means that these emotions have to be tapped into from the very beginning of the coaching process. So, having the flexibility to react to peoples differences, along with the curiosity and interest to understand fundamental issues in peoples lives, are also crucial in coaching. The coachs curiosity enables the clients journey to be full and far-reaching; both coach and client are often surprised at how expectations are exceeded, and how much people grow. All this does take some courage - coaches generally have a strong belief in themselves, a strong determination to do the best they can for their clients, and a belief, or faith that inherently people are capable of reaching goals themselves. Coaching principles Typically good coaches will use and follow these principles: • Listening is more important than talking • What motivates people must be understood • Everyone is capable of achieving more • A persons past is no indication of their future • Peoples beliefs about what is possible for themselves are their only limits • A coach must always provide full support • Coaches dont provide the answers • Coaching does not include criticizing people • All coaching is completely confidential • Some peoples needs cannot be met by coaching , and coaches recognise clients with these needs Life coaches come from all professions Life coaches and personal coaches come from all kinds of backgrounds and professions. Not surprisingly, coaches tend to like people, and many coaches come from people and caring professions. Coaches come from backgrounds as varied as these, and the list is certainly not exhaustive: • Teaching • Nursing • Management • Consulting • Prison Service • Therapy • Counselling • Training • Complementary Therapies • Human Resources • Personal Trainers • Voluntary workers • Charity workers • Armed forces • Emergency services • Service industries And many people in business, institutions, management, and organisations of all sorts learn how to become coaches so as to enrich their existing roles with the very special skills, methodologies and philosophies that coaching entails.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:02:31 +0000
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