When is it a good idea to enlist the help of a professional coach?

Coaching, which has been popular for several years now, is sometimes received very badly and is seen as the art of telling people things that will make them more productive at work. In practice, such assessments are not entirely fair. Coaching can be a very helpful tool. When is it worth using the help of a professional?

What is coaching?

By this term we understand a kind of personal training, in which the client and his coach participate. Both people set themselves a clearly defined goal, especially concerning professional development, better efficiency, improving skills or taking more responsibility for managing one’s life. The cooperation is aimed at supporting the client by the coach on the way to achieving these goals

Coaching good and very bad. Advantages and disadvantages

Why is coaching sometimes seen as a controversial tool? Certainly, it has been given a bad press by unprofessionals, who have made their way to social media, which is not so difficult nowadays. However, much depends on the situation and the competence of the coach himself. The key is responsibility and honesty on the way to the goal.

Advantages of coaching. What are they?

The biggest advantages of using coaching include:

• increased productivity of the coached person at work or in everyday life;
• higher motivation to achieve their goals;
• stimulation of the ability for self-reflection and better knowledge of oneself;
• learning to make decisions quickly;
• learning to balance one’s life – especially the right work-life balance.

When will coaching absolutely not help us?

The basic mistake that is made when using coaching is the belief that this method helps with most things in life – it is worth realizing that even the best coach is not able to replace a therapist and, above all, a psychologist. Coaching is not intended to deal with the client’s past, traumas, pain or illnesses. In these cases, you should immediately go to a specialist.

Coaching is also not consulting in the field in which the client is developing. The coach does not have the typical expertise, nor does he suggest ready-made solutions, but tries to guide the client so that he discovers them on his own. It is also not a typical training, where the training program is set in advance

Types of coaching. What are they?

There are at least several types of coaching. It can be individual or group. The most popular types include business coaching and life coaching. In detail, there are distinguished:

• coaching for top managers – provided for senior executives;
• career coaching – related to improving one’s predispositions on the way to professional development;
• sports coaching – intended for athletes;
• investment coaching – supporting the better allocation of own money;
• family coaching – aimed at improving relationships within the family;
• parenting coaching – supporting the acquisition of better parental skills;
• health or medical coaching – in this case, the work is with patients and medical staff.

How long does coaching last?

This is very important: in the case of coaching, we are not talking about one or two meetings. This type of cooperation usually lasts from 3 to 6 months. This depends on the type of goal that you want to achieve and the individual needs of the client

For whom is coaching a useful tool?

Coaching is particularly beneficial for people, who are motivated to improve specific skills and achieve goals, for which they have a real determination. In Poland, it is most often used for middle and senior management positions, but there is absolutely no reason to use it for sales positions. However, the barrier remains the issue of spending on human capital development, which is often considered not important enough

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