Posted on August 16, 2012 by Cynthia Gunsinger

The coaching process in theory is quite simple. So simple, it can be explained with entertaining and educational stick figures:

But how does coaching really work? Coaches?

From big-picture focus, to daily details, the right coach will see you, support you, hold you accountable, and push you to get past the knots in your life and send you off into the horizon with a full toolbox!

Coaching Process and General Standards: 

• Coaching is typically a series of one-to-one sessions between you and your coach.
• The session time usually lasts between 45-60 minutes.
• Some clients meet with their coach weekly, other clients meet every two weeks or every month with their coach
• Coaches use assessments, surveys, questionnaires and other tools to help you identify your strengths, your values, where you find meaning and purpose.

In the first one or two sessions, your coach will usually go over your goals, establishing what you, the client, wish to achieve through coaching.

Discover Goals and Personalized Plan: The coach can help you prioritize goals that will make the biggest difference in your life. The primary goal of these initial sessions is to give you, the client, absolute clarity about what you want to achieve, and then help you develop a personalized plan to achieve it.

Choosing Powerful Actions: Wrapping up each session, you will be asked to list your commitments to various tasks to have completed prior to the next session. Generally, you and your coach have identified these as being the most important things you can possibly do to move closer to your big goals.

Accountability and Follow-Through: By making a commitment to your coach, you’re not only focused on the most important tasks to achieve to your goals, but you’ll also have someone holding you accountable to make sure you’re constantly following through.

Commitment, accountability, and follow-through are some of the most valuable components of the coaching process, a big reason why people who work with a coach make so much more progress than they do when working alone.

Feel like coaching might work for you?