You may have heard people talking about coaching in the workplace. You might have even received some coaching in the past, or you might have used coaching to improve a person’s performance, even if you didn’t actually describe it as “coaching” at the time. There are many definitions of coaching. I will share a couple that I think they best express coaching and the coaching process.
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
Another definition is the one used by Sir John Whitmore in his book Coaching for Performance, coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
I particularly like these two definitions because they fit my own view of coaching and my personal philosophy about life and success. Indeed, I consider coaching to be a powerful and creative process because it evolves and develops driven at all times by you, the Client, in partnership with me, your Coach. Through coaching people can discover and unlock their strengths and focus on them to maximize both their potential and their performance.