What is coaching?

The link below will take you to a great documents that defines coaching. It was written by Bill Shirley, a colleague of mine spearheading a project to bring coaching to a large community of Baptist Ministers. 

Coaching Explained - PDF File

If you would like more information about Bill's great work, you can find him here: http://www.billshirleyonline.com/

How is Coaching different from Psychotherapy?

The article at the link below says it best:

Coaching vs. Psychotherapy -( PDF File)

What are the benefits I can expect from hiring you?

• Eliminate what you are tolerating.
• Communicate powerfully.
• Take charge of your life so you have more time, money and fun.
• Build new leadership skills.
• Be unstoppable in the face of risk, fear and change.
• Develop more confidence.
• Live more at ease with a sense of peace just being yourself.
• Fully express your creativity.
• Optimize productivity.
• Clarify and live your dreams.
• Discover your authentic self.

How much will it cost to hire you?

I ask for at least a three month coaching agreement. While you will see results right away, I've found this to be the minimum time required to produce lasting change. Most clients establish a long term relationship with me since they see a steady flow of results.

What is it like to work with you as my coach?

If you hire me to be your coach, we collaborate and form a partnership committed to whatever it is that you want. I stand behind you through the ups and downs you experience. I look in your blind spots and alert you to land mines in your path that you may not see. I illuminate ways to accentuate your strengths. I also support you to go after your dreams. We create strategies to make those dreams real.

All this occurs in a weekly dialogue between us. We discuss ways to set up your life and career so that you can move forward with optimum efficiency. Like an athletic coach, my mission is to bring out your best performance in everything you do.

Will you tell me what I should do?

No. Use me to catalyze results in your life without expecting me to provide answers. I may have a new perspective that empowers you. But I won’t have the answers nor should you look to me for them. Think of a star tennis player. Their coach doesn’t necessarily tell the player how to hit the ball better. But he can point out a combination of strategies which will result in winning more tournaments. My job is to support you to win your tournaments, not to tell you how to hit the ball.

Where do our meetings take place?

Some clients come to my office for their coaching sessions while others speak to me by telephone. I have many clients I have never met face to face. I have found coaching to be equally effective whether in person or by telephone. The choice is yours. There will, however, be an extra charge for me to come to your office.

How do I get the most out of the coaching relationship?

Be willing to think "outside the box." In order to create what you want, something has to change. Doing the same thing over and over again seldom produces new results. For my coaching to be effective, you have to be willing to embrace change.

You will also need to be willing to look at how you may be responsible for certain circumstances in your life. Blaming others never produces breakthroughs.

Taking responsibility doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change personally; you may not want to! Instead, you may need to make adjustments to your environment. In fact, one of my jobs is to support you to optimize everything around you to mesh with who you are. This way, you get to just be yourself but in an optimized environment.

Can I get everything I want from working with you for just a few months?

The more committed you are to change in your life, the faster we can create it. But there are no quick and easy fixes. For that reason, I require a three month minimum commitment. Remember, I am committed to revealing for you what might be in the way of having your dreams fulfilled. This process usually has many layers and it takes some time to fully get this out in the open.

As in athletic training, no one plans to master a sport in a single workout. When we exercise, we may learn something new, we usually feel better and we get stronger through our training. But we don’t expect to emerge from a few sessions "finished" with our training. Working with a personal coach, like exercising, is an ongoing process that produces value in both the short and long term.

Other people, courses and advisors are already in my life. Do I really need another coach?

I have used my own coach for the last nine years. During this period, I have created several different careers (before I ended up becoming a full time coach), taken countless personal development courses, gone on many adventures and worked with other advisors in various capacities. I have had many spectacular breakthroughs in these experiences. But I have found that whatever I was experiencing was accelerated by virtue of having my own personal coach. As my long term partner, he has helped me to see patterns that I would have missed. I continue to work with him in an ongoing manner.

Do you need to be an expert in my particular industry?

No. Coaching is focused on YOU and your industry provides the background. We will work together to determine obstructions to your success. I only need a general understanding of your industry.

Will you help to market my product or service?

Absolutely. While you are hiring a coach and not a marketing consultant, I help reveal innovative ways to build your business. A coach can often see new routes to maximum profitability. Keep in mind that I will only be providing tools for your business to grow. Producing the actual results will be up to you.

Is this like working with a therapist?

Therapists tend to address where you are now and what happened in your past that got you where you are. I coach you to address where you are now and where you want to go. We then work together to design a sound structure to help you achieve your goals.

Some clients work with me while simultaneously working with their therapist. They have found that having a coach and a therapist makes the best support team.

What if I am still not sure if I’m ready to hire a coach?

I hope this document has answered your questions. I am here to help you win whatever gold medal matters most in your life. Imagine for a minute that you have decided to go after a gold medal in the next Olympics. You’d be foolish not to hire a coach!