Coaching is a process and partnership between the coach and the client in which the former uses a suite of techniques and procedures to assist the latter in making towards a desired goal in a private or profesional life.
It is a process of improving competence in the area chosen by the client.
It is based on the idea: Coach knows the questions, Client knows the answers.
It is set in time.
It is planned and well thought-out.
It is measurable through visible behaviours.
It sees the entire person - not only his or her individual life roles.
Coaching has made its way from sport into other areas of human activity and today hardly anybody questions its influence and usefulness wherever and whenever people register a need for change and improvement. By my standards, the uniqueness of coaching consists in enormous trust in people and their individual potential - and this is a rare commodity today.
Basically, two types of coaching attitudes can be distinguished (each having its unique value): directive and non-directive. Directive coaching is when the coach, after having carefully followed and observed the client, offers him or her some pieces of advice and suggests the most advantagous solutions and tools to improve their ineffective behaviour. It is more about 'teaching' the client the right thing to do. The risk of such an attitude is that the client may not feel fully committed to the proposed solutions as they are not 'their own' and may seem imposed by the coach or the coach's sponsor (client's employer).
On the other hand, in non-directive coaching, the coach, relying on the information obtained from the client, works only by asking powerful and insightful questions and lets the client find his or her own answers, see the situation from a new perspective, gain clarity, uncover concealed options, challenge inconsistencies and be accountable for decisions and actions. It is the client who takes full ownership of the solutions and bolsters confidence. It is more about helping the client initiate a learning process where all the input is their own.
Coaching is a paid service and the rates differ, yet figures show that its effects are by all means worthy of the expended money. For an unbiased view on the subject, read an article about ROI for coaching.
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