The humanistic approach in coaching
Posted on January 15, 2024 by Nabila Abu-Hantash, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
What is the humanistic approach in coaching ?
The humanistic approach in coaching comes from an overarching philosophy based on Maslow, and that puts the human being and his/her needs at the center of things. The coach demonstrates empathy and acceptance towards the coachee, creating a supportive and non-judgmental environment. The coach encourages the coachee to explore their own values, beliefs, goals and to take responsibility for their own progress. Further, the coach takes a holistic approach, considering the client’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being as well as their personal and professional goals. The coach focuses on the client’s needs, goals, and experience and works collaboratively with the client to develop a personalized coaching plan.
The positive aspect of this approach is that it creates decision-makers and creates an agency within the coachee as a creator of their own success. It allows for creativity and input from the coachee within a mutually trusting relationship between the coachee and coach. The critique of the approach is that it is seen as too subjective as the individual experience makes it difficult to study and measure humanistic phenomena objectively, hence unverifiable with no accurate way to measure or quantify these qualities.
