What is Coaching?
Posted on November 26, 2013 by Juan Moscoso, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
A brief introduction to coaching and Co-Activity.
Introduction to Coaching and Co-Activity
Who is a coach? The common usage of the term invokes visions of an authoritative figure in possession of knowledge and expertise they utilize to guide others toward the fulfillment of individual or team goals. From this perspective, most people would pursue coaching only if they were contemplating a desired outcome that was dependent on resources they did not posses. In team sports, for example, this is often desirable and necessary.
Doug Silsbee, in “Presence-Based Coaching,” defines coaching as “…that part of a relationship in which one person is primarily dedicated to serving the long-term development of competence, self-generation, and aliveness in the other.” Absent from this definition is any implication that the coach arrives at the relationship in possession of something the client does not already own- the innate resourcefulness to commit to the work of developing competencies from which self-generative practices arise. Kimsey-House & Sandhal, in “Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives,” describes coaching as a way of facilitating purposeful change. Other definitions exist. What is implied in most definitions, is this: Observable outcomes are in evidence as a result of “good” coaching- change is apparent, goals are met, personal transformation occurs and, from this vantage point, performance metrics are achieved. “Good” coaching creates an environment that supports and empowers the client to confront and surpass the barriers to change.
Various coaching models have been developed over the last several decades. The model that informs my work is the Co-Active model.
What is Unique About Co-Activity?
• As a Co-Active coach I am not the source of expertise, advise or counsel. You and I equally contribute to the design of an empowering working alliance that recognizes and respects your resourcefulness, knowledge, wisdom, and freedom to choose and learn- your solutions.
• Co-Active coaching is not about solving problems. It is not about improving performance or achieving results (although both are observable outcomes of good coaching as noted above). Co-Active coaching is about arriving at the internal transformation from which change occurs, and desired outcomes are arrived-at or replaced with previously unrecognized desired outcomes.
• Co-Activity is empowering. In a Co-Active coaching relationship, you will come to observe and know your habitual nature and the core beliefs around which your habits are organized. If no longer working for you, both your habits and beliefs are overcome.
• Co-Active coaching is not therapy. Whereas therapy is focused on analysis, interpretation, diagnosis and healing, Co-Active coaching is focused on experiencing, and in-the-moment change of perspectives and point-of-view from which new options for action become available.
• Co-Active coaching focuses not on what has happened but on what is possible. The past informs the present, yet the focus remains on crafting a path toward a desired destination. You learn to drop your attachment to your past story, becoming, instead, the author of your story.
• Co-Active coaching is not an algorithm for arriving at an assessment of pathology. Rather, it serves to clarify goals, values, and vision, and to concretize commitment toward achieving your objectives.Much more could be said about coaching in general, and co-activity, in particular. An experience of co-active coaching would serve to clarify perceptions, opinions, curiosity, or questions you may have regarding the subject or its potential role in your life. It is my pleasure to offer every one of my readers the experience of a complementary coaching session.
In a future article I will describe the coaching methodology I have developed to facilitate the change my clients have envisioned and desire in their lives. Briefly, my Recovery System is a marriage of Co-Activity and the insights and tools of the world of Recovery. The Recovery System is an empowering driver, motivator and effective tool to pursue and achieve change. More to come…
Why Consider Coaching?
For some it may be a felt need. For others, a desire to pursue a different path toward growth. In either case, you do it because you value exploring your mind, you value understanding where you get stuck, or you pursue the clarifying value of approaching life through a perspective that differs from your default point of view- a life potentially lived through the lens of beliefs that are organized around what you truly value and yearn for. Then you would consider paying for a life coach, the same way you might consider paying for a spa treatment if you valued relaxation, or a personal trainer if you valued fitness. As noted above, at Recovery Solutions, a personal coaching session can be experienced for free!
